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Biomedical Library Poster Printing Service

About the service

• Available to UPenn faculty, students, staff, UPHS staff, and affiliates.
  
  
• Priority given to scientific posters.
  
  
• No design, formatting, or editing services provided at the moment. See the FAQ for links to poster templates, tutorials, and design services.
  
  
• Glossy paper only.
  
  
• Equipment available:
  • a HP DesignJet T1100ps poster printer
  • a 60 inch paper cutter
  • a Mac
  • a PC
  • a laser printer for poster proofs
  
  
  
• By appointment only. If you have two different posters, you will need to schedule two separate appointments.
  To cancel an appointment, send an email to biopost@pobox.upenn.edu.

Pricing & Payment

• Cost: $0.02 per square inch - View sample sizes and prices
  
  
• Accepted forms of payment:
  • PennCash

  • Departmental Copy Card

    please note: we will not split payment and charge more than one PennCash card. If you need to combine cards, contact the PennCard center at (penncard@pobox.upenn.edu or 417-CARD) before your appointment.

  • 26-Digit Budget Account Number original invoice (not a faxed or emailed copy), embossed and signed. We will not accept forms that are not embossed.

    Unfortunately we cannot process CHOP budget account numbers. CHOP patrons must pay by credit card.

  • Credit cards (Mastercard or Visa only)

What to expect

Before your appointment

• Format your file:The poster must be in PDF or an image format that can be opened in Photoshop (PSD, JPG, GIF, TIFF, BMP, PNG). Proofread everything carefully. If you are using PowerPoint, you can use the "save as PDF" feature. Please convert the file to PDF BEFORE arriving for your scheduled appointment time, but do bring the PowerPoint file with you as well, just in case. If you have used images or graphs from other programs, please bring those original files with you as well. The more formats you bring your file in, the highest the chances of success!
  
  
• Preview the converted file CAREFULLY to make sure everything is as you want it. View the file at 100% size so that you see it as it will appear printed out. Look for typos, misalignments, pixelation, stray lines or other oddities. Refunds are not available if something doesn’t appear the way you like it. Refunds are only available in the case of equipment malfunction. You'll have a chance to look over your file one last time during your appointment.
  
  
• Bring your file on a USB drive or CD/DVD, or have it ready to download from your email or other Web-accessible storage location.
  
  
• Bring one of the following:
  • your PennCard, PennCash card or Departmental Copy Card with enough money on it to pay for your job (plus a dollar or two for wiggle room).
    Please note: we will not split payment and charge more than one PennCash card. If you need to combine cards, contact the PennCard center at (penncard@pobox.upenn.edu or 417-CARD before your appointment.
  • a valid credit card (Mastercard or Visa)
  • the original (not a faxed or emailed copy), embosse d and signed invoice for paying with a 26-Digit Budget Account Number. We will not accept forms that are not embossed.
    
    
• Plan on at least an hour for the active part of your appointment. Once the poster starts printing, it could take longer. You can come back later to pick up the poster if necessary.

  Please allow 48 hours between your scheduled appointment and when you need to pick up your poster. We cannot guarantee that you will be able to pick up your poster on the same day, so please do not schedule your appointment a few hours before flying out to a conference!

• Transporting your poster: You can bring your own tube for your poster, or buy one for $3.50 at the Poster Printing office. If you are paying with a 26# budget account, please make sure your business administrator approves of the cost of the tube as well.

When you arrive

• Come to the Poster Printing office (ground level, Biomedical Library) at your appointment time. Please arrive on time. If you arrive more than 10 minutes late, you will be asked to reschedule. A staff person will meet you and work with you on printing your poster. If the door is closed, do not panic, just have a seat! The poster printing assistant is probably processing another patron's payment and will be back shortly.
  
  
• We will load your file onto our workstation and review the file with you to make sure it is the correct size and format. It is up to you to make sure the file looks the way you want it before you arrive—but you’ll have an opportunity to give it one last look-over before it is printed.
  
  
• We will send the job from our workstation up to the printer. The staff person will swipe your PennCard or PennCash card to release the job and the cost of the poster will be deducted automatically from your card. If you are using a credit card, you and the staff member will go to the administration office to complete the credit card transaction. The job will start printing. Posters can take anywhere from a few minutes to 2 hours or more to print. Please budget 1 hour for your active appointment time, with the understanding that you may need to come back later in the day to retrieve your final printed poster.

  Please allow 48 hours between your scheduled appointment and when you need to pick up your poster. We cannot guarantee that you will be able to pick up your poster on the same day, so please do not schedule your appointment a few hours before flying out to a conference!

• If you are more than 15 minutes late for your appointment, or if your file is not ready to send to the printer by 15 minutes into your appointment, you may need to forfeit your appointment time and reschedule.

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