Guidelines for Posters

When creating a poster to be printed on a large format printer (available in Student Activities or the ITC), please keep the following guidelines in mind:

Key Points

1. You can print PowerPoint, Publisher, Word, and PDF files. You cannot print picture files like JPEGs.
2. Before coming in, ensure that your file is set to the dimensions you want your poster to print at.
3. Printing is first come, first served. During the busiest times of the year (for instance, the end of the semester), we will try to schedule appointments. These appointments can be reserved at tinyurl.com/drew-itc-posters.

Document Size

1. When you create your document in PowerPoint (instructions), Publisher, or another program, use the Page Layout function to make the dimensions of the electronic document conform to the size of the final poster you want before you begin to put in any text or other elements.
   1. Making posters smaller or larger after they've been designed causes formatting problems and pixellated or unclear images.
   2. In PowerPoint, change the "Slides sized for" to "Custom".
2. One dimension must be 40 inches or less. This is due to the size of the poster paper. The other dimension can be smaller or larger, depending on your needs and how much paper is left in the printer. 
   1. Please note: PowerPoint will not allow you to create a poster larger than 56" on one side. 
   2. We recommend using Microsoft Publisher for creating posters that will be larger than 56 inches on any one side.
   3. Publisher will suggest that you use a template. You can start with one of the "Blank sizes" in the "Signs" category (look for one that is 36" on one side), or you can choose "More Blank Page Sizes" and choose "Create new page size" under the Custom heading.
   4. Publisher is not available on the Mac OS, but can be accessed via CloudPC (more information).

Google Slides

If you are creating your file in Google Slides:

1. Size your slide before inserting any content.
   1. Go to File > Page Setup.
   2. Choose Custom.
   3. Enter the width and height.  
   4. Click OK.
2. To print, you will need to save the file to PowerPoint.
   1. Go to File > Download as...> Microsoft PowerPoint (.pptx)
   2. You can do this step after arriving at the ITC.

Document Color

1. As much as possible, please use a white background for your posters. This is to save ink and to avoid a "rippling" effect on the poster itself that may be caused by using too much color. 
   
   1. We encourage you to use white for 50% of the background.
   2. If you prefer to use a color background on a poster, it should be as light as possible. You can also consider using color as a background for certain parts of the poster (such as in textboxes, etc.)
      
      

Images

1. Pictures and Charts should be imported as an image or they may not print properly.
2. Pictures and images from scientific equipment should be sized according to the final dimensions of the poster when it prints out.
   1. If you are exporting an image from scientific software, make sure to export at 200 dpi in .jpg, .png, .gif, or .tiff format. 
3. You cannot make images larger - they will become pixellated and look unprofessional.  Think of how pictures on balloons look when you blow them up.  The same thing happens when you try to make a too-small image bigger in PowerPoint or Publisher.
4. Pay attention to the resolution of images. 
   1. Most images from the web and screenshots from a computer are 72 dpi   You can get nice printouts for images at 72 dpi, but they tend to be too small to fit on posters any larger than 8.5x11
   2. Printed images should ideally be no more than 200 dpi

Charts

Importing Excel Charts to PowerPoint or Publisher

Many times an Excel chart will not be properly imported into Publisher or PowerPoint.  Though the chart may look complete in your layout, problems will arise during printing.  Lines representing data or values on the chart may not print properly.  To avoid this, you will need to use the Paste Special function in PowerPoint or Publisher.  Note that once the chart is imported as an image in Excel, you cannot change it. Therefore, any edits need to be made in Excel before it is copied into PowerPoint.

1. Copy the chart in Excel

2. In the PowerPoint presentation or Publisher file, click the arrow under the Paste button on the Home tab
3. Select Paste Special → Picture (JPEG). This will copy the the Excel chart so that it will print correctly from either program.

PowerPoint and Publisher will put a border around a chart by default.  It is thin and grey, and may not be visible in your PowerPoint slide or poster until you zoom in to look at it closely.  Be sure to plan for this border in your poster layout - there is no way to remove it.

Preparing to Print

1. Save the file to a Drew network drive, Google Drive, or a USB drive or email it to yourself in order to access the files from ITC computers.
   1. We will not print a JPEG file. If you have a JPEG, please insert the file into Publisher or PowerPoint - after sizing - and edit before coming in to print. See "Images" above for more information.
2. The poster printer is in the Instructional Technology Center, Library, Room 110.
   1. Poster printing hours: M-F, 9:00pm - 4:30pm. No posters will be accepted for printing after 4:30pm.
   2. Printing is first come, first served. During the busiest times of the year (for instance, the end of the semester), we will try to schedule appointments. These appointments can be reserved at tinyurl.com/drew-itc-posters.

For multiple posters (for example, for a class or group), department Administrative Assistants and Faculty may contact the University Technology Service Center at x4357 to provide account information and a list of students authorized to print under the account number.

ITC employees will be happy to help you print to the printers and can help you make sure your poster meets these guidelines so that it will print properly to the large format printer.

Cost

Large Format Printer (Poster) Black & White or Color- $5.00/foot

Help Creating a Poster

1. If you need help learning to use Publisher or another program to create your poster, make an appointment by calling the UT Service Center at 973-408-4357.
2. Appointments will be at most 1 hour in length.
3. Appointments can be made M-F 10:00AM-5:00PM
4. MS Publisher is available on the computers in the Vivian A. Bull Academic Commons, in the Library, and via CloudPC (more information).