Scientific Poster Preparation
Available Space and Your Poster Size
Be sure to check with your conference how big the display area is prior to designing your poster. Also check whether the space is vertical or horizontal. It isn't uncommon to have a 4x8 foot horizontal display area, but this does not mean you need to fill the entire space! In fact, we discourage it. Not only will it be difficult to hang by yourself, but you will most likely be blocking an area of the poster while presenting. Our most popular poster sizes for a 4x8 foot display area are 36" x 72" and 36" x 54".
Storyboards
Before you begin work in PowerPoint, you may want to sketch out a design on an 8.5" x 11" paper ahead of time. Alternatively, you could begin with one of the templates provided on our website. This will determine how your final poster will look.
Portrait vs. Landscape
Portrait orientation is when the poster is taller than it is wide, whereas landscape is the opposite. It is wider than it is tall. We consider 36"x72" and 72"x36" to be one in the same size, and therefore can print either orientation and will rotate the poster accordingly to fit on the paper.
Portrait
Landscape
Gather Your Content
Gather all of the text and graphics in one place so that it is easy to transfer all of the content to one PowerPoint slide. For example, you might have an existing PowerPoint multi-slide presentation you'd like to grab content from, or even your actual paper that may be a Word document. Try to avoid switching back and forth between a Mac and a PC. Generally speaking, this causes compatibility issues.
We support all versions of PowerPoint, both Mac and PC. Don't worry about saving your file in "Compatibility Mode" for previous versions of PowerPoint—save it as a .PPTX. We will be able to open and print your file.
Don't forget about your graphics and figures such as Excel graphs and photographs taken from a surgery or through a microscope. It is best to go back and get these pictures directly from the original source, rather than transferring from one software to another. If you need to scan photographs, do so in .JPG format. Do not worry about converting your graphics from RGB to CMYK mode or vice versa. Just use the original and we will print using the best method for your graphics.
Next Section: Scientific Poster From Scratch or Using a Template