The Learning Commons

W. E. B. Du Bois Library, University of Massachusetts Amherst

 

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HOME  > POSTER PRINTING

Poster Printing

About the Service | Pricing and Payment | Before Your Appointment | When You Arrive | Make an Appointment | F.A.Q.

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About the service

Poster printer
  • Print posters up to 42" wide
  • Heavyweight, satin-finish photo paper
  • Open to all
  • By appointment only (view calendar/make reservation)
  • Payment by UCard or guest card only
  • Poster must be in one of these formats: PDF, PSD, JPG, GIF, TIFF, PNG, BMP. (PDF conversion software is available on all workstations in the Learning Commons.)

Pricing and payment

  • Posters cost $0.50 per inch on the longer side of your job. Examples:
    • 18" x 24" = $12.00 (24 x $0.50)
    • 24" x 36" = $18.00 (36 x $0.50)
    • 30" x 40" = $20.00 (40 x $0.50)
    • 36" x 48" = $24.00 (48 x $0.50)
    • If the longer side of your job is an odd number of inches, you may be charged up to the next (even) inch (e.g., 25" would be charged for 26", $13.00).
  • Payment must be made using a UCard or guest card.
    • UCard website (check balance, add value, more)
    • Guest cards are available for purchase from UCard Value Transfer Stations located in the Learning Commons (lower level) and Floor 5 of the W.E.B. Du Bois Library.
  • We have a number of preset page sizes which are set up to work with the pay for print system. We can add custom sizes with sufficient advance notice. If the longer side of your poster is greater than 42", please let us know at least 48 hours in advance. Otherwise, you might be charged for a slightly larger poster size. Ask in advance if you have questions!

Before your appointment

  • Important! The following must be done before your appointment time. Appointments are tightly scheduled.
  • Format your file: The poster must be in PDF or an image format that can be opened in Photoshop (PSD, JPG, GIF, TIFF, BMP, PNG). Proofread everything carefully: if converting your file to PDF, proofread both before and after converting. You can convert your poster to PDF in the Learning Commons. Please convert the file to PDF BEFORE arriving for your scheduled appointment time. LC staff are happy to help—just come a little early.
  • Preview the converted file CAREFULLY to make sure everything is as you want it. View the file at 100% size so that you see it as it will appear printed out. Look for typos, misalignments, pixelation, stray lines or other oddities. Refunds are not available if something doesn’t appear the way you like it. Refunds are only available in the case of equipment malfunction. You'll have a chance to look over your file one last time during your appointment.
  • If you are having trouble formatting your poster so that it looks good at the size of the final product, check out our poster design tips, or ask at the LC Desk.
  • Bring your file on a USB drive or CD/DVD, or have it ready to download from your UDrive or other Web-accessible storage location.
  • Bring your UCard or a guest card with enough money on it to pay for your job (plus a dollar or two for wiggle room).
  • Plan on at least an hour for the active part of your appointment. Once the poster starts printing, it could take longer. You can come back later to pick up the poster if necessary.
  • Transporting your poster: If you’d like a tube for your poster, please be sure to bring one with you. Tubes can be purchased at the University Store in the Campus Center.

When you arrive

  • Come to the Learning Commons & Technical Support Desk (lower level, W.E.B. Du Bois Library) at your appointment time. A staff person will meet you and work with you on printing your poster.
  • We’ll load your file onto our workstation and review the file with you to make sure it is the correct size and format. It is up to you to make sure the file looks the way you want it before you arrive—but you’ll have an opportunity to give it one last look-over before it is printed.
  • We’ll send the job from our workstation up to the printer, which is located upstairs in the tower. You and an LC staff member will go upstairs, where you will swipe your UCard and release the job. The job will start printing. Posters can take anywhere from a few minutes to 2 hours or more to print. Please budget at least 1 hour for your active appointment time, with the understanding that you may need to come back later in the day to retrieve your final printed poster.
  • If you are more than 15 minutes late for your appointment, or if your file is not ready to send to the printer by 15 minutes into your appointment, you may need to forfeit your appointment time and reschedule.

Make an appointment

  • Go to our Appointments Page: view available appointments on the calendar; fill out the form under the calendar to request a time.
  • Someone will get back to you to confirm your reservation within 24 hours.

F.A.Q.

  • Can I walk in and print a poster? No, you need to make an appointment at least 24 hours in advance. See available appointments/request appointment .
  • Can I charge the poster to my department or program? Only if your department or program can supply you with a departmental UCard or guest card that you can swipe to pay for the poster. UCard and guest card are the only forms of payment we accept. Please see your department administrator if you have questions.
  • Can I print a PowerPoint slide? Only if you convert it to PDF first. This can be done easily at any workstation in the Learning Commons--staff at the LC Desk would be happy to help. See also Making a Poster Using PowerPoint 2007, from Dickinson College.
  • I have questions about planning/designing my poster. We've collected some poster design resources that might help. We're happy to try to answer what we can, but LC staff are not experts at poster planning or design.
  • What kind of printer/paper do you have? We have an HP DesignJet Z3100ps 42" color printer. The paper we use is 42" wide HP Premium Satin Instant Dry. It is heavyweight, photo-quality paper.
  • Can I print multiple copies? We can print only one copy per appointment slot.
  • Will you trim my poster to a smaller size if the printed area is less than 42 inches? If your poster needs further trimming, you will need to trim it to the size you desire.
  • I need exact color calibration/an archival quality print. Our service is designed for student-level work: poster presentations for classes, conferences, etc. While the printed product is very high quality, it is not archival-quality. We do not offer exact color calibration: what you see on the printed page may not be identical to what you see on the screen, although it will be close. We can refer you to other area services that may offer more advanced options.
  • What if I notice a typo or error or change my mind after the job is sent to the printer? When you arrive for your appointment, you'll have a chance to preview your file one last time to make sure all looks as it should. Once you swipe your UCard or guest card, you commit to paying to print the file. Refunds and reprints are available only in the event of printer malfunction, such as the printer running out of ink or paper partway through your job. If you need to reprint your job for any other reason, you will need to make another appointment and pay for the reprint.
  • I have more questions! Email us at posters@library.umass.edu. Let us know how you'd like to be contacted back (phone, email, etc.). Someone will get back to you within 24 hours.