Posters should measure 24 inches by 36 inches and be created at 300 ppi or dpi. They must be saved as .jpg or .jpeg files and submitted via the poster printing request form. Posters submitted after 5:00 p.m. on April 14, 2023, will not be printed. Students will need to seek off-campus printing options at stores such as Staples or the UPS Store.

The library has agreed to pay for the first copy of all project posters. Students who need more than one copy will have to pay for them at the normal rate.

Printing request form

Mounting your poster

Once your poster has been printed, you should go to the Academic Affairs office in Suite 202 of the Ross Administration Building to obtain a 24-inch-by-36-inch piece of foam core and a set of binder clips to mount it. You should not use spray adhesive or tape on the foam. After the event, your board and clips will be collected and reused next year.

Tips for creating your poster

It is important to note that your poster may look clear to you on your screen, but when blown up to poster size, it may be blurry. Below are the steps to prevent this, based on the method used to create the poster.

Students who need to have their posters reprinted due to mistakes or low resolution will be charged for each reprint at the regular rate.

Adobe Photoshop

Create a document that is 24 inches by 36 inches and specify 300 ppi. When your poster is done, save as a .jpg.

InDesign

Create a document that is 24 inches by 36 inches. Use Photoshop or Illustrator to create and/or edit your photos, making sure they are 300 ppi at the dimensions you will use them on your poster.

When you're finished with your poster, export it as a hi-res .jpg file. 

Microsoft Publisher

  • Create a document that is 24 inches by 36 inches.
  • When finished, click on "File > save as."
  • Using the drop down box for "Save as type," select JPEG File Interchange format.
  • Under resolution, click change; select High quality printing or commercial press (300 dpi) option.
  • Save.

Microsoft PowerPoint

Some students create their files with PowerPoint, but just saving it as a JPEG, even if you select the 300 dpi resolution, will lead to a blurry poster. You have to convert it to a PDF, then convert it to a JPEG.

First, create the slide the correct size.

  • Start a new blank presentation.
  • Select the "Design" tab and choose "Slide Size" from the ribbon.
  • Choose "Custom Slide Size" and make the slide 24 inches by 36 inches. Choose portrait or landscape.

When you're done creating your poster:

  • In PowerPoint, File > Save as
  • Using drop down box for Save as type, select PDF
  • Save
  • The file will automatically open in Acrobat after being saved

Adobe Acrobat Pro

  • File > save as other
  • Using the drop down box for Save as type, select JPEG File Interchange format

or

  • Go to Tools > export file as JPEG File Interchange format

If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Pro, you can use an online converter such as pdf2jpg.net or pdftoimage.com.