In addition to reviewing our FAQ below, it’s a good idea to review the Guidelines, Cost and Media Types pages as well. We provide a wealth of information including poster setup, design, proper file exporting for printing and so on. If after reviewing our poster related pages you still have questions, send an email to posters@abraxas.wustl.eduBEFORE submitting an order.
Service Availability Disclaimer
Started in 2005, the Knight ADRC poster printing service was originally only available to Center-affiliated research investigators. As a courtesy, and to promote the dissemination valuable research data, the Center extended the poster service to all of WashU.
The poster service is not a for-profit business. It is operated and managed by one staff member who has additional job duties. While every attempt is made to adhere to our Wednesday print schedule, the availability of the poster service is subject to change without notice due to weather, staff availability, Center-related emergencies, tech/hardware failure, other IT-related issues, and other situations not listed here. While extremely rare in our 20+ year history, printing may be canceled at the last minute due to one of these situations.
If you are not comfortable with a potential disruption in our print service, we recommend you print elsewhere. A list of other printers is provided in the last question on this page.
Who can print at the Knight ADRC?
Poster printing is limited to WashU and WashU Medicine with payment via departmental ISD in WorkDay. A valid Cost Center number is required when submitting our online order form.
If you are from GSON, BJH or UHSP, consider using FedEx, HI/TEC, or an online printer that can process credit cards.
If you submit your poster to the Knight ADRC Poster Center, we assume that you have secured the necessary permission from your PI/mentor/supervisor along with your business office to print using our service. Note that if you have not secured such permission, you may be required to reimburse your business office the cost of the poster using your personal funds.
What does the poster process entail?
Learn our requirements from this site. It is especially important to review our Guidelines page.
Be aware that we only print on Wednesdays with a deadline for submissions no later than 5pm on Tuesday. Some Wednesdays may be unavailable for printing. A current list of unavailable print-dates can be found at the top of the online order form.
Before you attempt to submit a poster, it’s helpful to verify there is a slot available for printing at our Poster Printing Queue page.
Submit a final version of your poster via our online order form by the deadline of Tuesday at 5pm. No files are accepted beyond 5pm on Tuesday. Note that we have a limit of 100 print slots available per week. It is possible we may run out of slots before the Tuesday 5pm deadline. We do not accept in-person or orders via email.
Orders without a submitted poster file by 5pm on Tuesday will be cancelled without exception. This includes orders that use the Box upload option.
You will receive an email confirming receipt of your submission. Additional instructions and information are provided in the email that you should carefully review.
We review the submission and reach out with questions if submitted before the order form closes on Tuesdays at 5pm or before all 100 available slots are filled.
We email you with pickup directions once the poster is printed and ready for pickup on a Wednesday. All posters are printed by 4pm each Wednesday.
Poster staff are in the office until 30 minutes after the last poster has printed.
What is the deadline for poster submissions?
Final, print-ready versions of posters, whether attached to the online order form or uploaded via our Box upload option, must be submitted by 5pm on a Tuesday for printing on Wednesday OR submitted before all 100 available print slots are taken (which ever occurs first). Orders with no submitted poster file(s) by 5pm on Tuesday will be cancelled without exception.
As of January 1, 2025, revised poster files submitted to the Knight ADRC poster service between the hours of 12pm and 5pm on Tuesdays will incur a $20 revision fee per submitted revision in addition to the standard cost of the printed poster. A list of alternative locations that print posters is provided as part of the last question on this page.
Note that certain holidays or other days when staff are unavailable due to Center-important events may impact the deadline day and/or time. As with any change in service availability, changes to the deadline will be communicated at the top of the online order form.
Please be aware that waiting until 30 minutes before the 5pm submission deadline to submit your poster, you run the risk that this online order form may be overwhelmed from other last-minute orders. Your submission may not be accepted and you’ll need to print elsewhere.
ABSOLUTELY NO NEW POSTER ORDERS OR REVISED FILES WILL BE ACCEPTED VIA EMAIL WHEN THE ONLINE ORDER FORM IS CLOSED. UNLESS YOU ARE CANCELLING AN ORDER, ALL OTHER EMAILS WILL BE IGNORED!
Do you offer same-day printing?
No.
Can I reserve a printing slot or pay a rush fee?
No. Additionally, you cannot submit an empty form with the promise to submit a poster file before the deadline. These orders will be rejected. Do not submit a draft copy of your poster to secure a print spot and then continually submit multiple revisions. If you are found to be abusing the poster ordering processed, you may be blacklisted from printing at the Knight ADRC. Only final, thoroughly reviewed, print-ready PDFs of posters should be submitted.
What file types do you accept?
We only accept PDF files. Refer to our Guidelines page for more details on how to create a proper PDF for printing.
Whatever appears in your submitted PDF is what will be printed. We will not edit (add or remove) any element to the file you have submitted. Review your PDF carefully before submitting.
What types of material can I print on?
We currently ONLY carry foldable fabric in 36-inch and 42-inch rolls. Refer to our Media Types page for more information. See the last question on this page for other locations that print paper posters.
Detailed instructions are provided in the Important Design Guidelines section on our Guidelines page.
How long will my poster take to print?
Approximately 8 posters per hour are put into our pickup bins with the first 8 posters generally ready by 9:30am. However, some posters are longer or shorter than others making it impossible for us to predict an exact time of when your poster will be done.
Refer to our Poster Printing Queue when (or before) you submit your order to get an idea of where you are in that week’s queue. See the When will my poster be ready for pickup? question below for further, important details. We will always email as soon as your poster is ready for pickup.
When will my poster be ready for pickup?
We print on a first-submitted first-printed system. So, the earlier you submit, the earlier your poster will be printed in the day. Approximately 8 posters per hour are put into our pickup bin with the first 8 posters generally ready by 9:30am. The last poster should be printed by no later than 4pm.
Refer to our Poster Printing Queue when (or before) you submit your order to get an idea of where you are in that week’s queue. On Wednesdays, you can refer to the Poster Queue page to keep track of the posters being printed that day.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: It’s best not submit a poster for printing if you need it by an exact time on a Wednesday. Due to the variability in poster size, ink coverage, and design complexity it’s impossible for us to provide an exact time that your specific poster will be ready for pickup. Additionally, other factors such a needing to load new rolls of media, periodic calibration and nozzle events, and other events beyond our control can and do impact the speed of posters being printed. All posters submitted should be ready before 4pm on a Wednesday if there are no issues. We will email you as soon as yours is ready for pickup.
I need my poster by a specific time. What can I do?
We cannot guarantee a specific time for your particular poster to be done by. The earlier you submit and slot your poster in the queue, the earlier in the day we’ll contact you letting you know it’s ready for pickup.
If our printing schedule does not work for your timetable, you are welcome to select another printer that better accommodates your needs. We provide a list of several other locations to print both near and on campus in the last question on this page.
Where can I pickup my poster?
Once your poster is ready for pickup, we will email you with directions to pickup your poster at our location on the medical campus. Pickup can occur between the hours of 7am-6pm (Mon-Fri) and 8am-12pm on Saturday. There is nothing to sign. You (or someone you designate) do not need to pickup the same day, but it is highly suggested that you do. Posters accepted for printing will be available by end-of-day the same Wednesday they are printed.
Please note that posters cannot get wet. If it might rain or snow, bring something of appropriate length to protect your poster. Even a large garbage bag or two will suffice so long as your poster is not exposed to the elements.
Posters will be thrown away by 8am the immediate Wednesday after a poster is printed if not picked up!
How can I tell which poster is mine in the poster cart?
Posters are placed in the cart with the poster requestor’s name on a label at the top-corner of the poster on the non-printed side (see image below). It’s very easy to see the label by lifting the exposed corner. You do not need to remove the poster from the slot in the cart to determine which poster is yours. Simply check the label on the non-printed side for your name.
Please be respectful of other people’s posters. Do not move posters to other slots. Do not turn them upside down making it difficult for other people to find their poster. Posters are placed into the cart with the name label at the top.
I need to submit a revised poster file!
As of January 1, 2025, revised poster files submitted to the Knight ADRC poster service between the hours of 12pm and 5pm on Tuesdays will incur a $20 revision fee per submitted revision in addition to the standard cost of the printed poster. A list of alternative locations that print posters is provided as part of the last question on this page.
If it is prior to 5pm on Tuesday, you may submit any revised file(s) via email to posters@abraxas.wustl.edu if it is under 100MB. If a file or files total more than 100MB, use the Box Upload option and be sure that each poster filename has your name as a part of it. Also, please email posters@abraxas.wustl.edu that you have just uploaded revisions to our Box Upload folder.
If it is past 5pm on Tuesday, revised files will not be processed for printing on Wednesday. We will print the last file you submitted prior to 5pm on Tuesday. After 5pm on Tuesday, your only option is to email us to cancel your poster order if you are not satisfied with us printing your last poster file submitted prior to 5pm on Tuesday. If you attempt to cancel your poster on Wednesday morning, your poster may have already been printed or is in the process of printing. If that is the case, you will still be charged for your print.
Can I cancel my poster?
Generally, up until 8am on a Wednesday it is possible to cancel your poster order. Beyond 8am, your poster may be mid-print or drying. In these situations you will be charged for your poster as material and ink have been consumed. You should email posters@abraxas.wustl.edu as soon as possible and see if cancelling your poster without incurring cost is possible.
Failure to pay for a poster that has been printed may result in your PI and/or department being notified as well as the possibility of being blacklisted from printing at the Knight ADRC.
What size poster can I print with the Knight ADRC?
Please refer to the Our Maximum Printable Dimensions section on our Guidelines page.
How big will my poster be when printed?
It is your responsibility to know the dimensions of your poster as well as the dimension limits for your presentation space at your event before submitting a poster to print.
That depends! If you’re not having us scale the poster up or down in size when we print it, then the poster will be printed the exact size of your poster file (unless it exceeds our size limitations). If one of your poster’s dimensions is not 36″ or 42″, your poster will have a margin. We do not trim posters. On the order form, you are given an option to put the margin on one side of your poster or to split the margin in half with your poster.
In Adobe Acrobat Reader: Press Ctrl+D on your keyboard or click File > Properties (Document Properties) > Description tab. Within the Advanced Information section, you’ll find Page Size
If we’re scaling your poster to fit either the 36-inch or 42-inch roll media, you can use our Scaling Calculator to get a good estimate of your poster’s final, printed size. This will also give you a fairly close estimate of the cost (see question further below on cost).
How can I avoid a margin?
To avoid a margin when your poster has one dimension that isn’t 36″ or 42″, you have 2 options:
Design a poster where one of your poster’s dimensions is either 36-inches or 42-inches. The remaining dimension cannot exceed 708-inches.
Select of our scaling options from the online order form so that your poster is automatically, proportionally scaled up (or down) to fit either our 36-inch or 42-inch roll media. You should know your file’s current dimensions before selecting a scaling option. Use our Scaling Calculator to help calculate your poster’s printed size if you opt for scaling.
Note that all posters will have a small white border because borderless printing on the foldable material is not possible.
How much will my poster cost?
We charge $0.83 per linear inch. We round to the nearest inch when calculating the billable length. Review the Cost & Billing page for more details on determining your billable length (most often your longest side). Note that you may also incur additional charges for submitting revised poster files between the hours of 12pm and 5pm on Tuesdays. Refer to the Cost & Billing page.
Can I get a sample print?
We do not offer sample prints. Whatever appears in your submitted PDF is what will be printed. We will not edit (add or remove) any element to the file you have submitted. Review your PDF carefully before submitting.
Do you trim posters?
We do not have that capability. This is why we recommend that at least one length of your poster be either 36-inch or 42-inch to fit our media. If you will have a margin, fabric media makes it easier to simply fold that margin under when hanging rather than dealing with scissors. The fabric media can also be cut with a sharp pair of shears if desired.
Do you sell poster tubes?
We do not sell poster tubes. You can check local art supply stores (e.g., BLICK), EngineerSupply and Amazon. We recommend Alvin Ice Tubes rather than telescoping tubes. Make sure that the tube you buy is long enough. Note that if the cap inserts into the tube, rather than fitting over the end like a traditional cap, your tube needs to be longer than your actual poster or the inserted cap will damage the top of your poster.
Are there other places I can print my poster?
Other possible poster printing locations can be found below. We provide no details or guarantees regarding their price, turnaround time, quality, materials available, etc. This is merely a list found using Google and no preference is given to any entity listed below. This also is likely not an all-inclusive list of all places available for printing.
