If you outsource your wide-format graphic installations, you may think that bringing an installer in at the end of the process to do that last part of the job makes sense, but installer Greg Schopmeyer of Greg Schopmeyer Enterprises in Tarpon Springs, Fla., says that could be a devastating mistake for the project.

With a 30-year career under his belt, Schopmeyer has worked on all sides of the print business, from screen printing to transit advertising to all forms of installation, which he solely focuses on now. He’s paired a wide variety of media with the surfaces they need to be installed on — from the windows to the walls and beyond.

“In a perfect world, the installer would be involved at the very beginning, when the printer is bidding on the job,” Schopmeyer says, because an experienced installer will bring ideas on which media will work best for the project, how the media can be attached, what stipulations there might be on the job and different types of hardware that can be used with the chosen media.

“We’re the final line,” he says. “If you print on the wrong stuff and it’s not working, it doesn’t make any of us look good.”

Some of the key things Schopmeyer needs to know when coming into a job include:

• Location
• Measurements
• Customer expectations
• Required longevity of the graphic
• How it will be paneled
• If he needs the graphic printed with a bleed

“I’ve been in the industry such a long time, and I’ve done a lot of crazy different installs,” Schopmeyer says. “You have to be able to look at all the perameters when planning to do a job. Along the way, I’ve figured out processes for how to make things work. And the most important thing is: Get the installer involved as soon as you can with any sort of project.”

Take a look below at the gallery of installation jobs Schopmeyer has worked on in recent years.