A
Word About Images
If
you are including any type of graphic in your poster, no matter
what program you are using to create your poster, it is important
that you use a graphics program to resize your images
to the actual size you want them to appear on your poster
(example). This is so important! Especially
in PowerPoint posters. PowerPoint has a tendency to change
the size of the picture to whatever size it is trying to squeeze
it in to, so it is also important that you check the size
of the image box and make sure it is set to the same size
that your image is. The only exception and not all the time
is with Microsoft Clip Art, which in most cases can be stretched
within a Microsoft program without loosing clarity.
Please
remember if the graphic is fuzzy on your
computer screen at 100% visual than it will print
fuzzy. Our printers are awesome printers, but unfortunately
they cannot do magic.
Biggest
Tip...
When
"exporting" or "saving as" an image or
PDF file from ANY program make sure the output resolution
is set at least 200 pixels/in. Then look at your image magnified
at 150% to 200% to check the clarity of the "export"
or "save as". You may even want to go to 300 pixels/in
and compare the outcome and choose which to use as your finished
product.
Example
from Photoshop® 7.0 (PC)
(Photoshop
has a very nice image resize wizard. Go to the Help
menu and select Resize Image.)
...but
if you like to do things manually here is an example. Open
your image in Adobe Photoshop®.  From
the menu select Image, Image Size. This will bring up a window
like the one below. This window tells you the existing properties
of your image. This image is very large (11.4M). As is, it
can be viewed and printed from a document at the size of 10.643
inches by 7.096 inches, and is at 230 dpi. (Note: When you
are resizing an image it is important that you have the constrain
proportions box checked. Otherwise your image will
be distorted.) If you change any of these numbers the others
will automatically adjust to the new settings. Since you are
worried about printing this image you need to concentrate
on Document Size part of box.
In the next example you will see that I have changed the Document
Size Width to 6' which in turn automatically adjusted the
Height to 4". I have also adjusted the resolution to
150 pixels/inch. By changing the resolution to 150 dpi you
will decrease your image file size, making it easier to work
with without effecting the outcome. (Images printed at this
resolution compared to higher resolutions cannot be distinguished
between with the naked eye.)
Okay,
what did we do?
- We
changed the Document Size to print 4"x6".
- We
brought the resolution down to 150 pixel/inch.
- We
took an image that was 1.07 MB and made it 159 KB, in turn
this will reduce your file size and make your poster easier
to work with.
Now,
it is time to save your file. Go to File, Save As, name your
file and select the format you would like to save it as (i.e.
.jpg,.png, tiff, pict, etc..). Once that is done you are ready
to insert it into your poster file.
For
more detailed instructions please see the help file in your
Adobe Photoshop program under "Changing image size and
resolution" and reading the section on "Sharpening
images" is recommended as well.
Inserting
an Image into PowerPoint®
After
You have set up your document in PowerPoint (see Poster
Set Up) you can insert your image by choosing from the
menu -- Insert, Picture, From File. The picture
will look extremely small if you are viewing entire poster
on the page at once (at about 11% of your document size) .
To get an idea of how the picture size will look with your
text view your poster at 100% to get actual size comparisons.
If you want to resize your picture you will be tempted just
to stretch your picture on the screen. Do it at your own risk!
It would be better if you went back to your graphics program
and resized the original picture to the size you need. Remember
we made this image to specifically print 4"x6".
Note:
Don't forget to set-up your custom page size for your poster
before you start putting in all your hard work!
More
to Come...
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