This article contains helpful information about poster creation and printing. You'll learn how to: send your pre-made poster document to a public lab computer or set up and name a new poster document, send your print job to the release station using a public lab computer, release the job to the plotter to print, find plotter locations, and get help.
For instructions on general printing, please use https://go/howtoprint/. Return here quickly using https://go/poster/.
If there is an issue with the plotter, contact the go/helpdesk/. Please do NOT attempt to fix it yourself. If the plotter is out of paper or ink during normal business hours (9am-5pm), go to either the Helpdesk walk-in located in LIB 202 (Davis Family Library plotter) or the circulation desk (Armstrong Library plotter)—outside normal hours will require waiting until the next business day when the respective help locations are open (See Getting Help).
Important: Poster print jobs must be submitted from a nearby public lab computer*. Mobility Print from your personal device does not support printing to plotters.
*Lab computers refer to any computer with lab functionality (e.g. connection to the Posters queue) in one of the labs on campus (e.g. Wilson Media Lab).
Contents:
The first thing you need to do is open or create your poster document. We recommend converting to .pdf (or other file) before printing, NOT directly from any online format or webpage (e.g. Canva).
- If you already have a document on your personal device, you need to send it to a lab computer from your own device. You can do this by:
- Emailing it to yourself, and downloading the document from your email through the browser using https://go/webmail/ on the lab computer.
- Uploading it to OneDrive, and downloading the document from OneDrive on the lab computer.
- Saving it to Google Drive, and downloading the document by opening the browser and going to Google Drive on the lab computer.
- If you do not already have a document, you should make a new document on the lab computer, or create it on your own device and send then it to a lab computer using one of the methods listed above.
Most importantly, SAVE your work! And save often, so you don't lose your work if the program or computer unexpectedly quits.
You can save your document in OneDrive, the Creative Cloud (Illustrator), or locally on the computer, but we recommend saving to the cloud—the locally stored data on the lab computers is regularly wiped.
This portion of the guide is for Adobe Illustrator (.ai) documents. You can also use .pdf documents within Illustrator, but you will need to add them to a new Illustrator document to properly print them—importing .pdfs to Illustrator is primarily useful when your document contains fonts unsupported by Illustrator. See instructions on how to send your job to the queue below.
If Illustrator asks you to sign in, you will need to sign in using the "Continue with Microsoft" option (you may have to click "View more" for more options) and use your Middlebury credentials.
To create a new document:
The document size is set in this initial process: this is important to being able to properly print the document.
1. Open Adobe Illustrator.
2. Select File > New (opens the New Document dialog box).
3. Name your file.
-
Note: Files used in our spring and fall symposiums typically follow this naming convention: your course number, an underscore, and your username. For example, COURSE0101a_username.ai
4. In the Artboard Setup (this determines the size of the file itself--this is IMPORTANT to properly print):
- For Orientation, select Landscape (horizontal)
- For Size, select Custom
- For Units, select Inches
- For Height, enter 64**
- This will be the length of the poster as it comes out of the paper roll. **NOTE: 64 is the default for symposium posters, but for general use, change the size of this dimension for your needs.
- For Width, enter 41**
- This will be the width of the poster across the paper roll. **NOTE: 41 inches is the width of printable space across the paper roll. You CANNOT have both width and height exceed 41 inches. This is the maximum size of the smaller dimension.
- Click OK.
NOTE: Height and width here are relative to the orientation of the document. If you are using portrait (vertical) orientation, set your width to 64 and your height to 41. If you are using landscape (horizontal) orientation, set your width to 41 and your height to 64.
Remember that the physical width of the paper is 42 inches. We use the dimension of 41 inches as the poster printer does not print to the edge of the paper.
To add a saved .pdf or image to an Illustrator file:
First, create a document as detailed above, or open the document you would like to add the file to. Then, you can open the Finder/File Explorer and drag the .pdf, .png, .jpg, etc. from where the file is saved on the lab computer directly on to the open Illustrator file.
To edit the document before printing:
When pasting and/or dragging an image or .pdf into Illustrator, it may not initially be the exact size you want. To edit the size of an image while maintaining the original proportions (i.e. without distorting the image), hold down the Shift key while dragging the corner to fit the size you want. You also may need to move the images around the document. Make sure no images extend past the edges of the created document--these parts will not print.
To edit the size of the document itself (i.e. you want to adjust the dimensions of the artboard), select the outline of the mouse cursor at the top of the bar on the far left of the screen. Then select the Properties tab on the far right of the screen, and click Edit Artboards. From there, you can adjust the width and height of the image in the W and H boxes. When done, you can click Exit. 
This portion of the guide is for .pdf documents.
You need to download your file locally on a lab computer—you will change the document dimensions during the print dialogue. See the instructions on how to send your job to the queue below.
This portion of the guide is for .pdf, .png, or any other sort of pre-finished and pre-sized documents.
You need to download your file locally on a lab computer—you will change the document dimensions during the print dialogue. See the instructions on how to send your job to the queue below.
1. Select the drop-down menu for Paper Size and click "Manage Custom Sizes..."
2. Click on the + icon to add a new preset.
3. Double click on the "Untitled" and change the name to "Poster".
4. For Margins, select Posters.
5. Change the height to 64.
6. Change the width to 40.
7. Click OK.
Important: Poster print jobs must be submitted from a nearby public lab computer at either location listed below (i.e. Davis Family Library or Armstrong Library in Bicentennial Hall). Mobility Print does not support printing to plotters.
You MUST be signed into the lab computer with YOUR OWN Middlebury credentials. If another user is logged in, the print job will send to THEIR queue instead.
1. Open the document you want in Adobe Illustrator on the lab computer.
2. Select File > Print (opens Print dialog box).
NOTE: Illustrator is very sensitive. If you click Enter to select an option during this process, it will automatically submit the job to the queue. Please wait until the end to click the final Print at the bottom of the screen.
- Printer Queue: Posters
- Media Size: Custom (Illustrator should pick up the dimensions from your document and display the entire document in the preview window to the left - if it does not automatically do this, please manually input the dimensions you used to create the document, which can be found below the left preview window)
NOTE: The width of the job, limited by the printer's dimensions, is not able to exceed 41 inches. If one of the poster's dimensions is larger than 41 inches (e.g. 64 as recommended above), you have to put this dimension as the height. You can shift the orientation of the document right below the Media Size if you need to adjust your poster to fit these flipped dimensions.
In the print preview screen for Illustrator, the Document Size is the size of the document you created, while the Media Size is the size of the what you just put to be sent to the plotter. That is to say, everything within (and nothing outside) the preview box outlined in black will be printed, while the dotted black lines show the bounds of the document you created itself and where it will be situated on the paper. You will not see dotted black lines if the Document and Media are perfectly aligned, or if the Document Size is larger than the Media Size.
3. Select the Color Management tab on the left bar, and in the Color Handling field, select “Let Postscript printer determine colors”.
4. Click on the Print button.
5. See instructions below to release the job to the plotter for print.
1. Open your file in Adobe Acrobat Reader.
2. Select File > Print (opens the print window).
3. For Printer, select Posters on Papercut.
NOTE: Do not click "Show preview before printing" as this will slow down your printing job.
4. Click Properties > Custom.
5. Input the size of the poster. Typical symposium dimensions are 41in width, and 64in length. You can name this custom paper size whatever you want. Save.
NOTE: The width of the job, limited by the printer's dimensions, is not able to exceed 41 inches.
6. After saving, the window below should pop up. Select "fit" and "Auto portrait/landscape".
7. Click Print.
8. See instructions below to release the job to the plotter for print.
1. Open the document in Preview.
2. Select File > Print.
3. For Printer, select Posters.
4. For Paper Size, select Poster*.
*NOTE: If this is your first time using this specific computer or you do not see this preset, see "To add the custom Poster preset" above. You also may have added the poster dimensions under a different name—if so, select that option.
IMPORTANT: The Poster preset is typically 42 x 64 inches. If you want your document to be a different size, you must adjust the size of your Poster preset.
5. Click Print.
6. See instructions below to release the job to the plotter for print.
NOTE: The release station is NOT the same as the lab computer. Use the release stations as you would the print release screen (printer panel) on the regular network printers.
1. Go to the poster release station for the plotter you want. This should be the computer nearest to the plotter itself, and say "[Library Name] Poster Release Station"
2. Sign in with your Middlebury username (full email including @middlebury.edu) and password.
3. Click on the Print button next to the job you want to print.
4. Wait for your job to print!
- NOTE: Wait for the printer to cut the paper on its own. Do NOT tear it yourself.
- Mobility print does not support printing to plotters due to the non-standard page sizes. Poster print jobs must be submitted from a nearby public lab computer.
- The plotters thrive on gentle handing. Please seek help for any task, including changing paper or cleaning the plotter.
- A poster can take up to 20 minutes to print! Schedule your time accordingly and avoid waiting until the last minute before class or during crunch times when many posters are due on the same day.
- Be patient. The plotter will cut the paper for you when the print job is done. Please be patient and wait for job to cut on its own! Tearing can cause considerable damage to the printer.
- The plotter costs $1.50 per linear foot (42 inches wide).
- This means that a 64 x 42 inches poster should cost you $8.
Check library hours to be sure (particularly for Armstrong Library) that the location will be open when needed!
- Davis Family Library (LIB 242). Go to the Helpdesk walk-in LIB 202 for assistance with the plotter.
- Armstrong Library, bottom floor cubby (McCardell Bicentennial Hall 155). Contact Shawn O'Neil (802-443-3286) for assistance.
If you need help creating a poster (design, etc.—NOT printing), you can check the DLINQ intern schedule in Wilson Media Lab or book a consultation with an intern at https://go/DLINQconsult/.
General Design and Layout*
*standards based on symposium posters
- Simple and uncluttered
- Brief
- Focus on one main point; do not try to present too much.
- Readers will want to grasp your main point quickly.
- Legible
- Use only one or two type faces (e.g. Times-Roman and Arial).
- Keep the style consistent throughout the poster.
- Use an organized layout.
- Standard scientific headings are good: e.g. Abstract, introduction, methods, results, conclusions.
- Vertical arrangement is preferable to horizontal layout so that the reader is not required to walk back and forth to read each section.
- 3-4 columns are good.
- The reader should not need a road map to negotiate your poster!
Text
- Title
- Lettering about 2.5-5 cm high (about 100-144 pt.)
- Should be readable from 5-7 m away. (You’re trying to attract a reader from across the room!)
- Authors’ names and affiliations slightly smaller
- Headings
- Lettering 1-3 cm high (36-72 pt.)
- Body
- Should be readable from 2 m away
- Minimum size: 18 pt.
- Keep it brief.
- Use left-justified rather than full-justified type.
- Cross-Platform Fonts
- Serif: Book Antiqua, Bookman Old Style, Garamond, Georgia, Palatino, Times
- Sans Serif: Arial, Arial Black, Arial Narrow, Comic Sans MS, Helvetica, Impact, Trebuchet MS, Verdana
- Symbols: Webdings, Wingdings, Wingdings 2, Wingdings 3
Graphics
- If possible, display data with simple graphs rather than complex tables.
- Remove all non-essential information from graphs, e.g. topics not discussed by the poster
- Use colors, but use them judiciously.
- 2-3 colors can add a lot.
- Many more colors can be a distraction!