Services

Poster Printing

Poster Printing at the Makerspace is for RMC-sponsored research projects and educational events.

• Our printer can print up to 56" x 36" in size (one side being equal to or less than 36").
• All posters are printed on satin photo paper. There is a fee for printing. 
• Proofread your presentation before submitting it for printing. We do not reprint posters.
• Three-business-day notice is required for printing and pick-up. 
• Review the Guidelines and Design Tips.
• Check the Rates & Payment Methods before submitting the PDF file for printing.

* For other print projects, please consult the Sharepoint site.

Guidelines

SURF Posters

1. SURF faculty advisors should email the Faculty Administrative Assistant the names of their SURF students who will have their posters printed for the Symposium Day or SURF Day. The Administrative Assistant will communicate with the Makerspace staff for making payments.

2. SURF posters are typically displayed on 56”W x 36”H boards. You may use our layout template for a 56"W x 36"H poster [download]. Save your finished poster as PDF for submission.

Other Posters (Course Assignment, Capstone, Symposium and Conference)

Note: Students who are given the option of printing out individual slides for the poster presentation may use the color printers in the Library.

Some course instructors and advisors require the student presentation be printed on one large poster.

Information below pertains to large-poster design and printing.

What does the student need to do? 

• Confirm with the instructor or advisor on the size of the poster. Details on poster sizes and design can be found here.

The instructor or advisor should email Dori Broomell before students submit files for printing, with the following information:

1. The number of posters and the students who will submit files for printing,
2. Payment methods - whether by the department or the student:
   • If the department pays for poster-printing (review the rates), please provide the Department Chair's email. We will contact the Chairperson for completing a cross-charge form.
   • If the student pays for the printing, direct the student to the RMC online Transact page found here. A tutorial on using the online payment system can be found in this PDF.

Poster Design

We highly recommend you use Microsoft PowerPoint and set the slide design to the size (W x H) required by your instructor or the conference organization.

We have templates for two common sizes used by RMC faculty and students: 48"W x 36"H, and 56"W x 36"H. For a different size of poster, you may still download the template. Then open it, and from the "Design" tab, change the "Page Setup..." (details in the "Quick Design Tips" section). 
Note: Using other online templates may not print properly.

We encourage patrons to observe the Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines for content creation.

The poster must be saved or exported as a PDF file for printing (instruction here). The Makerspace only accepts PDF files. 

 Poster Design: Detailed instructions

 Quick Design Tips:

• We recommend using PowerPoint for creating the large-sized poster.
• Set the PowerPoint slide size:
  • From the "Design" tab, select "Slide Size" and "Page Setup...";
  • Enter Width and the Height values in inch;
  • Select "Scale".
• Use these PowerPoint features: Ruler and Zoom in/out for poster layout and content details.
• Use visuals (for instance, photos and graphs) to balance and illustrate the text.
• Stick to clean fonts; text sizes should be large enough for reading from a few yards away:
  • Common sans-serif fonts: Aptos, Arial and Calibri
  • Title of the poster: large (90 points or up), bold and interesting
  • Text for the headings: 36 points or larger
  • Body Text: 24 points or larger
• The poster should have no or very light background; make sure the text is legible and stands out.
• Use spaces and PowerPoint Shapes to group content and to direct the audience's visual flow (refer to the Mock-up below).
• Move the content to leave1-inch margins on all sides (top, bottom, left and right).
• Randolph-Macon College Logos can be downloaded on the Marketing Communications page.
• Save or export your PowerPoint file to PDF (instruction here).

 Research Poster Mock-up

Poster-printing is for college-sponsored research projects and educational events.

Payment Methods:

• Inter-office Cross Charge: If the department or office pays for poster-printing, the requesting faculty or staff must provide the email of the Department Chair or Office Head. We will contact the Chairperson for completing a cross-charge form.
• Personal payments: Please use the RMC online Transact page found HERE. A tutorial on using the online payment system can be found in this PDF.

Please complete the payment before picking up your poster.

Submit your PDF file for printing

(Use your RMC email and password).

Contact:

Dori Broomell, Library Technologist & Makerspace Manager

Lily Zhang, Head of Instructional Design & Technology

Are you passionate about crafts and technology? Do you have ideas that could make our Makerspace better? 

Click here to share your ideas and feedback (using your RMC sign-in). Thank you!