Tips and Tricks for Creating Large Posters
(Using Microsoft PowerPoint)
This page will give you tips on preparing your poster for printing in order to ensure you have the best quality poster possible. If you have found other tips, please send them to me at melanie.bentley@eku.edu so that I can post them.
- Prepare your workspace by setting up the dimensions of the slide. These dimensions should match that of the finished project.
(Go to page setup and choose "custom" under slides sized for box, then set up the custom height and width of the finished product.)
- If using a colored background, it is best to used muted or pastel colors (dark backgrounds with light writing requires a large amount of ink and will cost you more to print).
- Always use high contrast between the background and the foreground. This will allow your poster to be seen from greater distances. Keep it simple and don't get experimental with colors. Just because you can read it, doesn't necessarily mean someone else can.
- Divide your poster into sections. Always make sure you are consistant with section headings (same font size, weight, style, etc.).
- Use large font (24 pt. should be the smallest font you use) in order to make it visible.
- When inserting photos or pictures, make sure that you begin with a large enough image so that you do not get "pixelation" when the picture is made larger. You should never start with an image that is 1" x 2" and 72 dpi, then "stretch" it to fit in a larger space! It is always better to start with a larger image and reduce the size than a smaller image and increase the size.
- When resizing images, make sure you do so proportionally. Nothing looks worse than a picture that has been "squished" or elongated.
- Resist the urge to overfill and/or underfill space on the poster. If you are given minimum dimensions for your poster, prepare enough information to fill this space. Conversely, if you are given a maximum size, make sure that you add only the information needed in order to fit it on the poster.
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