Posters are a great way of non-verbal communication. Whether you want to brand your business, run a fundraising campaign, or held a protest, a nice poster can help you convey your message in a good manner.
However, sometimes it can be a little costly and tiring if you hire someone to print a poster for you. The good news is that you can do it yourself at your home. All you need is the best printer, a device to design your poster, and some knowledge of printing a poster of course.
Here is a complete guide on how to print a poster at home consisting of 11 tips you need to know. We have divided this guide into 3 sections. Furthermore, these sections are broken down to make them easy to understand and remember as well.
Have a look at it!
Contents
Designing the poster
The first step towards printing a poster is to design it. However, if you already have your design then you can skip this section.
1. Select a software to use
There are a lot of different types of programs for designing a poster. Some might already be installed on your computer, but others you might need to purchase.
On the other hand, there are also many free tools available related to designing. Some of the very popular programs include Microsoft PowerPoint, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign, Linux LaTex, etc.
2. Find your focus
Your poster design needs to have one central message or idea that it conveys. This focus attracts your audience. Hence, spend some time thinking about whom you are trying to reach. Each element of your design must convey your main idea so that your message shouldn’t be lost.
3. Importance of Layout
The layout of your poster is the factor that keeps the audience involved. The layout must be inflow.
- Your poster should have a point of focus where the viewer’s eye will look first. For example, this could be a picture or even a big font.
- You should keep a balance in your design. Using a grid can help you to keep your elements in the center when you want them to be. However, if you keep an element out of the center, having a negative space on the opposite side will balance it.
- Creating a path will help the viewer’s eye to follow it and eventually it will lead to the main message. This path can be made using lines, color, font-weight, and size.
Read Also: Best Printers for High-Quality Photos
4. Eye-catching fonts
Font choice is one of the most important factors in designing a good poster. Your main message must be clear for the audience to see it from far away. So, try picking a font that will be easy to read and clear to be seen.
5. Easy to read
The poster must be easy to read from a distance of at least 6 feet. Try using larger fonts and pictures in order to make it visible.
Formatting to print
As you have learned enough about designing your poster, now is the time to print it. But before printing, you need to know some important settings so that you can print them in a better way. These settings include the DPI, size, color scheme, and creating a PDF file.
6. DPI
The wrong DPI may have a very bad effect on your poster. DPI stands for Dots Per Inch and it refers to the amount of spacing between magenta, yellow, and cyan dots on a printed poster. The higher the DPI, the better quality the print will be.
The most common DPI for the posters is 300 dpi. The setting to change the dpi is different on every software, you can find it on the manual or the internet.
Read Also: Best Printers For Flyers
7. Size
Again, the size of your poster is very crucial so that it is easy for the viewer to read it. While choosing the size, always remember where you are going to use it. Posters for a protest tend to be smaller than those intended to be used for advertisement on a busy road.
Standard sizes for posters are 11×17, 18×24, and 24×36, in inches.
8. RGB or CMYK?
There are two types of color schemes available in the design. First, the RGB stands for ‘Red, Green, and Blue’. RGB is usually used in display on screens. On the other hand, the CMYK which stands for cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key’ is used in printed documents.
Hence, whenever you are designing a poster, you should use the CMYK color scheme.
We have reviewed: Best Printers For Illustrators
9. Create a PDF
Creating a PDF before printing the poster is a good idea. Because when you create a PDF file, all of its features are locked. Hence, it becomes easy for printing while not letting the specifications be disturbed.
There are three ways you can create a PDF file of your design before printing it.
- Print to PDF by choosing “file>print” and selecting pdf.
- Export to PDF by choosing “file>export” and selecting pdf.
- Save as a PDF by choosing “save as” and then selecting pdf.
Printing the poster
This is the final step of the whole process. As you have designed the poster and you have selected all the necessary settings, now you are going to finally print it. Remember these given steps before printing your poster.
10. Decide the paper type
Coated papers are best for posters. Some of them include silk and gloss-coated paper.
11. Print according to your printer
You need to do some research on the printer that you have.
Final Words
Finally, you have learned everything about how to print a poster at home. This guide is surely going to help you when you will be printing your poster yourself. It will not only save your money but also your valuable time and energy.
