Introduction
Putting it Together
Tips for Design
Getting Your File to BCU

Special Note: With the advent of large format color inkjet printers the production of large color poster sessions is finally becoming practical and affordable. Instead of taking weeks and thousands of dollars to produce, many posters can be made in a few days and depending on size and resolution will only cost between a few dollars to several hundred.

Our resources give us the capability of creating a complete poster with title, blocks of text, graphics, and digitized photographs all in one layout, printed in color, and in any format. These posters can be rolled up for easy transport, easy setup, and can be laminated for further protection.

The following information should assist you in planning for your next poster session.

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Biomedical Communications Unit can create your poster session for you from scratch. Simply bring in your clean slides/photos, graphs/charts, and text (preferably already typed in a word processing program), and any specifications laid out by the people hosting your poster session. For best results give us two weeks to create and make your poster.

- Or -

You can design it and we'll print it!

Or you can create it yourself and send/bring it to us in digital form.

Software programs that are most often used for poster construction are PowerPoint, PageMaker, and FreeHand. If you wish to use another package please contact BCU before you develop the poster to make sure it is compatible with our services.

Whichever program you may use, there are a few tips to know.

- Before you design anything, make sure your page setup/size is set correctly.

- Page Size needs to be set at exactly the size you want it printed at. PowerPoint has a maximum size of 54in by 54in. Freehand has a maximum of 5feet by 5feet, and Pagemaker maxes out at 48inches. Keep this in mind when you chose your layout program.

- The printer is not capably of printing all the way to the edge of the paper. Therefore you will want to make sure you have a 3/4inch margin around the outside of your poster otherwise some of your text will get cut off.

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The visual arrangement of the elements of your poster should invite and be legible by readers from a distance of 3 feet or more. You should organize your materials in a horizontal or vertical format in 3 or 4 sections. Americans are accustomed to reading from left to right, but no reader enjoys trying to follow a jumpy arrangement of items. A logical, smooth progression from introduction to conclusion is ideal. It may be helpful to sketch out the planned elements and rearrange them until you achieve a coherent, easy-to-read poster.

Type sizes affect visual perception of text, graphs and titles. 120-point type is advised for your title, and 14 point is the smallest advised for text. Numbers of graphs and charts may need to be smaller, however. Often the hosting organization will have guidelines for text sizes…make sure you check with them.

Graphics, such as charts or illustrations are a plus! Readers are put off by lengthy text. (How many poster sessions have you actually taken the time to read lately?!?) Graphics can effectively take the place of text. Graphics also draw people’s attention to your poster.

Color can create a dynamic display. Visual studies show that bright reds, oranges and yellows can be a distracting irritant, while subtle blues and grays are calming and appealing. Colored and textured backgrounds can be appealing, and are no more expensive to print out, just make sure the texture doesn’t distract from the text.

Color photographs are attention grabbing, and very effective when combined with concise, legible captions. Make sure that you scan them at 150 dpi at the exact size they will be when printed. Ex: If the dimensions of your image file is only 2inches wide and you blow it up to 12 inches on your poster you will notice a considerable drop in picture quality. Scans made at 72dpi are still adequate for poster sessions since they will be viewed several feet away, but you should never need to use a higher resolution that 150dpi. It will just slow your computer down, hog valuable computer resources and not make a noticeable difference to the human eye when printed out.

Elements in your poster should include: title (shorten your title for dramatic impact), statement of purpose or introduction, procedures, main findings, and conclusion.

Handouts are an excellent idea. Your poster can draw the attention of viewers, and a handout can give them more detailed information about your research, and can be available for those who wish to read it on the plane trip home. Make sure you list your phone number and email for follow-up collaboration.

Don’t forget…a mailing tube to carry your poster in and pins, tape, or Velcro to secure it to the presentation board once you get there. BCU has many of these supplies for sell.

When you’re done Always make sure you have saved a backup file. Do not send us your only file!!!

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More than likely your final file will be too large to fit on a 3.5" floppy disk. However, BCU does support zip drives on both Macintosh and PC computers. Or send it to us electronically using FTP or Macintosh Apple Talk.

If you have a Macintosh and are hooked up to the

WSU Ethernet you can transfer files using AppleTalk.

1. We’ll have to take our production machine off line to hook it up to the Ethernet, so call us first. Then…

2. Turn on Apple Talk

3. Open Zone 116

4. Find the BCU Incoming directory by using guest login.

5. Create a directory with your name, and place your files in it. Remember to call BCU so we know that you’ve picked up the files or that you have dropped some off to be processed.

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