Computing at UW-MadisonDivision of Information Technology
Students Faculty/Staff Services Services A through D Services E through L Services M through R Services S through Z Help Desk Tech Store About DoIT   

Digital Media Center @ Biotech

Guidelines on Poster Printing

Designing a Poster

Please use Photoshop, InDesign, or Illustrator to design your poster. We do not recommend using Microsoft PowerPoint. If you've already designed your poster in PowerPoint, we can help you convert it. Keep in mind, however, this conversion process does not guarantee a successful print. We have additional information available on converting Powerpoint below.

  • Poster Size: You can use two paper sizes: either a 36" roll or a 44" roll. This printer automatically scales all prints to allow for a .115 inch margin on both sides. If this is an issue for you, design your poster to 1" smaller than this - so design your poster to either a 35" width or a 43" width.
  • Resolution: Set the resolution between 120 and 200 dpi. You can go up to 300 dpi but this usually results in large, unwieldy files.
  • Color Matching: The Canon iPF8000 is a 12-color pigment ink system with LUCIA inks. Most people are happy with the color output. However, we are not a color correction facility, so if you need higher end color matching you may want to consider another service. If color matching is an issue, please be prepared for the additional time and cost of printing test strips.
  • Fonts: Be sure to embed your fonts. You can give us a call if you're not sure how to do this. To eliminate font issues you can save in a rasterized format, like TIFF, so that your document becomes an image and fonts cease to exist. Note, however, by saving your file as an image you forfeit the ability to easily make last minute text corrections.
  • Images: If you insert (place) images in your poster, they can be linked or embedded. Images are usually linked by default and this means you have to bring them on the disk with your poster. If you choose to embed your images, they actually become part of the poster document. This will increase its size, but perhaps make it easier to manage and more portable. (click here for instructions)
  • The UW logo: Official copies of the UW logo are available online. Be sure to read and follow the usage policy.
  • Proofing: You will be asked to give a final ok on your poster before it is sent to the printer. If your poster prints with user created errors (ex. spelling mistakes, font issues, PowerPoint conversion issues, etc.) you will be responsible for paying for the print. We ask that you stay present during the print so if you see something is wrong the print can be stopped and keep your cost to a minimum. We may be able to print your poster over if time allows, but you will be responsible to pay for both prints.

What to Expect at your Appointment

  • Please be on time for your appointment. If you are running late please call and find out if we will still be able to fit your print in. Late appointments may be cancelled if it affects later printing appointments.
  • Bring your poster on a CD, USB drive, or on the campus network for easy retrieval on arrival.
  • For every poster print you should bring a copy of your DoIT number or a credit card. If you are bringing a departmental credit card, please also be sure to bring your departmental UDDS number. Also, be sure to bring your own poster tube because we do not sell them at the DMC.
  • Though the actual printing of the poster takes under 30 minutes, depending on the size, we schedule our appointments for longer to leave space between appointments and time for unexpected problems or last minute changes. To avoid overcompensating with these margins, we appreciate it when labs all printing posters schedule one long joint appointment, which goes by much more quickly without the transition time.
  • The first thing you will be asked to do is to take a minute to thoroughly read through your poster, fixing the inevitable last minute typos.
  • When your poster is finished, we will ask you to sign a copy of the receipt for our records and you'll get a receipt to take back your your department's accountant or for your own records.

Printing in PowerPoint

PowerPoint is a very useful program for creating presentations quickly and easily. It is not, however, designed to print out on such a large scale. For this reason, printing from PowerPoint is erratic at best. From design elements like gradients, to even important content pieces like graphs, all have presented critical errors in the past. At the DMC, we are able to convert your PowerPoint file to minimize the risk with great success, but that risk still remains, which is why misprints on PowerPoint documents are only reprinted at cost to the customer.

If you do not know another program with which to make a poster, please remember the DMC is a teaching lab open to all faculty, staff, and graduate students. Our knowledgeable staff will be able to walk you through the whole process.