Creating a Research Poster

Before beginning:

PowerPoint is a good tool for creating ressearch posters. Many people are comfortable using it, and the files it creates are small and easy to back up and send to collaborators. However, while PowerPoint can create very complex slides with many layers, it is unfortunately unable to print slides with more than 4. An example of a 4 layered document that will print from PowerPoint is a rectangle border under an image under another rectangle under your text. If you plan on including more than 4 layers of material, Photoshop would be a more appropriate tool. Photoshop will allow you to create complex and many-layered documents and then flatten them for printing.

As soon as you know you are going to use the plotter:

 Reserve an appointment to print your poster.

  • To  make a reservation to use the Clapp or Science plotter:

 

Reserve the plotter for 1 hour per poster. If there are no problems with your document, it will print in around 30 minutes. We add the extra time to the reservation in case there are problems with the file.

Create a new poster file:

  1. Open a new document in PowerPoint.
  2. Choose the Design Tab and click Page Setup
  3. Choose Slide Sized For > Custom
  4. Set Width to 46.5 and Height to 33
  5. Choose the Landscape (horizontal) orientation for the Slides.
  6. Click OK .

Create your poster using the following tips:

  1. Use generic fonts (it needs to be cross-platform!)
  2. Concentrate on your main points. Too much text will make your text too small and hard to read.
  3. Follow the rules of CRAP to make your poster easier to read

C - color and contrast (make background colors and text in high contrast)
R - repetition (use the same colors, fonts and font sizes throughout your document)
A - alignment (choose a strong alignment with or without columns)
P - proximity and placement (consider spacing and how elements are arranged)

When you arrive at the plotter:

Printing In the Knapp Media & Technology Center (printing from a Mac):

  1. Save a copy of your document to the computer's desktop. DO NOT work with a document from a desk or on the network.
  2. Open your poster file in PowerPoint.
  3. Choose File > Page Setup
  4. Click Options
  5. Choose Format for > Stylus Pro 9800
  6. Choose Paper Size > A0 > A0
  7. Choose the second button (landscape) for Orientation
  8. Set Scale to 100% if it's not already
  9. Click OK
  10. Click OK to close the Page Setup window
  11. Choose File > Print
  12. Choose Printer: Stylus Pro 9800
  13. Choose Presets: Epson Glossy Paper or Epson Luster Paper depending on what is displayed as the current paper type on the top of the plotter.
  14. View the poster in the preview window to make sure it looks correct.
  15. Click Print
  16. If you receive an error saying that some post-script specific settings will be ignored, click OK .



Printing In the Science Library (printing from a PC):

  1. Save a copy of your document to the computer's desktop. DO NOT work with a document from a disk or on the network.
    Open your poster file in PowerPoint.
    Choose File > Print
  2. Choose Name Epson Stylus Pro 9600 - Large Format Plotter Printer
  3. Click Properties
  4. In the Main tab:
    1. Media Type: Select Premium Glossy Photo Paper (250) or Premium Luster Photo Paper (260) depending on what is displayed as the currently inserted paper on the top of the plotter.
    2. Ink: Color/B&W Photo
    3. Mode:
      1. Automatic 
      2. Set arrow tab at the Quality end
      3. Select EPSON Standard (sRGB) in dropdown.
    4. Check Print Preview 
  5. In the Paper tab:
    1. Paper Source: Roll Paper
    2. Check Borderless
    3. AutoCut: Select Normal Cut
    4. Paper Size: Select SuperAO 914x1292mm
    5. Copies: 1
    6. Orientation: Landscape
  6. Click OK
  7. In the Print menu, click OK
  8. The Epson Print Preview window will pop up
  9. View the poster in the preview window to make sure it looks correct.
  10. Click Print at the top

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