A1 Posters

Handy Home Hints and Tips

• DO Set up the page size correctly before you start, rather than part way through making the poster:
  A1 is 594mm x 841mm - there are templates available for Office 2000/2003/2010 at the bottom of this page
• DO Look through the Publisher quick guide Office 2010 first, or [Publisher quick guide Office 2003/7]
• DO let Tracey have time to print. On average (assuming no glitches with the setup/file) these large sheets take 10-30 minutes to come out of the printer (20-40 minutes for heavy paper).
  So you can't all turn up half an hour before the deadline... it just won't work.
• As the printer paper is larger then A1 you CAN have images/materials backgrounds etc right up to the edge of the A1 page (this is called "Full Bleed"). The sheet is then trimmed down to A1 if needed.
  Be careful about going over the page edges if you have placed a background that is larger than the page size (so you can't easily see the page edges in the layout). Put your background on last, otherwise you might have text going over the page edges.... they will be cut off.

• DON'T Create it in Word or Powerpoint (you'd be surprised...). These programs are not designed for large format printing and although you MIGHT get a poster out of them it may well not look as you expect...
• DON'T worry about the print preview - unless you have an A1 printer attached (or driver installed) then it can only show you what it would look like on your current printer. Tracey will check the layout for you prior to printing.

Getting it to me

• Preferably pen drive/usb stick/CD/DVD - so I can check over the file while you are there
• or use the University of Dundee Dropbox use your usual login - send to Tracey Dixon t.dixon@dundee.ac.uk - very good for large files - and then arrange to see me to check over the file -

Formats

The guide above refers to posters created in Publisher as this is provided as standard on the student SOE. However other formats can be accommodated:

• Publisher recommended here as it is available on all student PCs
• Adobe Acorobat - PDF
• Indesign (PC)
• CorelDraw X3, but other versions can be managed by arrangement
• Image files (jpg, png or tif) from other programs - eg Photoshop, Illustrator - must be high resolution (300dpi) - page setup 841x594mm at 300dpi

Anyone using anything other than Publisher should send a test file to Tracey at the earliest opportunity to check for any problems / version differences etc.
Doesn't need to be fancy - just the page size, a heading and maybe a couple of graphics to make sure the resolution of the PDF is reasonable...

Images

When resizing images - always use the corner handles as this will maintain the image ratio. If you use the side handles the image will be distorted

Unless you really know what you are doing, use the highest resolution of image that you have available to you.

For those that do know, 300 dpi, higher will not give any benefit to the print but will slow it down.

ALWAYS add the image file properly - ie in Publisher Insert->Picture->From File... DO NOT just copy and paste, especially from the internet.

and Mac user tips...

I'm no expert on these beasts, but we have found that you can use Project Gallery, or Pages which is part of iWorks, and save the poster as a pdf. You still have to set up the page for A1.
If you don't have this I'd still be recommending to try a 'PDF' option - but we will have to test whatever route you try.

Anyone using a Mac should send a test file to Tracey at the earliest opportunity to check that you are on the right track before doing too much work. Doesn't need to be fancy - just the page size, a heading - something for a footer at the very bottom (to make sure the whole size of the page is correct) and maybe a couple of graphics to make sure the resolution of the PDF is reasonable...

and useful resources...

• Dundee University logo
• Quick guide: A1 Posters in Publishers to get you started [Office 2007 version]
• A1 template A1 template for Publisher 2010
• A1 template for Publisher 2003 A1 template for Publisher 2003
• A1 template for Publisher 2000 A1 template for Publisher 2000

Right click and Save Target As... to download - or click on them and File - Save As... or however you save files from the Web.
Do NOT just copy and paste images straight into your poster....