Overview

The Applied Population Laboratory has the capability to print large format items, including posters, maps, and banners. We print professional documents on high quality satin photo paper, such as 51 lb. 8 mil. Sihl Maranello Photo Paper.

Please consider the following guidelines when preparing your document.

Guidelines

Either width or height must be less than or equal to 41”; the other dimension may be larger. (Note: PowerPoint restricts width size to 56”). Even though many conferences allocate a large amount of space for posters, we suggest limiting the size of your poster to 41” by 55”. You may want your poster to be smaller if you do not have a lot of graphics. Please contact us if you need a poster outside of these limits.

The best software for designing your poster and ensuring plotter compatibility is Adobe InDesign. The second best, and more available, option is Microsoft PowerPoint. See below for tips for designing within PowerPoint.

The APL is willing to help and give advice for poster creation. If we spend significant time with you, we will charge an hourly rate ($100/hour).

We ask for one week’s notice to guarantee completion of your large format item. Contact us if you need a poster in less than a week’s time; we can usually work with you.

The following costs are for University of Wisconsin- Madison faculty, staff, and students and other APL affiliates. Documents size 35” by 45” or smaller will be charged a $75 printing fee. Documents up to 41” by 55” will be charged a $100 printing fee. Fees for larger documents will need to be discussed on an individual basis. We will provide you with a receipt or bill to a fund.

Large format items are available for pickup in our offices located in 316 Agricultural Hall. Tubes are provided for transport.

Please contact Dave Long with any additional questions or to schedule large format printing.

1. 1. Select File, then Page Setup, and enter the size (width and height) you want your poster to be. Select View, then Zoom, to zoom in and out to see how big images will actually print on your poster (i.e., 100%) or to fit the whole poster onto the screen (i.e., “fit”).
2. 2. Create all text in PowerPoint text boxes; do not import text from another file.
3. 3. All graphics should be pictures (e.g., .jpg, .tif, .gif) inserted directly into PowerPoint (NOT linked from another program). Insert a picture by selecting Insert, then Picture, then directing to the file, OR copy the image as a picture and paste directly into your PowerPoint file. To copy an Excel chart or graph as a picture: select the area you want to copy, hold the Shift key, select Edit, then Copy Picture. You can then paste the image into the PowerPoint document. Be sure that logos and other images are high-resolution (otherwise they will look grainy in such a large format.) Do not cut and paste logos from the web—ask your departmental assistant for a logo file if you need one.
4. 4. Save your poster as .ppt file. Also, print to a PDF file and save. To print as a PDF, select File, then Print. Under Printer Name select Adobe PDF. Select Properties and change Default Settings from “Standard” to “High Quality Print,” then click OK. Select the “scale to fit paper” box at the bottom of the dialogue box. Finally, click Print to save the PDF file. Make sure the PDF file looks correct. If it does not, go back and edit, and check to be sure that you have selected the “scale to fit paper box.”
5. 5. Send both the .ppt file and a PDF version of the poster to the APL. If you use InDesign or another program, send the original and the PDF.
6. 6. If you don't want to hassle with a 3-4' long tube, consider splitting your large poster into two smaller ones as shown in the example below.

Occasionally, we run into printing complications. If there are problems printing your poster, we may need files for each of the graphics in it. We will ask you if this is the case.