The Five Big No's When You Print Posters

Friday, April 10, 2009

If you are planning to print posters, it is important not to look amateurish when you make them. People can spot an amateur poster print quickly just by looking at its design and print quality. If that amateurish poster is going to promote your business, then you will be in big trouble. To prevent this from happening, all you have to do is to remember the Five Big No's when your print posters.

No to letter size!:
The biggest mark of a poster printing novice is the letter sized posters. Letter sized posters may be cheap and all, but it hardly counts as a true promotional tool. You are not a grade school or high school student advertising the local bake sale. You care promoting a business through posters. A letter sized poster is not going to cut it. Worse, people might think that your business is not serious enough with those kinds of color posters. So say NO to letter sized posters okay? Invest in larger more professional sizes.

No to block texts!:
Another big NO for a poster design are groups or blocks of informational text. Never do this on your business poster. Yes you may want to give all the details, and printing it all up seems like the best option. But trust us, this is not. Block text will bore the reader, making it harder for them to read the total message of the poster. Always aim for a nice image that virtually tells the whole message of your poster. Just add a small descriptive tag line and you should be all set. Always keep your other details and block text, printed small enough so as not to destroy the aesthetic value of the poster.

No to "photoshopped" collages!:
Next to block text in the list of big No's for poster design are the badly made Photoshop collages. With the advent of advanced photograph retouching and enhancements, you should already be aware of the thousands of "photoshopped" poster images out there. The problem is, most of them are obviously "photoshopped". It is clear in most designs where one person was just pasted over the other, and what background was forced into the scene. It is a bit hard to explain, but it is all about the resolution and the blending of the images together. The result is a badly made color poster with obviously patched together images. It is very amateur looking and will never or should never be really shown for the public. You can prevent this from happening by just using one good photograph or image as your main poster design, no other image should be forcefully placed with it. It is easier, cheaper and it looks significantly better.

No to mass logos!:
Now, for a lot of posters out there, sponsors are really a big thing. However, if you have a lot of sponsors demanding their share of the poster space, you may have a problem. One of the worst things that can happen in this situation is if you are forced to design a poster with lots and lots of company logos. Yes you may owe some of these sponsors their loyalty and support, but if their numerous logos are impeding a good poster design, then there will be no use for the posters anyway. Try to always achieve a balance between the sponsor logos and the poster design. If necessary reserve a small spot for the logos, and be adamant that every company logo must be place on that part only. This certifies your poster as a true work of art, and not just a piece of nameless marketing trash.

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