Tech Tip: Creating and Printing a Large Format Poster

Some faculty, staff, and students may not know that Technology Services can produce printing projects for instructional use.  We can help with designing and producing poster presentations for faculty and student research presentations or department and office events.  We can print small quantities, 20 copies or less.  Lamination is available for projects that are 24" wide or less.

More information about the services available can be found on our Technology Graphic Design Production web page.

Here are some quick tips for designing your large format poster:

Before Going to the Computer - find the major points in your paper or presentation and limit yourself to information (text, images, graphics, charts, etc.) that supports those points.  Too much information will make it hard to read.

What Software to Use - If you do not have access to graphic design programs like Adobe Photoshop or InDesign, we recommend using Microsoft PowerPoint to create your large format poster.  Most people have used PowerPoint before to create presentations and it will give you more control over the text placement and sizes.  You can change the slide size to your final print size without having a printer that will print that size yourselves.

Picking a Poster Layout - Most people use a two column or three column layout because, in most cases, a single column could make your viewers scan 30 inches or more for a single sentence.

Using Titles and Text - When designing your poster, remember to use an easy to read font unless your poster topic calls for a specialty font.  Color can be used but too much can distract from what you are trying to say.

Using Graphics, Charts, Logos - Make sure any graphics, logos, charts, etc. you plan to use are your own work, copyright free, or you have permission to use them.  Remember to use the highest resolution for those graphics and logos, because if it's too low, the image will be pixilated and won't look clear when enlarged to fit the poster.

For more information on designing a large format poster, see ourBest Practices handout.