Tips for printing your Poster

Whether you're printing your poster at home or having it professionally printed, here are some helpful tips to get the best results!

IMPORTANT: CHOOSE THE RIGHT FILE FIRST!

1. Decide if you want the poster design to print all the way to the edge of the paper ("with bleeds"). This option tends to be more expensive and may also take a little longer to produce. If this is your preference, choose a file with "bleed" in the file name. For example,  "1origbw-bleed" is the file name for Style #1 with bleeds.

PRO TIP: "Bleeds" mean that images print all the way to the edges of the paper. These files have an extra margin added on, making them slightly larger than those without bleeds; after printing, the paper is trimmed down to the correct size.

2. If a small white margin around all 4 sides will be okay ("without bleeds"), choose a PDF with a file name that does NOT include the word "bleed". (Example: "2whitelandscape" is Style #2 without bleeds.) This is a good option if you plan to frame your poster, as the margin will prevent the frame from covering the text.

PRO TIP: The frames that are literally called "poster frames" will work well with this option.

ADDITIONAL NOTES for all poster styles:

1. The PDF files for all 4 poster styles (without bleeds) are 18" x 24". All text is placed inside a 1/2" margin; be sure to take this into account when choosing a frame. 

2. If you intend to print in black & white only, please choose style #1, which is designed to print optimally in black & white. (If you try to print a color file in black & white, it will not have as much contrast, and therefore may affect the readability.)

3. Printing at home? These posters are designed to be readable even as small as letter size (8.5" x 11"), but will have that white margin around the edges (the minimum margin varies). Be sure to choose the "Scale to Fit" option in your printer's Page Setup dialog box.

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INSTRUCTIONS TO GIVE PROFESSIONAL PRINTERS

1. If you want your poster printed at anything other than the original file size (again, that's 18" x 24"), you must tell the printer the finished dimensions you want. Be aware that the new dimensions must be the same aspect ratio as the original; ask your printer for available paper sizes that will work.

PRO TIP: Aspect ratio refers to the proportion of height to width in a document. The aspect ratio of this poster design is 3:4 (4:3 for Style #2).

2. Definitely tell the printer if you want your poster "with bleeds" — and be sure you have the right file version for this (the file names all have the word "bleed" in them). Again, bleeds do cost more and may take a little longer to produce.

3. COPYRIGHT PERMISSION

Professional printers are likely to ask if you have permission to print this poster, because it has a copyright notice on it. Here is our permission text (you can copy and paste this into instructions for your printer), and it's good for your own information also:

"Karida Griffith grants permission to print 1 copy of 1 poster design to this customer. The PDF file may not be copied or distributed in any form, either physical or electronic, and is not for resale."

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