Poster Printing at PRISM

PRISM offers a poster printing service for Princeton students and faculty. This service is by appointment only and is subject to staff availability. Poster printing is generally available from 8:00 AM till 11:00 AM On Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays (on regular University workdays). Every effort will be made to get your poster printed in a timely manner. Poster printing is done in Bowen Hall Room 121.

We accept appointments 3 months in advance.

We just installed a new printer that is nearly twice as fast, has higher resolution and better color.

Poster printing times fill up very early during late April and the first half of the month of May PLAN AHEAD.

Click on Reservation Request in the menu to make an appointment.

General Notes:

• Currently, the maximum size poster we can print is (using Microsoft Power Point 2007) 41" by 54". All Posters MUST be 41" or less in one dimension. The poster can be either landscape or portrait orientation.
• The largest size we can CUT with our paper cutter is 52"
• The actual printing time for a 48" wide poster is about 9 minutes. Currently, reservations are booked at 20 minute intervals beginning on the hour. This does not include drying time. You should allow at least another 5 to 10 minutes for drying and trimming the edges.
• The cost is $16.00 PER RUNNING FOOT (rounded up to the nearest foot). A running foot is 42 inches wide by 12 inches long. (If you print a 30"x 40" poster the cost would be $48.00. 3' times $16.00 per foot = $48.00.)
• We can ONLY accept account numbers (grant numbers) for payment. We cannot accept student account numbers, cash, credit cards or checks. You must have a Princeton NetID and an account number when you arrive to print your poster. If you are a student organization and have a university account number, you must also provide a contact name to use for the billing.
• If you are more than 10 minutes late for your appointment , your appointment will be considered cancelled. If you can't make your appointment, please e-mail and let me know, that way someone can use your time slot.
• Bring your file on a CD, a DVD, or a USB drive. Please include YOUR NAME as part of the file name of your poster.
• You find an error on you poster you have 2 options, correct the error and reprint the poster and pay for the additional poster or use it as is. If the error was caused by the printer, it will be reprinted at no additional cost to you.
• These posters are NOT suitable for wet locations. The ink WILL run if it gets wet.

Software available:

This is the selection of software installed on the poster computers. Your poster needs to be in one of these formats. Your best bet for a perfect print job is to use PowerPoint. The next best is PDF.

• Microsoft Office Professional 2003
• Microsoft Office Professional 2007
• Microsoft Office Professional 2010
• Microsoft Office Professional 2013
• Adobe Acrobat X Professional
• Adobe Master Collection 4.0
• Adobe Master Collection 6.0

Other software notes:

• Please make a note of what version of Power Point you use. There are some minor differences that may cause problems when you print.
• ".PNG" graphics file WILL cause problems. Your best bet is to use "JPG's.
• If you use power point 2007 or 2010, DO NOT save your poster as a 2003 power point file (i.e. ppt). This tends to cause issues with printing. It is best to save it in file format native to the version you are using.
• Graphs created with Prism Graph will NOT print when put into Power Point slide. They will usually print on a laser printer but will NOT print on the poster printer.
• If you use Origin to create graphs and charts, save them as JPG's and then drop them into your slide. Simply dropping them in as an Origin file into your power point slide will cause serious printing issues.
• The use of ready made templates for your poster can cause unpredictable results. It is best NOT to use them unless there is some compelling reason.
• If you use special fonts that are NOT part of the standard Microsoft Office font set, be sure you use the"Embed Fonts" option in Power Point. This is accessed by clicking on Save As, Tools, Save Options, then check "Embed True Type Fonts" . This creates a much larger file, but it also includes all the fonts you used in creating your file.

Layout notes:

• 72 Points (72 pt.) Font Size equals a 1 inch tall text character on a printed poster
• It is good practice to NOT place anything (logo, box, text, fine border lines etc.) within 1/4 " of the edges of your poster. A full color background is OK.

If you need help developing a poster try these sites:

• http://www.kumc.edu/SAH/OTEd/jradel/Poster_Presentations/110.html
  Tutorial from University of Kansas
• http://www.osti.gov/em52/workshop/tips-exhibits.html
  Department of Energy Tips for Poster Preparation
• http://www.osti.gov/em52/workshop/em52-gl.html
  Department of Energy Requirements for Electronic Posters
• http://lorien.ncl.ac.uk/ming/Dept/Tips/present/posters.htm
  Good summary from CHE Department at University of New Castle