Posters

We offer a large format poster printing service with various options for stock and size. Poster requests tend to take 24 hours. Save your poster as a PDF and email it to uclanprint@uclan.ac.uk specifying your paper choice (matt/gloss/satin) and size choice (A2/A1/A0). Please contact us if you require alternative stocks/sizes.

Student Project Posters

Any tutors/staff wishing to charge student project posters to a re-charge code should contact uclanprint@uclan.ac.uk.  We will ask for a list of the student’s names and a re-charge code. Please note that we may ask for extended lead times depending on the amount of posters.

Print Your Own Poster

You can now print your own large format posters on the Colorwave printer located in the Library Building adjacent to UCLan Print. You can find a guide to the Large format printer here.
You can also find Large Format Printing Guides adjacent to the printer. This is the cheapest method available for printing large format images on campus. Please note you cannot laminate posters from this machine.

Poster Design Hints & Tips

Do you need a few pointers with your project? Creating your own poster can be simple. Here are a few guidelines to help you in your design.

Programmes

The simplest programme to use when designing posters is Microsoft PowerPoint, although you could use various programmes, these include:

Microsoft Office - PowerPoint
Microsoft Office - Word
Microsoft Office - Publisher
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe InDesign
Adobe Photoshop

Poster/paper Size

Consider the size of your poster for the information you need to display. The most common sizes for Academic Research posters are A0, A1 or A3.
Find out more about paper sizes.

Borders

When setting up your poster page layout, it is recommended that you leave a 20mm border on A0 & A1 posters and a 10mm border on A3 posters. Avoid placing any text within this border.

Imagery

Information can be displayed with use of graphs, charts, photographs, clip art etc. Visual devices like these can break up large blocks of text and enhance a posters appeal. It is best to have a backup copy of any images used within your poster in case any problems arise. Be wary of using low-resolution images, as they may look ‘blocky’ when printed or enlarged.

Type Face

Consider your choice of typeface for your poster, this is generally controlled by subject matter. If in doubt, the following typefaces are effective:
Arial
Arial Black
Times New Roman

Avoid using large quantities of text as this can put people off viewing the poster, 300 words or less is recommended. Use text effects such as italics and embolden to emphasize points. Try not to use too many text effects, as this can look confusing. It is best to have a backup copy of any text used within your poster in case any problems arise.

Font Sizes

To assist with legibility we recommend no smaller than the following font sizes - view our font sizes guidelines.

 

Further Poster Information

  • Research existing posters for design ideas.
  • Be wary of colour choice and combining badly contrasting colours such as red and green.
  • Try to keep the layout simple, and try to avoid over-cramming your poster.
  • Ensure your artwork does not overlap the edge of the artboard in your chosen design programme. A common mistake is to have parts of your poster in the area around the artboard, which will not print. This is often a result of an image used in the background hiding the artboard edge. We recommend saving it as a PDF and checking the result before sending the poster.
  • You can design your poster at A4 size and allow us to enlarge it to A1/A0 size at the printing stage. This keeps the file size down to a reasonable level. To do this you must remember that your font sizes will alter with enlargement. For example, the enlargement from an A4 poster to A0 is as follows: 18 pt will enlarge to 72 pt
    11 pt will enlarge to 44 pt
    6 pt will enlarge to 24 pt<

Ensure your poster has the correct proportions. Although we can scale a smaller poster to a larger poster at the printing stage to give the correct size, it must have the correct A-Series proportions.

What poster assistance can UCLan Print offer?

  • A printing service for posters, with a variety of stock and size options.
  • A lamination service for posters up to A0 in size.
  • Poster tubes for protection.
  • Velcro fixings for the hanging of your poster.
  • Design assistance/guidance from the UCLan Print team.