Designing and Printing Posters
CNS has a plotter which is able to print large format posters and other larger documents. If you are printing a large format poster, use the information below to have the best and most effecient printing experience. Please note that the plotter is first come first serve so we recommend coming at minimum 24hours before you need the poster completed.
Before you Start Creating Your Poster
1. Decide where to you will save your work:
- Use a Flash drive
- Store on OneDrive
2. Create a folder in your designated space and give it a name. Here you will store the poster template (save it there) and all associated documents (spreadsheets, images, exports from SPSS, etc.).
3. Start with your content – create a document that has the appropriate headings that also appear on the posters and templates:
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Method
- Results
- Conclusions
- References
- Acknowledgments
** This list may change according to the specific guidelines or preferences of the faculty member.**
4. Do all text editing in the document, including spelling and grammar checks.
5. Once ready to make your poster, choose a template or open PowerPoint to design from scratch. If designing from scratch, make sure to change the size of the slide to 36"height) by 48" (width).
6. Copy and paste the text into the appropriate box. Insert images and choose colors. See the Branding and Style Guide for official ESF colors.
Design Tips
Know your audience
Take into consideration how and where it will be displayed
- Will you be with the poster at all times or will people be able to view the poster without you there to provide additional informatio?
- Will you be in a smaller space or a large space with many other posters?
Make sure fonts, images, and elements are large enough to be seen from a few feet away. Use this PDF guide to help with designing your poster.
Make sure your images have a minimum of 1080 resolution; the larger the image the better it will show up. Smaller images that look okay on the computer will be blurry when printed.
If including charts, graphs, or data tables format them in Excel or Word to be 8.5x11 and export them as a PDF or an image before inserting into your poster.