Bryn Mawr College

Using Posters to Publicize Events: Hints from College Communications

Timing Is Everything

Look at your calendar and plan your poster four weeks before your event is scheduled—five weeks is even better:

• You will need to distribute your poster at least two (2) weeks before the event to give people time to plan to attend your event and to maximize the number who attend. Please note that the College's posting policy does not allow for hanging posters more than two weeks in advance.
• The Copy Center will need at least two (2) days to produce your poster. You will need to pick up the poster from the Copy Center.
• Communications Projects Manager Tracy Kellmer will need at least one (1) week to provide you with a draft layout for your review. Another three (3) days are necessary to make any necessary revisions and corrections, give you a final layout for approval, and get the files ready for the Copy Center.
• Give yourself one (1) extra week for unanticipated but usual delays!

Keep Your Budget in Mind

The College's Copy Center is the most cost-effective and timely printer for posters. The typical College poster has a standard size of 11 inches width by 17 inches length (11 x 17). Custom sizes are possible, but you will need to consult with Tracy for available sizes and prices.

The Copy Center's current price for printing 80 full-color posters (11" x 17") on coated white stock is $80. Please visit the Copy Center Web page to view the current prices for other options, such as legal-size paper, colored paper, or black-and-white copying.

If you want more or less than 80 posters, you will need to inform Tracy, who will obtain a quote for you. Please keep your available budget in mind when requesting posters to be designed and printed!

Get Your Materials Together

Tracy will need all the necessary images, text and other information that go onto a poster, including:

• Photo of the speaker or other image. Digital images are best—provided that they have a minimum resolution of 230 dpi at the desired print size. If you are unsure of the quality of the digital image, it is best to let Tracy evaluate the image for you. If necessary, she can acquire a "soft proof" of your image from the Copy Center for you to review.

  Prints or slides are also acceptable, but they must be scanned before they can be used for the poster. Provide Tracy with your print or slide so that she can scan it for you and ensure the best possible result for your poster.

  If you wish to scan your image yourself, rely on the Canaday Media Lab on the A floor of Canaday liibrary, across from the Lusty Cup Cafe.

• Text About the Event

  Don't overwrite! A poster is an attention grabber—it needs to provide essential and succinct information, just enough to motivate a person to attend the event. Remember that a poster is just 11 inches wide and 17 inches long—most of the space will be taken up by the photo/image and large-type text about the "who," "what," "when," and "where" of your event. The fewer words the better, even without an image.

  Don't bold, italicize, bullet or otherwise format the text. You need only provide a simple Word document or e-mail with the following information:

  • Name and title or appellation of speaker(s)- e.g., "Director of the XYZ Institution," "Tony Award-winning Broadway actress," "Nobel Prize-winning scholar," "Pulitzer Prize-winning author."
  • Title of lecture or event.
  • Day, date and time of event.
  • Location of event (you must first arrange the location by e-mailing roomres@brynmawr.edu to request an appropriate venue).
  • Sponsor of the event, if applicable - e.g., "The President's Office," "The Lucy Martin Donnelly Fund," "The XYZ Foundation"
  • Credit and copyright acknowledgement for any photo/image used in the poster.
  • Notice of additional activity associated with the event, if applicable - e.g., a book signing, tea, reception, master class
  • You may include a brief description of the event or speaker, e.g., the speaker's accomplishments and accolades (including quotes from published sources, such as The New York Times ) or the focus or importance of the event. If your poster has a picture, limit yourself to 40 words. If your poster does not include a picture, limit yourself to 200 words. Please note that the description may be edited by Tracy in order to create an aesthetically pleasing layout.

  If you would like to see samples of posters from other events on campus, please stop by Tracy's office, Gateway 203-A.

  Where and How to Send Your Materials

  Send all of your materials, including text and images (digital, prints and/or slides) to Tracy in the Communications Office via e-mail (tkellmer@brynmawr.edu) or campus mail. In a cover e-mail or memo, specify the following:

  • Contact person for the poster (including phone number and e-mail address).
  • Budget number for the Copy Center. The Copy Center requires that all jobs be submitted with a campus budget number to which copying costs can be charged. Your poster cannot be printed without one!
  • Title of the event.
  • Deadline for delivery of finished poster - if the deadline is fewer than four (4) weeks before receipt of your request, Tracy may not have time to fit your project into her schedule!
  • Number of posters you require. If you are limiting your distribution to the Tri-Co community, 80 is the recommended number. If you wish to distribute posters off-campus, estimate how many more you will need.
  • Instructions for copying. Are your posters to be copied on white or colored paper? Did you want color copies or black ink only? Does your poster include a photo?

  If you are sending your materials via e-mail, be sure to attached the digital image(s) and a Microsoft Word document of the text. If you are sending your materials via campus mail, provide a hard-copy printout of the text as well as the images (digital, prints and/or slides) to be used. Also provide a Word file of the text (remember to include the .doc suffix to your file name) and any digital images on a zip disc or a compact disc.

  Tracy will notify the contact person when the materials have been received and review the poster requirements and specifications before she begins the layout.

  Picking Up and Distributing Your Finished Posters

  Once you approve the project, Tracy will forward the files to the College Copy Center. The Copy Center produces a proof that Tracy reviews and approves, unless you specify that you wish to review the Copy Center proof. Tracy may contact you if she has a concern.

  Tracy will provide your contact information to the Copy Center, which will inform you when the posters are ready for you to pick up. Generally, the Copy Center requires two days to turn around 80 posters once the proof is approved. See the timeline above.

  You may request distribution labels from Tracy. The Communications Office's list of 80 includes each department, each library, each dining hall and each dormitory floor at Bryn Mawr, as well as the main libraries and the bookstores of Haverford and Swarthmore.
  
  To distribute your posters on campus, affix a label to the back of each poster and put them into campus mail without envelope. A network of people hangs posters in important locations, assuring wide distribution.
  
  It is your responsibility to distribute posters off campus, if that is part of your plan.

  Fees and Payment

  The Copy Center will charge the price of your poster to the budget number you provided to Tracy. When you pick up your posters, you will sign the copy order, which authorizes the Copy Center to charge the budget number, and you will receive a receipt.

  Next: Notifying the Communications Office »