A poster is the simplest thing a printer makes and the easiest to ruin between the press and the wall. Four decisions do the protecting.

Start from the date

A poster exists for a moment — the show, the premiere, the launch morning.

Get the delivery date in writing, and prefer the printer who declines an impossible date over the one who takes it cheerfully.

Match paper to the wall

Street work wants heavyweight cover; lobbies want satin; galleries want matte.

The right stock is job-shaped, not price-shaped — and a good printer will talk you down as often as up.

Interrogate the packing

Flat between boards for small runs, rigid tubes on heavy cores for large formats.

Ask how it ships before you pay; a crease is not repairable and not acceptable.

Proof what matters

Promo runs can trust the press; editions and photography cannot.

Proof on the actual stock and approve paper, not pixels.

Then hang it properly

Top edge first, the right tape, and for wall-scale prints, the hanging advice that should come in the tube.

The wall is the poster’s whole life — treat the installation like part of the print.