why? because a large percentage of posters created by users will - - PDF document

imaging made easy

Poster Making for Large Format Printers

how to make a poster

Please sign-in & take a handout (on corner of table…)

The Harvard Medical School is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians. The Harvard Medical School designates this live activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA category 1 Credit ™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. I have no financial relationship with any commercial entities producing, marketing, reselling, or distributing health care related goods, products or services.

making a poster is easy

why?

because a large percentage

• f posters created by users

will not print correctly or at all

until it’s not

Poster Making for Large Format Printers download additional copies of this handout at it.med.harvard.edu/ris

making a poster is easy

• bad font choices
• incorrect image handling
• resized using PowerPoint
• inserted into poster incorrectly
• incorrect image resolution

why not? making a poster is easy

• content
• format
• construction
• resources

seminar agenda

Poster Making for Large Format Printers download additional copies of this handout at it.med.harvard.edu/ris

making a poster is easy

• poster should be self-

explanatory: main points should be conveyed without the presenter being there

• be brief: don’t cram all

your research into one poster

content making a poster is easy

illustrate points with both text and other visual elements

• photos
• illustrations
• charts and/or tables

content

Poster Making for Large Format Printers download additional copies of this handout at it.med.harvard.edu/ris

making a poster is easy

• title
• introduction
• objectives
• methods

content making a poster is easy

• results
• limitations
• conclusions
• (future directions)

content

Poster Making for Large Format Printers download additional copies of this handout at it.med.harvard.edu/ris

making a poster is easy

• literature cited
• (acknowledgments)
• further information

content making a poster is easy format

do’s & don’t’s

PowerPoint do don’t

• use larger font

size and bold type in section headers

• italicize
• use bullets in

section headers

• underline

Poster Making for Large Format Printers download additional copies of this handout at it.med.harvard.edu/ris

making a poster is easy format

do’s & don’t’s

Illustrator & Canvas do don’t

• feel free to use

stylized text, symbols or funky fonts

• forget to convert

text to outlines

• r paths

making a poster is easy format

banner headline

• should be able to be read from 15-20’
• formatted in “sentence case”
• with sans serif font

f f!

sans serif

serif!

Poster Making for Large Format Printers download additional copies of this handout at it.med.harvard.edu/ris

making a poster is easy format

section headings and figure titles*

• bold
• formatted in “sentence case”
• with sans serif font

*only the figure title should be bold, the figure text should not be bold

making a poster is easy

text blocks

• formatted in “sentence case”
• with serif font
• when possible, justify, if not

then align left

format

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum

justified

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum

aligned left

Poster Making for Large Format Printers download additional copies of this handout at it.med.harvard.edu/ris

making a poster is easy

text blocks

• limit average number of words per line in

a text column to about 12

• don’t insert two spaces after a period- it
• nly shows your age
• don’t capitalize entire paragraphs

format making a poster is easy

text blocks

• flow of information should be obvious
• format the content into columns or a grid
• don’t crowd the edges- leave 1 !”

around all poster edges

format

Poster Making for Large Format Printers download additional copies of this handout at it.med.harvard.edu/ris

making a poster is easy construction

do’s & don’t’s

do don’t

• Refer to poster

printing instructions or your service bureau for acceptable file types & other details

• Wait until the

last minute

construction

download PowerPoint poster templates

download a 36” x 48” PowerPoint poster template to print at 100%

!

for a 48” x 72” poster, download a 24” x 36” PowerPoint poster template to print at 200%!

it.med.harvard.edu !

resources

Poster Making for Large Format Printers download additional copies of this handout at it.med.harvard.edu/ris

construction

• versized posters

when using PowerPoint to make a poster that is larger than 56” in either dimension

• set your custom page setup to be
• ne half of the target dimension
• double the resolution of your

inserted images (250-400 dpi for photos & 450 dpi for illustrations, etc.)

• notify service bureau that it should

be printed at 200% issues construction strategy

workflow do’s & don’t’s

do don’t

• layout all your

text first, then

• insert rectangles

to act as placeholders for your images

• create any images

for your poster until you’ve determined exactly what physical dimension is needed

Poster Making for Large Format Printers download additional copies of this handout at it.med.harvard.edu/ris

construction strategy

workflow

• consult submission

guidelines for poster size &

• rientation
• in PowerPoint use Page

Setup to correctly size poster

• Insert text content
• edit text for style, size

& brevity

• determine target size for

rasters

• insert Rectangles as

image place holders

• edit rasters in Photoshop
• file type, physical

dimension, orientation, color mode, crop, resolution

• Insert edited rasters into

poster

• Paste or paste special…

vectors into poster

• Align text boxes, rasters

and vectors, group

construction mac

set poster size

Poster Making for Large Format Printers download additional copies of this handout at it.med.harvard.edu/ris

construction PowerPoint 2010 on a PC

set poster size

select Design Tab select Page Setup set Custom poster size

construction workflow

add content: text

Poster Making for Large Format Printers download additional copies of this handout at it.med.harvard.edu/ris

construction PowerPoint on a PC

pc text box tool

Office 2003 Office 2010

construction PowerPoint on a Mac

mac text box tool

Office 2011 Office 2004 Poster Making for Large Format Printers download additional copies of this handout at it.med.harvard.edu/ris

construction workflow

edit content: text

• edit for brevity
• choose font type and style
• set font size
• edit again for brevity

construction workflow

construction do’s & don’t’s

do don’t

use common fonts:

• arial and times

are good.

• therwise georgia,

verdana and trebuchet ms will

be least problematic

use unusual fonts:

• just because you have

300 fonts doesn’t mean you should use each

• f them

– may diminish credibility – may be problematic to print

Poster Making for Large Format Printers download additional copies of this handout at it.med.harvard.edu/ris

image handling images defined

raster or vector?

Object type Characteristics Examples Usual file types Editing & insertion method Raster objects

• Pixel based
• Described in terms of

resolution (dpi)

• aka bitmap
• Cannot grab object &

stretch to resize larger

• Photographs
• All images from

Scanners Microscopes cameras

• All .tif, .jpg, .png & .gif

files

• .tif
• .jpg
• .png
• .gif
• Photoshop
• Insert >Picture

From File Vector objects

• No pixels / no

resolution

• Mathematical

algorithm

• OK to grab object &

stretch to resize larger

• Illustrations
• Text objects
• Drawing tool objects
• Tables, charts &

graphs

• Never .tif, .jpg, .png
• r .gif file type
• .eps
• .ps
• .pdf
• .ppt, .ai, .cnv
• Either the

application it was created in

• r Office

(ungroup)

• Never

Photoshop

• Paste Special

Rasters that were vectors

• Pixel based
• Described in dpi
• aka bitmap
• Cannot grab object &

stretch to resize larger

• Scanned Illustrations
• Illustrations that have

been ‘rasterized’

• All .tif, .jpg & .gif files

Often

• .tif .jpg
• .png .gif

Occasionally

• .eps
• Photoshop
• Insert >

Picture From File

image handling raster images

photos, scans & bitmaps

the number one reason for a poster failing to print properly is that it contains an raster image that was RESIZED WITHIN POWERPOINT

Poster Making for Large Format Printers download additional copies of this handout at it.med.harvard.edu/ris

image handling raster images

photos, scans & bitmaps

don’t use PowerPoint to edit raster images

• prepare raster images with Photoshop

so it has the correct physical dimension, resolution, color mode and file type

• once edited with Photoshop, there

should be no need to resize raster images within PowerPoint

image handling raster images

photos, scans & bitmaps

failing to properly prepare images could result in a poster that will not print. to minimize risk:

• prepare images using a photo editing

application like Photoshop

• do not insert high-resolution images
• do not copy and paste images into PowerPoint,

instead, Insert > Picture > From File. . .

• do not resize images once inserted

in PowerPoint

Poster Making for Large Format Printers download additional copies of this handout at it.med.harvard.edu/ris

image handling raster images

using Photoshop

• adjust size, resolution or crop
• adjust brightness & contrast
• set correct color mode
• rgb if color
• grayscale if b&w
• set correct file type
• flattened tiff
• jpg
• png

image handling raster images

edit content: image placeholders

Poster Making for Large Format Printers download additional copies of this handout at it.med.harvard.edu/ris

image handling raster sizing

pc shapes tool

Office 2003 Office 2010

image handling raster sizing

mac shapes tool

Office 2011 Office 2004 Poster Making for Large Format Printers download additional copies of this handout at it.med.harvard.edu/ris

image handling raster sizing

edit content: determine image size

Office 2003-2004

• double-click on the

image placeholder rectangle to get the format AutoShape dialog box

• the size tab will

show how big to make images image handling raster sizing

edit content: determine image size

Office 2010-2011

• double-click on the image placeholder rectangle

to get the Format tools and information

Office 2011 Office 2010 Poster Making for Large Format Printers download additional copies of this handout at it.med.harvard.edu/ris

image handling raster sizing

edit content: determine resolution

• if printing poster at 100%
• 125-200 dpi for photos
• at least 225 dpi if image has text or

illustrations

• if printing at 200%
• 250-400 dpi for photos
• at least 450 dpi if image has text or

illustrations

image handling raster sizing with Photoshop

edit content: resizing rasters

REDUCING resolution or image size? DO RESAMPLE image INCREASING resolution or image size? DO NOT RESAMPLE image

Poster Making for Large Format Printers download additional copies of this handout at it.med.harvard.edu/ris

image handling PowerPoint on a PC

add content: rasters

• in PowerPoint, insert your image files-

do not copy & paste

Office 2010 Office 2003

image handling PowerPoint on a Mac

add content: rasters

• in PowerPoint, insert your image files-

do not copy & paste

Office 2011 Office 2004 Poster Making for Large Format Printers download additional copies of this handout at it.med.harvard.edu/ris

image handling vector images

• edit with application that

created vector

• edit within PowerPoint
• DO NOT edit with *Photoshop

edit content:

• ptions for vectors

*versions of PowerPoint released after 2007 may necessitate making a raster file of some vectors image handling

when vectors automatically rasterize

• don’t use the PowerPoint-generated

raster, instead make a raster from the

• riginal drawing or scientific application
• Export or Save As… a very high

resolution JPG, PNG or TIF file

• then use Photoshop to resize the resulting

raster file to the correct physical dimension and resolution

vector images

Poster Making for Large Format Printers download additional copies of this handout at it.med.harvard.edu/ris

image handling vector images

add content: vectors

Copy & Paste Paste Special…

• on the Mac with

Office 2008 or Office 2011

• on the PC, in any

version of Office

• on the Mac with

Office 2004 or earlier

when to Copy & Paste, when to Paste Special… image handling vector images

add content: vectors

whether you Copy & Paste or Paste Special… select the object in the source document and Copy

Poster Making for Large Format Printers download additional copies of this handout at it.med.harvard.edu/ris

image handling Vectors, PowerPoint 2010 on a PC

Paste Special…

Office 2010

P a s t e O p t i

• n

s

• into target document, as a Picture

PowerPoint 2010 users

• Picture (Windows Metafile) or
• Picture (Enhanced Metafile)

image handling Vectors, PowerPoint 2004 on a Mac

Paste Special…

• into target document, as a Picture

Office 2004 Poster Making for Large Format Printers download additional copies of this handout at it.med.harvard.edu/ris

image handling Paste Special… vector editing

edit content

resize vectors by grabbing handle and dragging

image handling

edit content

ungroup vectors for additional editing features right-click (pc) or control-click (mac)

• bject for Group options

Paste Special… vector editing Poster Making for Large Format Printers download additional copies of this handout at it.med.harvard.edu/ris

image handling

edit content

select the vector object, then the Format Tab to ungroup objects Office 2011 Office 2010

ungroup vectors for additional editing features

Paste Special… vector editing

image handling

edit content

additional editing features become available if you ungroup vector

• bjects

Paste Special… vector editing Poster Making for Large Format Printers download additional copies of this handout at it.med.harvard.edu/ris

image handling vector images

add content: vectors

Office 2008 or 2011 on a Mac

• Copy from source document
• Paste into target document
• resize and edit elements

do not Paste Special… do not Ungroup

image handling

edit content

• change background and object

colors

• remove ‘chart junk’
• change font size and style
• edit, add or remove labels
• move objects

when done, it’s a good idea to Group all elements so things stay placed

vector editing Poster Making for Large Format Printers download additional copies of this handout at it.med.harvard.edu/ris

image handling

additional tools

• use the Arrange and Align tools to

position any kind of element

text elements, vectors and rasters

making a poster is easy minimizing risks

• leave time to make

corrections if first printing has problems

• carefully proofread printed

poster, especially if poster contains scientific symbols

• r equations

letting go

Poster Making for Large Format Printers download additional copies of this handout at it.med.harvard.edu/ris

making a poster is easy resources

it.med.harvard.edu

• templates
• recipes
• printing services

downloads

making a poster is easy thanks

• University of Buffalo Libraries
• Colin Purrington, Department of

Biology, Swarthmore College

• Society for Academic Emergency

Medicine

Acknowledgements

Poster Making for Large Format Printers download additional copies of this handout at it.med.harvard.edu/ris

questions? comments?

Beth Beighlie b2@hms.harvard.edu 432-2323

it.med.harvard.edu

Poster Making for Large Format Printers download additional copies of this handout at it.med.harvard.edu/ris