Where Promotional Products Fit for Wide-Format Producers

Wide-format producers have been creating graphics, signage, and displays for events, marketing campaigns, and businesses for ages. And now, more than ever, those same projects are opening the door to promotional products.

From branded tents, table covers, and point-of-purchase displays to banners, stickers, and apparel, the product categories begin to blend when their use case warrants brand recognition. For shops already producing this kind of wide-format work, taking an additional leap into promo doesn’t have to be scary — they already have one foot in the door.

Where Promo Fits Into Wide-Format Work

Promo has shifted from add-on to strategic extension. As brands lean on events, activations, and experiential marketing to create brand awareness, promotional products show up alongside their needed wide-format work. The two go hand in hand as part of a broader campaign or promotion.
“Clients typically come to us with a larger goal, and promo products are one piece of the overall solution, rather than the starting point,” Linda Fox, CEO and owner of SpeedPro Nashville South, a PRINTING United Alliance member company, says.

Credit: SpeedPro Nashville South

The shop is in what she calls the “foundation-building phase,” understanding where demand is, working with the right supplier partners, and identifying products that complement what SpeedPro already does well. Right now, that includes everything from event giveaways and branded apparel to promo products and small-format branded items, paired with larger installs, events, and displays.

“Promo fits best for us when it’s part of a larger brand experience rather than a one-off item,” she explains. “Our clients often come to us for signage, wall graphics, or event visuals, and promo becomes a value-added extension of that same project.”

This rings true for Soardist — a PRINTING United Alliance member company and promotional products supplier that solely serves distributors in the promo industry via wide-format displays and apparel. According to Mark Jaroszewski, vice president of global sales at the Chicago, Illinois-based company, orders almost always come as part of a larger program.

When wide-format producers present promo to clients from a holistic perspective — as part of a total package — it becomes easier to tackle, sell, justify, and create value.

For Jim Nagy, vice president of Plainfield, Illinois-based Cutting Edge Graphics, promo has been part of his business since the company started 30 years ago. Today, it has increasingly become part of his regular sales pitch when he’s in front of customers.

While he says it’s been a challenge competing with online vendors, he’s found that quality and a personal touch set him apart in a digital landscape. Whether he’s meeting someone offsite or talking to clients in his showroom, Nagy knows the importance of seeing, touching, and feeling all that’s possible with promo.
He pairs items like coffee mugs, tumblers, pens, awards, and keychains with everything from architectural signage and large-format graphics to vehicle wraps. If he already has the client’s attention, why not pitch promo? Case in point: Nagy recently visited a customer to chat about a $68,000 wayfinding job, brought his bag of promo tricks, and left with an order for 500 laser-engraved pens, which he’s doing all in-house.

Bringing Promo Into the Fold of Your Business

If clients are already going to wide-format producers for event needs, brand activations, corporate campaigns, grand openings, and seasonal promotions, then promotional products have a place in that conversation. And if they’re not going to you for promo, they’re likely buying it somewhere else.

Cutting Edge Graphics uses a mix of flatbed printers and a laser engraving machine to take on promotional products in-house. | Credit: Cutting Edge Graphics

At Cutting Edge Graphics, a shop that does a lot of logo design work for businesses, Nagy says that is the perfect segue into promotional products. You already have the brand-new logo ready to go, and maybe they’re welcoming new employees for onboarding, or they’re going to have clients in the office for visits. Why not send them home with something to remember the company by — a pen, tumbler, or mug?
And the great thing about promo is that it works across many of the markets wide-format producers already serve. Construction, corporate establishments, churches, schools, car dealerships, and HOAs are worth exploring, too, Nagy notes.

Beyond market segments, shops need to figure out exactly where they fit in the promo ecosystem:

• 1. Selling products direct-to-customer and producing promo items in-house
• 2. Selling products direct-to-customer and outsourcing promo to a supplier (becoming a promo distributor)
• 3. A mix of both
• 4. Or even becoming a trade-only or trade-friendly printer and acting as a supplier of wide-format promo products (like Soardist)

No. 1 involves buying the blanks, decorating them with equipment you have in-house, and providing the products to your customer in your typical workflow. This is where Cutting Edge Graphics sits, using wide-format flatbed and laser engraving equipment for promo items.

“We have a flatbed printer, and it’s a printer that can print up to two-point text — itsy bitsy things — so I can do some very detailed work on a flat surface,” Nagy explains. Additionally, he can use his laser engraver to manufacture custom acrylic and wood pieces, which can then be engraved or printed, all in-house.

While he could outsource items like logoed pens, Nagy chooses to offer them in-house to ensure quality and customer service. For those not yet ready to invest in the equipment, he encourages them to take the distributor route.

No. 2 involves partnering with a promotional products supplier who handles the manufacturing and decorating of the items. You’re selling the promo and acting as a distributor, rather than printing it.

No. 3 mixes the two, where perhaps you have some capability to print or decorate promo products in-house, while outsourcing others due to equipment capabilities or volume constraints. This is where SpeedPro Nashville South sits, relying on supplier partners for most promo and keeping its in-house production focused on its core competencies — rigid boards, vinyl, wall graphics, event signage, and other wide-format printed products.

“If it’s something we can produce efficiently with existing equipment and maintain our quality standards, we’ll do it in-house,” Fox adds. “If it requires specialized equipment or high-volume manufacturing, we partner with trusted suppliers to ensure the best outcome for the client.”

As promo sales grow, she’ll evaluate where bringing more promo production in-house makes sense. That decision comes down to volume, turnaround time, equipment fit, quality control, and cost efficiency.

For the promo work SpeedPro Nashville South does in-house, it uses its EFI flatbed printers — what Fox calls the backbone of its production, playing a role in both wide-format and promo applications.
“They allow us to print directly to a wide range of substrates with excellent quality and efficiency,” she explains. “That flexibility is key. It allows us to pivot quickly when a promo item overlaps with signage or display needs without adding extra production steps.”

Last, No. 4 comes with a caveat. If a wide-format producer decides to go the trade-only or trade-friendly route — producing wide-format work for promotional products distributors — it’s important they disclose where they sit in the supply chain with those distributor customers. It’s somewhat of an unspoken rule in the promo industry that suppliers don’t go direct to distributors’ customers.

Making Promo Work Without Taking on Too Much

Once producers understand where they fit operationally, the next step is to approach it thoughtfully without biting off more than they can chew. Understanding customer goals and where opportunities already exist makes adding promo far more manageable.

High-volume Durst printers power Soardist’s wide-format production, supporting large-scale promotional display and apparel programs. | Credit: Soardist

“If you don’t ask for a sale, you’re not going to get it,” Nagy puts it simply. Along with that advice, he encourages wide-format producers to first build a base of promo business to figure out if investing in new technology makes sense.

Fox agrees, stating, “Rather than trying to compete with high-volume promo shops, I’d recommend starting small, leveraging trusted suppliers, offering promo as an add-on, not a standalone product, and learning which products your clients consistently ask for.”

Over time, she says wide-format producers will see “incremental revenue growth first,” then “stronger margins once workflows and supplier relationships are dialed in,” along with deepened client relationships and, ultimately, larger jobs and repeat business.

Even with the right approach in place, adding promo comes with a learning curve. Fox says it’s the different sales and fulfillment mindset. “Promo requires more upfront planning, longer lead times, and more detailed coordination,” she explains. “The upside has been seeing how much clients appreciate having a single vendor who can manage both their large-format visuals and their branded merchandise — it simplifies their process significantly.”

And while promo may introduce new dynamics, including larger-volume orders and new product categories, it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. “You’ve already done all the work,” Jaroszewski says, pointing to the trust wide-format producers have built with their customers. From there, adding promo through existing capabilities, trusted partners, and a holistic approach, feels less like a leap and more like a logical next step.