Poster Printing with Plotter
Many people need to get poster printing done in a hurry. There are lots of places that offer poster printing, but these places usually print them out in bulk. If you are looking to have just 1 or maybe a couple of posters printed off of a computer file, you may be interested in using a plotter.
A common plotter used for poster printing is the Hewlett Packard Design Jet models. These printers use 150 DPI (dots per square inch). The posters can be printed at up to 36 inches wide and as long as necessary. The poster is printed on a roll fed paper system that uses high quality paper that is ideal for posters and banners.
Before you use a plotter, you must have your poster ready. You need to have your poster image made with an acceptable computer program that the plotter can handle. Some of these are: Illustrator, Pagemaker, Photoshop, Powerpoint, ArcView, and AutoCAD. The file that you use should be no greater than 250 MB to insure that it can be printed properly. Also, be sure that you save your poster image on a file. This is just in case something happens to the poster, or if you notice any errors or problems with the current design that need to be corrected.
Before you take your file to get your poster printed, be sure that it is correct. Proofread it thoroughly and be sure that you correct any errors or typos. If you do not do this, when you get your poster printed, you will more than likely have to do it again. This is time consuming and expensive. Plotters usually cost about $6 per linear foot for poster printing.
Also, you need to make sure that you have enough time to get the poster printed. A plotter can take between 20 minutes to 2 hours to print. It just depends on the size of the poster. Also, if you have a deadline to meet, you need to be sure that you include the time it takes for the plotter to print your poster, not to mention the time to proofread and the initial creation of the poster to begin with.
Finally, you need to bring something to transport your poster in. A poster tube is best. Make sure that it is a 36 inch poster tube so that your poster will fit properly.
Hopefully you know what you should do to get your poster printing done with a plotter. A plotter can help your poster come to life with excellent printing quality. If you just need a one quick poster printed, then give a plotter a try.
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