Using powerpoint to make scientific posters

In the past, I had made scientific posters using Adobe Photoshop software. The software was more complex than I needed. More recently, I have used Powerpoint to make posters. You really only need the following functionalities:

• writing text and text headers
• importing images and spreadsheets
• drawing basic shapes and arrows

Creating a customized poster size
To create the proper poster dimensions, go to the File menu and select Page Setup. Select Custom slide sizing, and enter the appropriate dimensions. In this case, I selected 50'' x 50''.


Tips:

• Be sure to follow the poster dimension criteria set by the conference that you are presenting at. I was once at a conference where the presenter couldn't hang her poster because it was too large.
• Use a white background. A colored or gradient background can turn out unpredictably at the print shop. Remember that screen image quality does not always mirror print quality.
  
• When you are all done with the poster, zoom in to 300% size to determine if the print resolution is adequate. Pay special attention to imported images.

For addition tips on making a more effective poster, go to an earlier blog post.