Follow these steps when you start with a new PowerPoint presentation and resize it for poster creation. You will want to customize the size of the slide to fit your poster size, as well as the layout by selecting the landscape option.
Image formats
Images should be at least 200 dpi for best-quality printing
PNG format pictures can have a transparent background
JPEG format is the preferred format for print standards
Pictures should be inserted directly into the PowerPoint. Do not enlarge images after they have been inserted into PowerPoint. Hold the shift key on your keyboard to adjust an image and retain proper proportion, and click and drag the corners to scale.
Vector Format images, like charts from Excel, may be pasted directly into PowerPoint.
Text
The title should occupy most of the width of the poster, with the main text broken into multiple columns, usually three or four, depending on the size of the poster. Left, Right, Center, and Justify settings arrange the text within columns. I find that "Justify" defines the edges of the columns visually. You may use section headings within the columns. Always have someone review your text for grammar and spelling.
Fonts
Use a standard cross-platform font so that your poster looks the same on Mac or Windows.
Sans-serif fonts work best for posters, particularly for titles, subtitles, and headers. If your poster contains a lot of text, you may need to adjust the font size. For readability, do not use a font smaller than 18 points.
Although the templates are all in PowerPoint format, you might be more comfortable working in Adobe's Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, or any of the open-source alternatives like Inkscape, Gimp, or Scribus.
For consistency, ensure all the headers are the same size and use the same font size throughout the body text.
If your text comes from a different file (e.g., a Word document), make sure to paste it into a text box in PowerPoint so it can be edited.
Standard Suggested Font Size for Poster Sections
Title 72-120 pt.
Subtitle: 48-80 pt.
Section headers: 36-72 pt.
Body text: 24-48 pt.
Copyright concerns about your images? Consult our copyright guide
Once you have your poster ready to print, you can email the poster as a PPT file or PDF file attachment to reference@citadel.edu
In your email make sure you say what size you need and the date you need it printed.
Tips and accessibility guidelines on academic posters and presentations from the American Public Health Association
https://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual/presenters/accessibility-guidelines
Do you need more help with the written portion of the poster?
Do you need someone to look over it for errors?
Schedule an appointment with the Writing Center on campus.
