Poster Support

The Office of Undergraduate Research, Scholarly, & Creative Activity, along with the UW Green Bay Libraries, offers free poster printing to UWGB students who are presenting research at professional conferences or events or other non-course related activitites. Poster printing requests must be initiated by the sponsoring instructor.

Instructors: Complete one form for each conference or event for which you will be sponsoring student work. Include all student projects you will sponsor for the event/ conference on a single form. If you have students who are working in groups, list only ONE lead student per poster. The lead student will receive detailed instructions on the submission process, and be responsible for submitting the electronic file for printing and for picking the poster up from the library once it is printed. You will receive a confirmation with the poster submission date and pick up date. Poster printing requires a minimum of a 2 week lead time.

Request Poster Printing

Poster Templates

Download the Poster Template

Planning Your Poster

Before you start you should have the following information:

• The size requirements/ restrictions for your poster, this may vary by conference. The templates on this page default to the standard poster size of 48x36 inches.
• The due dates for poster printing and pick up, and when you are presenting your poster.
• If there are poster content requirements like specific sections, funding/ sponsor information or conference logos.

Creating your content:

• Identify what points are vital to your work and need to be communicated on the poster.
• Summarize your research in a concise and clear way, use vocabulary that your audience understands.
• Write your content first, then transfer it to your poster. *tip* Have someone who is unfamiliar with your project read your content to be sure you are clearly communicating the important points.
• The following sections are commonly found on a poster, but they may vary by discipline and/ or project scope. Check in with your instructor if you are unsure of which sections to include.
  • Title
  • Authors and their affiliations
  • Abstract
  • Introduction/background
  • Material and Method
  • Results
  • Conclusion/ Discussion
  • References
  • Acknowledgements

Suggested Font sizes

Use these suggested font ranges to ensure your poster is readable for your veiwers.  Ideal font size will vary depending on your selected font and the size of your poster, these are general guidelines:

• Main title: 72 - 158 point
• Box/ section headings: 42 - 56 point
• Body text: 24 - 36 point
• Captions: 18 - 24 point

Tips for adding images, figures, and tables to your poster:

• For printing, each image in your poster should be between 150-300 dpi. Resolution below 150 dpi will likely result in a pixelated image.
• Insert images directly into PowerPoint, do not copy and paste.
• You can copy and paste excel charts and graphs directly into PowerPoint.
• Charts, graphs, and tables should be original figures that you designed or created. 
• All graphics should have clear labels. Most disciplines have a standard method for labeling graphs/ charts/ images.
  • https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/tables-figures
  • https://mlahandbookplus.org/books/book/5/chapter/56275/Tables-and-Illustrations

QR Codes

• Adding a QR code to your poster is a great way to direct your audience to additional research details or references, a feedback form or survey, or your contact information.

• QR Code Generators:
  GOQR.me (Free)
  QR-code-generator.com (Free)
  QRcode-monkey.com (Free)

Planning your presentation: what do you say when people ask you about your research?

• Unless the conference or event you are attending has a specific time allotment for your presentation, it is best to prepare and practice a 2-minute and a 5-minute version of your presentation.
• Know your audience. The presentation you plan for an academic conference where all attendees likely have a substantial background in your discipline will be different from the presentation you plan for a general audience (like the UWGB Academic Excellence Symposium).
• Your poster is the basis for your presentation: follow its structure to highlight important points – if 40% of your poster is Results, then spend 40% of your time talking about that section.
• Emphasize your key take-away points.