Services & Costs | FAQ | Equipment | Poster Templates

FAQ

1. Where are you located?
2. What services do you provide?
3. What is the difference in the paper types?
4. What file formats do the posters need to be in?
5. How do I get a poster printed and when can I do it?
6. How can I make my poster look the best?
7. Who prints the posters?
8. What equipment do you use?
9. What are some helpful hints?
10. How long does printing a poster take?
11. How much does it cost?
12. How do I pay?

  Where are you located?

The Missouri S&T Multimedia Center (MMC)is located on the first floor of the library, on the left as you enter the building. The equipment is part of the Emerson Multimedia Center. The MMC can be reached at (573) 341-6977 or by email here.

  What services do you provide?

Poster printing

Lamination

Large and small format scanning

Plastic Comb Binding

Foam Core Mounting (with lamination in some sizes)

We reserve the right to refuse printing posters that we feel may be in violation of copyright.  This includes materials such as movie posters and copyrighted images for personal use. In order to print such materials a permission letter from the copyright holder(s) must be obtained, stating the user, the materials to be printed, and what conditions have to be followed.  (Such as placing a copyright or ownership notice on the poster.)  A copy of any permission letters will be retained for our files.

*See our services page for more details and associated costs.

  What is the difference in the paper types?

Regular coated paper

Pro: General purpose paper, quick drying and flexible, lowest cost.

Con: Due to wrinkling, we do not laminate this type of paper.

Heavy coated paper

Pro: Sturdier, more vibrant colors, laminates very well, best material for artwork posters.

Con: When laminated there is less chance of wrinkling; costs more than regular paper.

Glossy Paper

 Pro: Suitable for photographs and montages.

Con: Most costly of all the papers, takes 1-2 hours to dry, will fade in a year unless laminated.

Lamination

Pro: Protects poster from moisture and adds a shiny surface, brings out more vibrant colors in regular and heavy paper.

Con: Costs more and cannot be undone, has to be handled with moderate care as creases are permanent and obvious.

Adhesive

Pros: Uses for mounting this paper are versatile, exceptional durability, easy to use. When laminated the finished product is great for outdoor use.

Cons: Only moderately water resistant without lamination. Only used for mounting. Is considered a specialty paper, therefore it is one of the more expensive paper types.

Glossy

Pros: Vibrant color, optimal for large photo prints.

Cons: Can lose vibrancy within a year, not water resistance (both can be solved with lamination). Drying time can take up to 2hours.

Semi -Opaque Polyester

Pros: Waterproof with lamination; erasable film, sharp lines, and archival. This paper type is great for CAD, AEC, and GIS.

Cons: Difficult to laminate, not very versatile.

Transparency

Pros: Professional quality, bleed control, short dry time, great for outdoors with proper lamination.

Cons: Waterproof only with proper lamination. 

Vellum

Pros: Crisp lines, great for CAD, AEC, GIS.

Cons: Lamination is required to make this paper water resistant.

  What file formats do the posters need to be in?

The preferred format is PowerPoint. (.ppt)   We do accept posters in the following formats:

When using PowerPoint, be aware that transparency layers are not recognized by the large format printer.

Note that .tif files have good color reproduction but lose the proportional fonts, i.e., the text is turned into images.

Other file formats are dealt with on a case by case basis i.e. CAD.

 *Computer equipment at the MMC available for public use has software installed as listed above.

  How do I get a poster printed and when can I do it?

Poster printing is done by appointment. Walk-ins will only be accepted when the poster technicians do not have a full print queue or other scheduled task. A scheduled appointment will always be given priority. To schedule an appointment, please call 341-6977 or send an e-mail to libplot@mst.edu.

Libplot mail account

Please state your name, the size and type of paper required for the poster, and what date/time you would prefer to have the poster ready.  Please attach your poster file to the email.  If you do include the poster file in your email, please make sure that your poster is to scale.

Don't wait until the last minute, schedule appointments for class projects in advance; the printing service can be very busy during exams or at the end of the semester.

Technicians are on duty Monday through Friday from 9 AM to 5 PM. These times are subject to change.   Multimedia services are not available on the weekends.

How can I make my poster look the best?

Resolution on pictures is recommended at 300 dpi. This will allow you to maintain the quality of your image.

Check your poster in PowerPoint by using both "Print Preview" to see how it will appear, and examine the poster on the "view size" at 100 percent to see how it will look at full size.

Check tables, images, and text boxes for alignment errors and placement. Make sure text boxes and image boxes have their outline margin entirely on the poster; margins that go off the edge can result in the text running off the poster.

Text and image boxes can be "nudged" by using the arrow keys on the keyboard, which is more precise than by hand.  Be conscientious of the print boundaries that the file allows.

The darker the poster the more ink it uses. On glossy paper this has little effect, but on regular paper posters that are heavy in black or dark blue tend to expand the paper and can make waves or wrinkles when it is finished.  Photoshop files will print darker than other file types.

Logos and graphics tend to pixellate (get blocky) at large sizes. A selection of high resolution Missouri S&T logos can be obtained here. Avoid JPEG images where possible.

  Who prints the posters?

The technicians at the MMC scan, print, and laminate all posters.  The MMC is not a self service area.

  What equipment do you use?

The poster printer is a Hewlett Packard Designjet Z6100ps. It is a plotter printer very similar to an inkjet printer. While the printer has capabilities of printing images up to 42" in width, the largest paper size available through the Multimedia Center is 36". 

The laminator is a Sirclelam MRL-4400, which is fit with .5 mil laminate.  

The poster trimmer is a Keencut Sabre Series 2 – 80in.

The poster printing computer is a Dell Precision T3500 with 6 GB or RAM and a 2.4 GHz dual core processor running a standard university Windows installation.

  What are some helpful hints?

Glossy paper posters tend to fade in as little as a year. This can be slowed down by laminating the poster.

The maximum printing size for PowerPoint is 36 by 56 inches. The largest poster we have successfully printed was 40 feet long.

  How long does printing a poster take?

This largely depends on the size of the poster.  Due to custom printer networking, spooling time is almost nonexistent, but printing is never very fast.  A standard 36” by 48” poster printed on heavy paper and laminated can take 30-45 minutes to print, dry, and laminate.  Glossy paper can take an hour or longer to dry

  How do I pay?

Posters can be paid for by the following means:

Cash

Check (made out to Missouri S&T Library with Missouri S&T ID number on check)

Credit/Debit cards

Charged to a student account

Internal Order Form (IOF)

IOF's are used for interdepartmental charging and are used if your department wishes to pay for the printing. IOF's can be obtained from your department secretary or by clicking here.