FAQ

• Learn our requirements from this site. It is especially important to review our Guidelines page.
• Verify there is a slot available for printing at our Poster Printing Queue page.
• Submit a final version of your poster online by the deadline of Tuesday at 5pm. Note that we have a limit of 60 print slots available per week. It is possible we may run out of slots before the Tuesday 5pm deadline.
• 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 60 available slots are filled.
• Posters are ONLY printed on Wednesdays. Note that 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 and pinned on our X (formerly Twitter) page.
• We email you with pickup directions once the poster is printed and ready for pickup on a Wednesday.
• Poster staff are in the office until 30 minutes after the last poster has printed.

Final, print-ready versions of posters must be submitted by 5pm on a Tuesday for printing on Wednesday OR submitted before all 60 available print slots are taken (which ever occurs first). 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 and our Twitter feed.

As of June 1, 2023, the Knight ADRC can no longer accept credit cards for payment. This also means that poster printing printing is limited to Washington University 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.

Posters that would be billed to MIR cannot be printed at the Knight ADRC. We have been instructed to reject any MIR poster orders. MIR has its own printing service that you will need to utilize.

The Knight ADRC can only bill online in Workday via an Internal Service Delivery (ISD). This means we’ll need the Cost Center number that will be responsible for payment of the poster. Note that this may or may not be the Cost Center that poster requestor is associated with, and will never contain “Payroll” in the name. We require the Cost Center number that will be paying for the cost of the poster.

We do not accept cash, Bear Bucks, checks or process credit cards in person at our location.

We do not accept files in person. All files must be submitted via the online Order Form.

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.

We only accept PDF files as of 1/1/2023. 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.

When designing a poster, you should never just open up PowerPoint and start creating a poster on the default slide. The default’s slide size in inches is not appropriate for large posters in 99% of situations. Either use a template or, if you need a custom size, then set your slide’s size to a Custom Slide Size which is in inches.

You need to know:

1. Your poster size limit at your presentation venue.
2. Our maximum printable dimensions:
   1. 42-inches by 59-feet on our 42-inch roll media
   2. 36-inches by 59-feet on our 36-inch roll media
3. The maximum size of a PowerPoint slide if using PowerPoint for creating a poster (56-inches by 56-inches)
4. The goal is to create a poster that is 100% of the poster size limit at the presentation venue; however, it must also meet requirements from numbers 2 & 3 above as well.
5. If your size limit at the venue is 4-feet by 7-feet for example, you’re limited to 42-inches by our printer on that 4-foot dimension. The 7-foot dimension is within our 59-foot printer limit. However, a 42-inch by 7-foot poster is larger than PowerPoint’s limit (see #3). So, it would be impossible to create a 42-inch by 7-foot poster in PowerPoint. When this situation occurs, you should design a slide at half-size. You would set your PowerPoint’s custom slide size to 21-inches by 42-inches (half of 42-inches by 7-feet). Then on the order form, you select the option to scale the short side to 42-inches (effectively doubling the size of the file’s dimensions when printed).
6. Export a PDF of the PowerPoint slide. Select File > Export within PowerPoint. If you do not see the option to do File > Export and select a PDF file type, your version of PowerPoint is out of date. Follow the instructions HERE to update your version of Office. If you are unable to upgrade your version of PowerPoint, you can use a free, online file-converter such a Covert.io or Zamzar; however, you should thoroughly review the created PDF before submitting an order to us. This is particularly true if you are using an online conversion service with a MacOS source file. As with any submitted file for printing through us, you are responsible for any error contained within your PDF.
7. Before submitting the poster in this example, you should look at the entire poster in a program that can read PDF files at a magnification of 200% because this is how it will look printed (because we’re doubling its size when printed). Make sure all of your embedded images are of sufficient quality so they look acceptable for viewing at 200% magnification.
8. If your file looks fine, submit your poster via our online order form.

Approximately 8 posters per hour are put into our pickup bins with the first 8 posters generally ready by 9am. 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.

Poster staff are in the office until 30 minutes after the last poster has printed.

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 9am. 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. If you submit an invalid file or provide incorrect information regarding your print, your poster may be rejected.

Once your poster is ready for pickup, we will email you with directions to pickup your poster. Once you have been notified via email, 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.

Poster staff are in the office until 30 minutes after the last poster has printed.

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.

Submit your poster as early as possible before the 5pm deadline on Tuesdays. Refer to our Poster Printing Queue in order to determine how many posters have already been slotted to print. Do not email us or add a print-by X time request on your order form. 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.

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. Your only option is to email us to cancel your poster if it hasn’t printed on Wednesday, and you will need to print elsewhere.

Generally, up until 7am on a Wednesday it is possible to cancel your poster order. Beyond 7am, 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.

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.

We are unable to accept rush requests.

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.

We do not offer delivery.

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.

We have two different sized rolls (36-inch and 42-inch) for fabric. This means that the maximum size fabric poster that we can print cannot exceed 42-inches on one of your poster’s dimensions. The limit to the other dimension of your poster cannot exceed the poster printer’s limit of 59-feet in length.

Review our Guidelines and Media Types pages for more info.

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). It is your responsibility to know the dimensions of your poster as well as the dimension limits for your presentation space at your event.

• Determine size in PowerPoint
• 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).

To avoid a margin beyond the printer’s default margin, 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.

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).

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.

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.

Fabric posters should avoid moisture. While they are water-resistant, you are still dealing with an inkjet print. For more information on our media and how to care for your poster, visit our Media Types page.

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.

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.

• FedEx Office (Medical Campus)
• Digital Imaging Center (Pathology & Immunology, Medical Campus)
• Chemistry (Danforth Campus | carries fabric)
• Olin Library (Danforth Campus)
• McKelvey School of Engineering (Danforth Campus)
• Office of Undergraduate Research (Danforth Campus)
• HI/TEC Copy Center (Danforth Campus)

There are also online places such as PosterSmith that can print same-day and offer quick, free shipping.