Making Posters: Printing Large-Formats on the GIS_Plotter

Disclaimer: Poster-printing on the GIS_Plotter is a service for members of the Grinnell College campus community. Posters for academic purposes have first priority, followed by posters for college-sponsored events. Staff time permitting, the Grinnell College Libraries will sometimes print, at the charges specified below, personal posters for employees of the college, as well as posters related to community-service events and activities in the City of Grinnell. The Libraries reserve the right to limit the number of posters made for college employees and for community-service events and activities. Under no circumstances may the GIS_Plotter be used to print posters advocating candidates in elections--either for on-campus offices or for public office.

The Grinnell College Libraries' DesignJet 1050C plotter is great for making large-format posters. Since plotter was acquired in the fall of 2001, it has been used to run posters for students, faculty and staff from nearly every department for poster sessions and other presentations. Following are instructions to help you use the GIS_Plotter.

Accessing the Plotter

 

The plotter can be selected from only a few computers on campus and can be released from its paused state from only three computers. The reason for this is to avoid mistakes resulting in unwanted posters. Science division faculty and students generally work through the science office to use the plotter. [See below.] Others directly contact library staff member, Beth Bohstedt (x4298 [a.m.] or x3360 [p.m.], bohstedt@grinnell.edu).

 

To help ensure that you have your poster when you need it, let staff know a couple days in advance that you want to print a poster. We're happy to help but, because we are not always available, we strongly suggest that you make an appointment. Between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday is best for staff. Posters for academic projects have highest priority.

 

Paper

 

Posters are limited to 36 inches on one dimension (the width of the paper feed on the plotter) and between 10 inches to theoretically 100-150 feet (the length of an entire roll) on the other dimension. Printing on smaller paper or different types of paper and vellum is possible, but currently the library stocks only two choices of 36-inch paper--glossy or coated. Glossy is more "photo-like," but as you see below, it is also more expensive. Coated is more like standard paper. We have found that coated paper holds its color better than glossy. Colors on both papers will fade more quickly if left in direct sunlight. Special paper requests must be made in advance, and will be purchased only if the library is guaranteed sufficient demand to pay for it. The person making the poster may supply special paper to the library if it is a type recommended for use in DesignJet 1050C plotters (see DesignJet Hewlett Packard for acceptable paper).

 

Cost

 

Basic charges for posters are:

$ 5 coated 36" paper, up to 48" in length

 

$15 glossy 36" paper, up to 48" in length

 

$ 5 extra for "enhanced" printing (use of enhanced printing is not necessary generally) and dark backgrounds.

Charges for additional length include:

$1.25 per foot coated

 

$3 per foot glossy

 

$1.25 per foot "enhanced" and dark background printing

Patrons are expected to pay for their posters when then pick them up or provide an account number to which the poster(s) may be charged. Typically, departments have been accepting charges for posters made for classes or other academic purposes. Patrons printing posters for personal use will pay an extra $5 per poster and 6% sales tax.

 

Making a Poster

 

Most posters have been created using Powerpoint, but others have been printed from Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator and pdf files. Publication software, such as Microsoft Publisher is not suited for poster printing. If you are unsure whether your software will work, please contact Beth Bohstedt (bohstedt@grinnell.edu) before you create your poster. The science department has developed a recommended Powerpoint template (instructions below) for its students and faculty to use. Basics for anyone using Powerpoint include the following:

1. A poster is made from a single slide. In Powerpoint, choose "blank presentation" for the greatest flexibility, or select a Design Template if desired.
2. Select an auto-layout; the blank choice at lower right offers greatest flexibility.
3. On the File drop-down menu, go to "Page Setup."

• From the drop-down menu for "Slides sized for," select "Custom."
• Choose portrait or landscape orientation.
• Set the dimensions of your poster, remembering that one dimension must be limited to 36 inches.

1. After closing the page setup box, your layout space will be shown as white on the gray background. Rulers at the top and left show the dimensions youíve chosen. Make sure all the elements on your poster are within the layout dimensions before you print; anything outside these dimensions will not appear on your poster.
2. From the "Insert" menu, you can add to your layout text boxes and pictures from files. (The white box to the left of your layout is template driven, and can be ignored if you are using a blank presentation).
3. A white box on the toolbar shows either a percentage or a description of current zoom level. As you are working, you should check how your poster elements will look at 100% (the actual size on the printed poster). This is especially important for images that could be unacceptable when enlarged**. Before you print, zoom to "fit" to see the entire poster in the layout.

How you design your poster will affect the ease with which you can print it, how long printing will take, and the cost. High-resolution photos and detailed graphs can add substantially to the size of your file. Large files may be difficult to email and will be slow to print. Dark backgrounds take longer to print and cost extra because they use a lot of ink.

 

**Tip for making a small image poster-sized: Print Options, accessed from the File menu of Adobe Photoshop, allows enlarging of original images with excellent results.

 

Printing to the plotter

• Check print preview on the File drop-down to make sure you like the way your poster looks. If "print preview" is not available or if you want a letter-sized copy of your poster, check "Scale to fit paper" in the print box and send it through a regular printer.
• Contact Beth Bohstedt at Burling Library when you are ready to print. Science students are encouraged to go through Stephanie Peterson in the Science Division Office. Tell the person you've contacted whether you want glossy or coated paper, and how you want to pay for your poster.
• Your contact will tell you to send your poster as a file attachment - or, if the poster is too large, where to put the poster on the network.
• After you have been notified that your poster has printed, you can pick it up at the circulation desk of Burling Library. Bring cash if your poster has not been charged to a department.

Following are instructions from the Science Division for students using its poster template. Included are some tips that could be helpful to all who are designing posters using Powerpoint.

 

Creating a poster using Powerpoint [using Science Template]

Your poster will be created on a single slide in Powerpoint.

Open the template at Storageserver>Projects>Bio>Bio150>Bio150 Poster Templates, and SAVE AS to your computer or network account.

 

Do NOT alter the Page Setup; it is set up for the correct poster size (36x44). Instructions for printing an 8-1/2x11 preview and the final large-format poster are at the end of this document. Find the Zoom display on the toolbar (displayed as %). Use the pull-down menu from the small arrow just to the right of the Zoom display to zoom in, for viewing smaller text.

 

Recommended sizes for your text are: Title: 90-120 pt. Author & advisor: 72-90 pt. Headers: 60 pt. Text: 18 pt, though 24 pt is recommended for your conclusions.

 

To enter text: Move the pointer arrow over the text ñ the pointer changes to an I-beam to indicate that you can click and then type. The size of the textbox should automatically adjust as you type. Many of the icons on the toolbar for formatting text are the same as those in Word.

 

To paste text from Word: Copy the selected text in Word. Insert the cursor into a textbox in your Powerpoint poster. Paste. You may need to readjust the font size of the pasted text. Alternatively, you can choose Paste Special from the Edit menu, then choose Unformatted Text. The pasted text should take on the formatting already selected in your textbox.

 

To resize a textbox (or image, or table): If you need to resize a textbox, click on the outline of it (the appearance of the outline will change from striped to shaded, with resizing handles on the corners), then click and drag a resizing handle to make the area larger or smaller. This resizing technique will work for pictures and tables as well.

 

To insert a new text box: Use the New Textbox icon on the drawing toolbar. Click on the icon, then click and drag for the size of the textbox you want to create. To alter the color of the box fill or the line around it, click on the outer edge of the textbox to select it, and from the Format menu, select Textbox. A dialog box will appear with tabbed areas, use the Colors & Lines tab to choose your colors (None is also an option).

 

To insert an image: From the Insert menu, choose Picture>From File. You can browse and select the image to insert. Types of images you can insert: JPG, GIF, EPS, TIF

 

To insert a graph from Excel: Copy the selected graph in Excel. Preferably, choose Paste Special from the Edit menu, then choose Picture. Alternately, you can Paste the graph in your Powerpoint poster. The difference is: 1) you can edit a pasted graph by double-clicking on it, but sometimes the text, especially the vertical text on the y-axis, is distorted and may be unreadable; and 2) you cannot edit the picture of your graph, but it may look better. Experiment with it both ways to see which is more beneficial to you.

 

To insert data from Excel: There are three ways to do this after you have copied the cells in Excel:

1. Click in an empty area of your poster so nothing is selected, and Paste. A table with your data will be created. (It will probably appear in the center of the poster; so if it looks like nothing was pasted, zoom out or scroll around!) You can still edit the data, by double-clicking on the table.
2. Place your cursor in an area of text, and paste. Data becomes text, with a return between the contents of each cell.
3. Paste Special, as a picture. Becomes a non-editable image.

To create a table (other than Excel data):From the Insert menu, choose Table. You will be able to specify the numbers of rows and columns. You will have to resize the table, because Powerpoint makes it very large! If it is not resizing easily, you can decrease the font size while the table is selected, and try the resizing handles again. Alternately, you can Copy a Word table, and Paste it into Powerpoint

 

To print an 8-1/2x11 preview of your poster, choose Print from the File menu (donít use the shortcut on the toolbar). (PC) In the print dialog box, check the small box near the bottom for Scale to fit paper, then OK. (Mac) In the print dialog box, change the General pull-down menu to Microsoft Powerpoint, then click the box for Scale to fit paper, and finally click print. When your poster is ready for the final large-format printing, please send the Powerpoint file to Stephanie Peterson, at petersos@grinnell.edu. Contact her with questions any time at ext. 4107.

 

If you have any questions, please contact Beth Bohstedt or Stephanie Peterson.