Poster Printing

Office of Undergraduate Research Poster Printing for Undergraduate Scholarship

In 2026, the Office of Undergraduate Research received generous funding courtesy of the UNC System for a poster printer. This printer is used for undergraduate scholarship (research, creative activity, academic initiatives) purposes. Posters are free of charge to undergraduate students who are either the primary presenter, secondary presenter, or are part of a team presentation at conferences, symposia, seminars, and other scholarly outlets. This service is also free to faculty/staff or students/student groups who wish to promote undergraduate activities of a scholarly nature.

These guidelines are adapted from the Joyner Library Poster Printing Service webpage and have been modified accordingly for the Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR).

General Guidelines and Conditions

  • OUR may deny any request at its discretion. 
  • Limit: One (1) poster per requestor per semester. OUR may deny any request based on suitability of the content for scholarship and ECU business or frequency of requests at its discretion. Personal posters will not be printed. 
  • Minimize the use of color-heavy text boxes, banners, and backgrounds. OUR may return your request for editing at its discretion. The templates offered by Joyner Library can be the starting point for your poster’s design and modified accordingly as needed. 
  • Please bear with us. OUR is not equipped to manage high volume requests nor do we have the expertise to assist you with creative design or technical troubleshooting matters. OUR will not troubleshoot any issues that are outside of our capabilities for you. OUR is not responsible for editing or formatting posters. Do work out all issues on your end of things before submitting the file. 
  • If you are submitting an Adobe PDF, make sure that your PDF is in the best possible quality for printing. This can be determined via a basic web search. 
  • Please note that the Teaching Resources Center poster printer is available to all ECU students and Educator Library Card holders. The TRC poster printer is limited to widths of 24” and not suitable for research/conference presentations. 
  • OUR will not print any document 11″x17″ or smaller. To print documents 11″x17″ or smaller, users should contact ECU Rapid Copy. 

 

File Specifications and Processing

  • File Type: PPTX or PDF (no other formats accepted) 
  • Orientation: Portrait or Landscape 
  • Dimensions: The maximum width is 36″ and the maximum length is 48″. Smaller dimensions are allowable but the user must factor-in possibly having to remove excess dead space in the margins yourself. You may follow the printing guidelines and the current 36″x48″ PPTX or Adobe templates provided by Joyner Library. When creating a poster slide using PowerPoint, the slide MUST be set up at the actual size that you will have printed. For example, if you are requesting a 36″x48″ poster, then the slide dimensions under the Page Setup options should be 36″x48″ as well. Poster printing requests that exceed 48” will be denied. 
  • Margins: To ensure best fit, margins must NOT be smaller than 0.5″ all around. 
  • Graphs: When working with graphs, we recommend creating them with your preferred platform (Excel, Prism, etc.). If using Excel, copy the graph then Paste Special as an image file (PNG or Enhanced Metafile) to PowerPoint or Adobe. If using other platforms, then you may need to Export them as an image first – please use learning resources available for your platform as we don’t have the full expertise to assist you. 
  • Lead Time: Allow up to two weeks processing time. Prints will likely be denied for any urgent or overnight requests. 
    • Pick-Up: You will be notified when your poster is ready for pick-up and its location. 

 

File Specifications and Processing

  1. File Type: PPTX or PDF (no other formats accepted)
  2. Orientation: Portrait or Landscape
  3. Dimensions: The maximum width is 36″ and the maximum length is 48″. Smaller dimensions are allowable but the user must factor-in possibly having to remove excess dead space in the margins yourself. You may follow the printing guidelines and the current 36″x48″ PPTX or Adobe templates provided by Joyner Library. When creating a poster slide using PowerPoint, the slide MUST be set up at the actual size that you will have printed. For example, if you are requesting a 36″x48″ poster, then the slide dimensions under the Page Setup options should be 36″x48″ as well. Poster printing requests that exceed 48” will be denied.
  4. Margins: To ensure best fit, margins must NOT be smaller than 0.5″ all around.
  5. Graphs: When working with graphs, we recommend creating them with your preferred platform (Excel, Prism, etc.). If using Excel, copy the graph then Paste Special as an image file (PNG or Enhanced Metafile) to PowerPoint or Adobe. If using other platforms, then you may need to Export them as an image first – please use learning resources available for your platform as we don’t have the full expertise to assist you.
  6. Other Helpful Hints: See the Joyner Library Poster Printing Service page.
  7. Lead Time: Allow up to two weeks processing time. Prints will likely be denied for any urgent or overnight requests.
  8. Pick-Up: You will be notified when your poster is ready for pick-up and its location.

Submit Poster Request: Use this Form


How to Save as Adobe PDF Files

Windows (PowerPoint for Windows 2016 or later) 

  • Open your PowerPoint presentation. 
  • Click File in the top-left corner. 
  • Select Export from the sidebar menu. 
  • Click Create PDF/XPS Document, then select Create PDF/XPS. 
  • Choose a location to save your file. 
  • Under Optimize for, select:  
  • Standard (best for printing) 
  • Click Options… if you want to select specific slides or change other settings. 
  • Click Publish to save the PDF. 

 

Mac (PowerPoint for Mac 2016 or later)

  • Open your PowerPoint presentation. 
  • Click File in the menu bar. 
  • Select Export. 
  • In the File Format dropdown, choose PDF. 
  • Adjust other options as needed (e.g., slide range, image quality). 
  • Click Export to save the PDF.