Research Posters

Overview

Informational and scientific posters convey research and knowledge through a combination of printed text, data visualizations, and images. Researchers often use posters to present and discuss their work with others at conferences and symposiums. Posters may contain embedded infographics, charts/graphs, maps, and photographs. Their overall organization varies across fields and range from sparse and simple to dense and complex.

Standard research posters are often in the landscape orientation (length is longer than height), although posters can also be square or in the portrait orientation. Many conference posters are in a 4:3 ratio (4 ft wide and 3 ft tall), however, be sure to check with your conference/symposium to figure out the recommended/required poster size. If this information is not readily available, we also recommend calling the venue to ask how large their poster holders are.

If you’ve never created a research poster before, talk to a colleague, mentor, or advisor for their recommendations or to see an example of their past work. Also, your organization may have their own template or required colors and logos. For example, UW-Madison has an entire website for their brand that has UW logos for print, as well as recommended colors and fonts to use.

Poster Design Tip:
Often poster sessions include a large array of posters (100+) in one large room and attendees walk through the posters at their own leisure. You want to make sure your poster draws in the attendees to your poster. A catchy heading/title can work to do that, but often a well-designed poster that uses visuals effectively will draw attendees to your poster; then your presentation will keep them there! Get some eyes on your poster before you print it by meeting with one of our DesignLab consultants!

Make an Appointment

Poster on Posters Examples

DesignLab’s Standard Research Poster 1:

(with a cyan background and bounding boxes)

This poster was designed to mimic the typical research poster style with a background color and white bounding boxes for the text. You can find out a lot of information about sizing and layout by clicking on the poster to see the full size.

DesignLab's Standard Poster on Poster example with a cyan background and white bounding boxes for the text and images. Lots of images, charts, logos, and icons. By clicking the image, you will be taken to the PDF version.

DesignLab’s Standard Research Poster 2:

(with a white background and no bounding boxes)

This poster was also designed to mimic the typical research poster style but with a white background and no visible bounding boxes. You can find out a lot of information about sizing and layout by clicking on the poster to see the full size.

DesignLab's Standard Poster on Poster example without bounding boxes for the text and images and a white background. Lots of images, charts, logos, and icons. By clicking the image, you will be taken to the PDF version.

DesignLab’s Creative Poster 1:

(without graphs/charts)

This poster was designed to break from the norms of a research poster. The main point in emphasized largely, with just the basic information in the smaller section. From a design perspective, this poster is much better than the standard posters on posters above at streamlining information and being more visually appealing. However, consult with other researchers and colleagues in your field before trying to break from the norms of research posters.

DesignLab's Creative Poster on Poster example with a 60/40 split of white and magenta and significantly less text than the standard posters. No images or charts on this poster. By clicking the image, you will be taken to the PDF version.

DesignLab’s Creative Poster 2:

(with a graph)

This poster was designed to break from the norms of a research poster. The main point in emphasized largely, with just the basic information in the smaller section. Unlike creative poster to the left that is full of text, this poster also incorporates only one graph here. While visuals are good on a poster, too many visuals can bog down the viewer and keep them from the main point of your research. Always place visuals with intention, and when in doubt keep to one.

DesignLab's Creative Poster on Poster example with a 60/40 split of white and cyan, with a magenta bar along the bottom of the white and significantly less text than the standard posters. One chart on this poster. By clicking the image, you will be taken to the PDF version.

Designing Posters Instructional Video

Printing Posters at UW-Madison

Please note that DesignLab does not provide poster printing services. Below is a list of places on campus where you can print posters.

Poster printing services may not always be available. We recommend contacting the services directly to confirm.


College Library

College Library provides UW-Madison students, faculty, and staff access to a wide-format poster printer. Orders can be placed at the College Library Second Floor Service Desk (right by DesignLab!) any time the library is open. You must go in person to submit a poster.

Types of Print Material Available: Satin (semi-gloss) and Glossy

Size Limit: The shortest side can be no longer than 43 inches (Example: 48in x 36in is good to print because the shorter side is 36 inches, but 56in x 48in is not printable because the shorter side is more than 42 inches)

File Format Needed: TIFF, PNG or JPEG

File Naming Convention: FirstNameLastName-OneWordDescription.filetype (Example: HelenWhite-Biology.tif or BuckyBadger-Beverage.png)

Payment Options: They accept Wiscard (with Campus Cash or a print account or department funding), credit card (Visa and Mastercard), and department funding strings. No cash and Departmental credit cards (p-cards) are not accepted.

Turnaround Time: Posters are typically printed within a few hours, but can take up to 2 days.

Questions? See the College Library poster printing website here for cost and contact information.


Steenbock Library

Like College Library, Steenbock Library provides UW-Madison students, faculty, and staff access to a wide-format poster printer. Orders can be placed at the First Floor Service Desk any time the library is open. You must go in person to submit a poster.

Types of Print Material Available: Satin (semi-gloss)

Size Limit: The shortest side can be no longer than 43 inches (Example: 48in x 36in is good to print because the shorter side is 36 inches, but 56in x 48in is not printable because the shorter side is more than 42 inches)

File Format Needed: TIFF, PNG or JPEG

File Naming Convention: FirstNameLastName-OneWordDescription.filetype (Example: HelenWhite-Biology.tif or BuckyBadger-Beverage.png)

Payment Options: They accept Wiscard (with Campus Cash or a print account or department funding), credit card (Visa and Mastercard), and department funding strings. No cash and Departmental credit cards (p-cards) are not accepted.

Turnaround Time: Posters are typically printed within a few hours, but can take up to 2 days.

Questions? See the Steenbock Library poster printing website here for cost and contact information.


StudentPrint

StudentPrint, located in 333 E. Campus Mall Suite 3301, offers inexpensive printing options as well. Posters can be submitted online through their ordering form.

Types of Print Material Available: Heavyweight Coated, Semi-gloss Photo, Full-Gloss Photo, Adhesive Matte, and Tyvek

Size Limit: The shortest side can be no longer than 42 inches and can be up to 7 feet long (Example: 48in x 36in is good to print because the shorter side is 36 inches, but 56in x 48in is not printable because the shorter side is more than 42 inches)

Preferred Formats: PDF or Image Files (such as TIFF, PNG, or JPEG)

Payment Options: They accept cash, check, Visa or Mastercard and Wiscard. They can set up accounts for anyone with a Department Funding String (UDDS#). They also accept the following ASM funding: Operations Grants, Event Grants, Open Funds, and GSSF funding.

Turnaround Time: All printing has a 2 day guaranteed turnaround. **Turnaround times may be longer due to the pandemic.**

Questions? See the StudentPrint Services website page here to estimate the cost and learn more.


Digital Publishing and Printing Services (DoIT)

DPPS has 3 locations offering printing services to departments, faculty, campus guests, researchers, staff, state and federal government agencies, and students. All orders are submitted online through their ordering form.

Types of Print Material Available: Semi-gloss, Matte, Vinyl, and Polyester Cloth (with options for mounting and framing). Additionally, they have Event Display poster options in various sizes.

Size Limit: Depends on the material. Contact DPPS for more information.

Preferred Formats: PDF, Illustrator, EPS, or TIFF

Payment Options: They accept WisCard, DoIT Number, direct bill UDDS, or purchase order for external customers.

Turnaround Time: They can provide a reduced size printed proof or a PDF proof within four hours of receiving a Print Ready File. Your final poster will be available within 24 hours of DPPS receiving an approved proof. Additional time is required for quantity orders. After Hours poster printing is available, when scheduled ahead of time, during office hours.

Questions? See the DPPS website here to estimate the cost and learn more.


Media Solutions

Media Solutions is a fee for service department within the School of Medicine and Public Health. They are located in Room 1375 of the Health Sciences Learning Center at 750 Highland Ave. They focus on serving the Health Sciences faculty, staff, and students; however, they are available to work with all departments throughout the UW-Madison campus.

Types of Print Material Available: Archival Matte Paper & Fabric (poly-fabric) material

Size Limit: 44-inch Paper and 42-inch Fabric maximum height, no width limit

Preferred Formats: If made in PowerPoint, submit a PDF and PPT file. If made in another program, only a PDF file.

Payment Options: University Funding (UDDS Funding String) or personal payment by check. No credit or debit cards accepted.

Turnaround Time: 3 working days – Less than 48 hours is considered a rush and will incur a 50% extra charge

Questions? See the Media Solutions website here to learn more.

Troubleshooting Poster Printing at UW-Madison

Converting PowerPoint files to TIFF/PNG/JPEG

(for College & Steenbock Library printing)

Exporting PowerPoint (.PPT) files to image files can lead to a loss in resolution or change in size, especially with PowerPoint for Mac, but also with PowerPoint for Windows. We recommend the following process for converting files from .PPT to .TIFF/.PNG/.JPEG:

  1. In PowerPoint go to File > Export As and select PDF* from the format list.
  2. Save file as PDF.
  3. Open the PDF using Photoshop.
  4. In Photoshop, save the PDF as TIFF/PNG/JPEG.

As far as we have tested, you cannot use Adobe Acrobat or other programs to convert the PDF file to TIFF/PNG/JPEG. If you do not have Photoshop, it should be available in any campus computer lab and on checkout laptops.

*Files exported as PDF from PowerPoint maintain their dimensions and export at a resolution of 300 ppi, which is a relatively high resolution and good for printing.


Choosing the best file type: PDF vs. Image files (TIFF/PNG/JPEG)

(for Student Print and Digital Publishing and Printing)

Easiest Option and Highest Quality: PDF – acronym “Portable Document Format,” is used when for saving files that need to be easily shared and printed. PDF files embed all of the raster and vector images, charts/graphs, colors, and fonts within in the file, so anyone who views them will be able to see the same thing you see, and thus print exactly the same from computer to computer. PDF files can have multiple layers within the file and PDF files created typically retain transparencies when printed (although if you are running and out of date program, this may not be the case).

(for College & Steenbock Library printing)

Highest Quality: TIFF – acronym “Tagged Image File Format,” is used for storing raster graphics images. This format is popular among graphic artists, publishing, and photographers and is commonly used for print media. TIFF files can have multiple layers within the file and TIFF files retain transparencies when printed.

Middle Quality: PNG – acronym “Portable Network Graphic,” is commonly used to store web graphics and digital photographs. PNG files have a lossless compression (similar to .GIF) for smaller file size. PNG files have a flattened (non-layered) image but PNG files retain transparencies when printed.

Lowest Quality: JPEG – acronym “Joint Photographic Experts Group,” is a standard image format for containing lossy and compressed image data, leading to the smallest file size, but the lowest quality image. JPEG files have a flattened (non-layered) image and do not support transparencies, which are converted to the closest color or white.