Take a look at your top ten accounts. Somewhere in that list, there’s a construction firm sending drawings to an outside print shop, a school ordering posters for every new semester, or a marketing team paying rush fees for large-format graphics. They’re spending money on wide format right now. The question is whether any of that revenue is coming to you.
Wide format is not a new business. It’s an expansion of the one you’ve already built, and it starts with the relationships you already have.
Your Best Prospects Are Already Your Customers
Winning new customers takes time, budget, and a lot of trust-building. Expanding within existing accounts is faster, cheaper, and more likely to succeed because you’ve already done the hard work. You have established relationships. You understand the environment. You’ve probably sat across from the decision-maker more than once.
That credibility is your biggest asset. When you introduce wide format as a natural extension of the print and workflow services you’re already delivering, it doesn’t feel like a sales pitch, it feels like a logical next step.
The wide format printer market is growing steadily, projected to reach USD $10.36 billion by 2030 (source: MarketsandMarkets). Much of that growth is being driven by industries you’re already calling on: construction, education, retail, and healthcare. The opportunity isn’t coming. It’s here.
Know Which Accounts to Focus On First
Not every customer needs a wide format device. The goal is to identify where demand already exists and where you can displace an outsourcing habit with an in-house solution. The industries most worth prioritizing include:
- Architecture, engineering, and construction firms printing drawings and plans
- Schools and universities producing classroom and event materials
- Healthcare organizations managing compliance and facility signage
- Retail operations and in-house marketing teams creating display graphics
- Manufacturing facilities with ongoing safety and operational signage needs
Within your existing accounts, watch for signals: construction drawings being sent out for printing, marketing teams ordering large graphics regularly, safety signage posted throughout a facility, or presentation boards appearing at trade shows. These are all signs that large-format printing is already part of their workflow; they’re just doing it somewhere else.
Your service technicians can be an underutilized source of intelligence here. They’re often on-site regularly and hear about printing frustrations before sales does. A quick, structured debrief after service calls can surface opportunities that would otherwise never make it into a sales conversation.
Lead With a Conversation, Not a Catalogue
The most common mistake dealers make when approaching wide format is leading with hardware. Walking into an account with a brochure and a price list is a fast way to get a polite “we’ll think about it.” Instead, start with discovery.
A few well-placed questions can open the whole conversation:
- “Where do you currently get your large prints done?”
- “How often are you sending out for posters, drawings, or signage?”
- “Have delays at an outside print shop ever impacted a deadline?”
- “What do you think you’re spending annually on outsourced large-format printing?”
That last question tends to be the most revealing. Most organizations genuinely don’t know how much they spend on outsourced printing. When you help them calculate it, including rush fees, shipping, and reprints due to errors, the numbers are often a surprise.
Once you surface the cost and the pain, the conversation shifts naturally toward control, speed, and consistency. Bringing wide format in-house means faster turnaround, better brand consistency, and no more waiting on a third party when a deadline moves.
Address the Real Objections
Wide format conversations tend to hit the same three speed bumps. Knowing how to navigate them in advance makes all the difference.
“We don’t print enough to justify it.”
This is almost always a perception issue rather than a data issue. Help customers run the numbers: outsourcing costs, rush fees, reprints, time spent coordinating with an outside vendor. Many discover the volume they thought was low actually justifies an in-house device quite comfortably, especially when speed and convenience are factored in alongside pure cost.
“We don’t have space for it.”
Modern wide format devices are significantly more compact than earlier generations. Many models fit comfortably within a standard office environment without requiring a dedicated production area. A walkthrough of the space is often enough to find a practical location and put this concern to rest.
“It sounds complicated to operate and maintain.”
Today’s wide format printers are far more intuitive than customers expect. Network integration is straightforward, driver setup is familiar, and training requirements are minimal. The framing that tends to land best: this is an extension of the office printing environment they already use, not an industrial production system.
Bundle It Into Agreements They Already Understand
One of the most effective ways to reduce friction is to bring wide format into contract structures that customers are already comfortable with. Adding a wide format device to an existing Managed Print agreement means the customer isn’t making a completely new buying decision; they’re expanding one they’ve already made.
Consider including service coverage, automated supply replenishment, and, where applicable, document management or workflow tools alongside the device. The broader the solution, the simpler the decision tends to be, and the stronger your position as a long-term partner rather than a one-time vendor.
Give Your Sales Team the Tools to Start the Conversation
Wide format won’t grow if your sales team treats it as a specialist product that requires specialist knowledge to sell. It doesn’t. It requires a slightly different set of discovery questions and an understanding of which industries to prioritize.
Equip your reps with industry-specific talking points for construction, education, and marketing-led environments. Give them a simple ROI calculation tool they can run in front of a customer. And encourage them to bring up wide format during regular account reviews. Even one well-timed question like “have you ever considered bringing your large prints in-house?” can open a door that stays closed indefinitely if nobody asks.
Wide format doesn’t need to be complicated. It needs to be visible in the sales process.
Think Beyond the First Placement
Wide format tends to grow once it’s in an account. The use cases expand, the volume increases, and departments that weren’t part of the original conversation start finding reasons to use it.
The placement is just the starting point. A construction firm that starts by printing drawings often expands into site safety signage. A school that starts with classroom posters moves into event graphics and administration materials. A retail team that brings signage in-house starts exploring seasonal campaign output.
The post-installation conversation is as important as the sale. Check in after a few months. Ask what they’ve been using it for. Talk to different departments. Wide format has a way of expanding within an organization once the capability is there, as long as someone keeps the conversation going.
A Note on Hardware: The Epson T-Series
For dealers working with Impression Solutions, the Epson T-Series is worth knowing well; particularly when you’re working with technical or professional environments like AEC firms, schools, and healthcare organizations.
The T-Series handles detailed CAD drawings, architectural plans, and high-quality graphics with consistent line accuracy, the kind of precision that matters to customers in technical disciplines. The footprint is compact enough for most standard office settings, which addresses one of the most common objections you’ll encounter. Epson’s PrecisionCore technology delivers reliable output over time, and the ink efficiency keeps ongoing operating costs predictable, something decision-makers appreciate when they’re evaluating ROI.
For dealers, a known and trusted device simplifies the sales process. When you’ve uncovered an opportunity through good discovery, the last thing you want is uncertainty about the hardware. The Epson T-Series through Impression Solutions gives you a reliable, professional-grade option that fits the conversations you’re already having.
Start With One Question
Look at your current account base through a wide format lens. Identify the industries. Ask about outsourcing. Help customers calculate the real cost. Address their concerns honestly. Bundle solutions wherever you can. And then follow up.
The revenue is already in your accounts. Someone is being paid for this work right now. The only question is whether that someone is you.
About IS Docs from Impression Solutions Inc.
Impression Solutions Inc. offers a turnkey document management program called IS Docs that was created specifically to help dealers add document management without needing to build their own system from the ground up. IS Docs includes secure cloud and hybrid options, workflow automation, document capture, version control, permission-based access, and powerful search features. The platform is designed for unlimited users and uses a simple pricing model that supports profitable recurring revenue for dealers.
ISI also provides sales training, branded marketing materials, technical support, and a complete onboarding framework. These resources help dealers launch quickly and deliver a consistent customer experience without adding operational strain. More information about IS Docs is available here.
