Posters is a catch all term for any printed piece that is intended to be hung or posted. Posters differ from signage in that posters are a temporary solution and often used to promote time limited events, specials, announcements, etc.
Below we’ve broken out everything you will ever want to know about preparing and printing posters at Chicago Printworks.
1.) Different Types of Posters
2.) Common Poster Sizes
3.) What Info to include on Your Poster
4.) Printing Your Poster
Promotional Posters are the most common type of posters we print. Promotional posters are cheap, multifunctional, and have ample space to communicate your message. Promotional posters are often used for band concerts, theatre productions, farmer’s market dates, 5K Runs, etc.
Lobby Posters and Backlit Posters are often seen outside or in the lobby of your favorite theatre, cinema, or concert hall. Recently, we’re seeing a lot of backlit poster printing for home theatre installations. Lobby Posters and Backlit posters are often lit from behind to create a wonderful glowing effect. Backlit Posters are printed on a heat resistant film.
Mounted Posters are more durable and often used as temporary signage for events, conferences, and trade shows. Mounted posters are often printed on foam board or poster board to add rigidity so they can be displayed on an easel.
Laminated Posters are best utilized when there is a potential that the poster could become wet. Laminated posters are a great solution for semi permanent outdoor placement like a dog park or play ground. An added advantage is that they can be written on with dry erase markers!
Wild Posters, sometimes called Wheatpaste posters, are promotional posters on steroids. These are large format posters printed on a thin stock so they can be posted, or wheatpasted, on boarded up buildings, scaffolding, and other outdoor locations.
Scientific Posters are a type of presentation poster. Scientific posters are used by students, researchers, and scientists to convey their research in a concise manner for presenting at meetings and conferences.
For us, Large Format Posters encapsulates everything else that doesn’t fit in one of the above buckets. Large format printing is often considered anything above 11x17 and most of the above poster types can all be considered large format. Additionally, large photo printing and photo enlargements are all large format posters.
Posters can be printed at nearly any size. However, there are some size standards (in Inches) to consider when designing your poster for print.
11"x17" - This is the gold standard for promotional posters. Pro tip - always design vertically. You’ll have more locations you can post them.
24"x36" - Is typical for mounted posters including Foam Board Posters and Posterboard Posters. Feel free to design them in either landscape or portrait format.
27"x40" - Is the common size for movie posters and many backlit posters.
48"x36" - Is the most popular scientific poster size. Be sure to check with conference organizers to be sure they don’t have specific size requirements.
If your posters aren’t perfect to size they can often be scaled to fit. However, don’t forget about aspect ratio! For more on aspect ratio check out our excellent introduction to aspect ratio.
This is an often asked question when creating a promotional poster. Most posters will have a specific use so it’ll be obvious what information should be included, promotional posters however, should always include the following key points:
• Keep it simple.
• Striking Image/Photo that will grab attention.
• Event Date(s).
• Where is the event taking place?
• Where can I get more information? Use a QR Code!
Now that you have determined the use case for your printed poster. You’ve also probably decided whether this will be a mounted foam board poster or posterboard poster. Now it’s time for submission! Follow the checklist below to make sure you have everything ready for a seamless printing experience.
• Make sure the image/file is the same size you intend to have printed.
• Your file should be 300 DPI/PPI at a minimum
• Use clean fonts that are easy to read
• Be sure you’ve left a ⅛” text margin from the cut line
• Add a ⅛” bleed if you intend to have images run past the cutline
• Save As or Export as a PDF and send to us!
