Tutorial: Creating a Fabric Presentation Poster from a PDF

Academics, professionals and educators use Spoonflower to create presentation posters on Sport Piqué. This lightweight, wrinkle-free fabric prints with crisp images and vibrant colors, along with edges that will not fray when you cut them, which means no hemming required! Piqué travels easily and never creases or tears, so your project can be used again and again.

Scroll down and learn how to create and save PDF files at the proper dimensions and resolution for a broad selection of programs. From there, follow our tips for converting these files into JPGs to upload and print at Spoonflower.

The Basics

• Powerpoint for PC
• Powerpoint for Mac
• Adobe InDesign & Photoshop
• Pages (Mac)
• Google Slides

Other Helpful Design Tutorials

Place Your Order

• Troubleshooting

The Basics

Because some design programs limit the physical dimensions you can save for a file, you may need to work backwards from your final goals to create a perfect poster. Each mini-tutorial below shares the steps you need to know. Keep the following in mind as you begin:

• Sport Piqué has a set width of 56”, which means that one dimension of your poster can be no greater than 56". If the width of your poster measures wider than 56", simply rotate the image of your final design file 90° before uploading to Spoonflower. (NOTE: If you are creating in PowerPoint and your poster must measure MORE than 56" in either direction, please contact Customer Service for additional support. )
• All JPGs uploaded to Spoonflower are always converted to 150 dpi, no matter the dimensions and resolution of the original file. 150 DPI prints with great clarity at Spoonflower so there is no reason to worry yourself with higher resolution files.
• Take the final dimensions you want for your poster and multiply both by 150 dpi. When possible, creating your original file at those pixel dimensions is always the best. For example, if your poster will measure 56" x 70", creating your file at 8400 pixels x 10500 pixels (56" x 150 = 8400; 70" x 150 = 10500) will be the easiest. Exceptions are shared below.
• Once uploaded, you will save your design repeat as Centered on the Design Layout Page. Drop to the Place Your Order section for details instructions.
• If you are associated with a University or other school, you may qualify for discounts through ID.me. Link here for more details.

For background on how our site works, review Uploading Images, Sizing Your Design and Image Resolution and DPI.

Powerpoint for PC

If you are using PowerPoint on a PC to create the PDF for your poster, the process is just five easy steps. 

1. Decide how big you’d like your final poster to be in inches
2. Access Page Setup within your PowerPoint version
3. Create your poster in Powerpoint at custom dimensions to match your poster
4. Save this image as a PDF
5. Convert that PDF to a 150 DPI JPG
6. Upload this JPG to Spoonflower

Follow the example below and replace the measurements with the dimensions you want:

1. Let's say you want to create a poster that measures 56" wide x 36" tall. This means you will want to upload your file to Spoonflower at the following pixel dimensions: 8400 pixels x 5400 pixels. (Since we convert all files to 150 DPI, 56" x 150dpi = 8400 pixels; 36" x 150dpi = 5400 pixels)
2. The location of Page Setup varies by version of PowerPoint. For older versions, it is typically found through the File > Page Setup... drop down. For more recent versions follow the path Design > Slide Size > Page Setup.
3. Enter the measurements of your poster into the width and height fields in Page Setup and click OK. (NOTE: If you are working with an older version of PowerPoint that says your dimensions are too big, please review steps 2 and 17 in this blog article for a special hack). If your poster must measure more than 56" in either direction, please contact Customer Service for support.)
4. Create the layout of your poster in the slide. Once finished click Save as and select PDF as the  format
5. Since Spoonflower does not print from a PDF, you need to convert the file to a JPG file that measures 150 dots per inch (150 DPI). Newer versions of Powerpoint may allow this within the program but if not, use an online conversion sites such as Convert-My-Image.com. Select PDF to JPG and set the Quality (DPI) field to 150 - Medium when you upload the PDF file
6. Once the site saves the JPG file to your download folder, upload it to Spoonflower and follow the steps in the Place your Order section below!

Powerpoint for Mac

If you are using Powerpoint on a Mac, follow the first three steps above. However, rather than going to an online converter

1. Right click (or double finger) your saved PDF file and select Open With from the small menu
2. Select Preview. Preview is Apple's default image software
3. Click into File menu and select Export from the drop down
4. Select JPEG from Format and change the Resolution field to 150 DPI
5. Click save to create the JPG to upload to Spoonflower
6. Drop to Place your Order below for the next steps

Adobe InDesign & Photoshop

If you are using Adobe InDesign or Photoshop, you may be more familiar with establishing and saving file dimensions and resolution. Simply multiply the width and height of your final poster dimension in inches by 150dpi and save your file with those pixel settings.

For example: If you want a 56" x 56" poster, create your design at 8400 pixels x 8400 pixels - 56" x 150 dpi = 8400 - and save the file as a JPG then review Place Your Order below.

Pages (Mac)

If you are familiar with Pages on Mac to create your poster, the process is straightforward. 

1. Create a new document
2. Set your file dimensions
3. Create the document and export as a PDF
4. Preview that PDF and Export it to a JPG at 150dpi

Read below for more detailed guidance on each step:

1. Open a new Pages document. From File, select Page Setup and click into Paper Size and Manage Custom Sizes. .
2. Click the small + sign and enter your poster dimensions in Paper Size then click OK. (Margin dimensions are personal preference; they will move in from the dimensions you save.)
3. Once your poster is done, go to the file dropdown - File > Export To> PDF - to open a new menu. Select Best settings, click Next and enter the file name for your PDF.
4. Close the document and then locate the PDF in its folder. Right click (or double finger) this file. Hover over Open With and then select Preview. From the preview image, go to File > Export, change the Format to JPG and Resolution to 150 pixels/inch. Click Save to create the JPG of your poster for upload.
5. Follow the steps in Place Your Order below.

Google Slides

Creating a PDF in Google slides and converting it to a JPG combines a couple of the steps from above.

1. From your Google Drive, open a new google slide document.
2. From the File dropdown select Page Setup and Custom.
3. Enter the dimensions of your poster in inches.

   

4. Create the poster, create a proper file name then download to your computer through File > Download > PDF Document.
5. If you are on a PC, use Convert-My-Image.com through an online platform (See Step 5 in Powerpoint for PC). If you are working with a Mac, follow along from Step 4 in the section Pages (Mac).
6. Place your Order

Other Helpful Design Tutorials

Here are two blog posts offering detailed explanations when creating with Canva and Powerpoint.

• How To Design a Fabric Research Poster with Canva
• How To Design a Fabric Research Poster with PowerPoint

Place Your Order

As mentioned above, Sport Piqué is the best fabric for posters. It’s wrinkle-free, won’t distort, has a bit of stretch to it, but doesn't fray.

1. Upload New Artwork
2. Save the proper design settings on the Design Layout Page. In the image below, note the file dimensions as 56" x 36" at 150 pixels. If you used different dimensions, they should be properly published here. Set the Repeat at Center so your design will only print one time. 
3. In the bottom left corner, Change Preview Fabric to 56", Change Preview Cut Size to Yards.
   
   
4. Review the image preview window and make sure your entire image is visible. Review these Troubleshooting questions for final confirmation. Choose Save.
5. You will be redirected back to the design page. Choose the Buy button underneath the fabric thumbnail to be able to add your design to your cart.
6. Choose Sport Pique from the drop down and Yard as the size. Choose Add to Cart.

If you have any questions, please contact us before placing your order.

Troubleshooting

• Is your entire poster visible within the image preview window when the correct fabric, size and quantity are selected?
• Does it look like the poster will print more than once? If yes, check the Repeat and make sure Center is selected and saved.
• Does the size of my poster look accurate? Is it too small or too big? We recommend 2 inches of clearance from the edges. Use the rulers around the edge for reference.
• Is your file a .jpg or .png? Your file won't upload otherwise, but it always is good to repeat this key detail.
• Is the fabric type Sport Piqué?
• Did you choose the correct shipping type for your deadline? If you choose Standard Delivery, estimated production time is published on the product page. If you need Rush, you can check delivery dates during Step 2 of Checking Out.
• Are you associated with a school? You may qualify for discounts.
• For any other questions about your design, contact us before placing your order. Be sure to include the Design URL, or Design ID in your email.

See Also: Ordering Fabric with Your Own Design