You’ve spent days on your research poster. The presentation is tomorrow. You walk into a print shop and the person behind the counter says your file isn’t right.
That’s a situation you don’t want to be in.
This guide is for McMaster students and university students in Oakville who need to print a poster fast — and get it right the first time.
The Format Students Ask About Most: PDF
Bring a PDF.
If you only take one thing from this article, that’s it. A PDF locks in your layout, fonts, colors, and image quality exactly as you designed them. It doesn’t matter if you built your poster in PowerPoint, Google Slides, Canva, or InDesign — export it as a PDF before you come in.
It’s the single most print-ready format you can bring, and it’s what speeds up your order the most.
Other File Formats QuikPrint Accepts
If you don’t have a PDF, here’s what else works:
| Format | Best for |
|---|---|
| AI (Adobe Illustrator) | Logos, vector artwork, text-heavy designs |
| EPS | Vector graphics, illustrations |
| PSD (Photoshop) | Photo-based posters — flatten your layers first |
| TIFF | High-resolution photos, fine art prints |
| PNG | Accepted at 300 DPI minimum |
| JPEG/JPG | Accepted at 300 DPI — avoid re-saving multiple times |
When in doubt, PDF. Every time.
The Mistake That Delays Orders by Days
Here’s the most common thing that goes wrong when students come in for poster printing.
They send a file built at 8.5×11 inches — standard letter size — but need a 36×48 poster.
When a small file gets scaled up to poster size, it stretches the image. The proportions break. The print comes out blurry, distorted, or cut off in ways you didn’t expect. And fixing it isn’t quick. What should be a one-hour turnaround turns into days of back-and-forth reworking the file.
The fix is simple: build your file at the actual size you need printed, before you send it.
If you need a 36×48 poster, your file needs to be set up at 36×48 inches — not scaled up from a smaller document.
The Most Popular Student Poster Size
The most common size for university research posters and project presentations is 36×48 inches.
If your department or professor gave you a required size, use that. If you have flexibility, 36×48 is the standard for academic conferences and most university project displays.
QuikPrint also prints:
- 24×36 inches
- 24×18 inches
- Custom sizes — if your dimensions don’t fit a standard, just ask
You can order directly at Poster Printing or bring your file in to the shop on Speers Road in Oakville.
Resolution: The Other Thing That Ruins Prints
Format is step one. Resolution is step two.
For any printed poster, your file needs to be at 300 DPI (dots per inch). That’s the threshold where images look sharp on paper.
Most files you find online or export from websites are 72 DPI — built for screens. A 72 DPI file looks fine on your laptop and comes out soft and blurry at poster size.
Before you send your file, check:
- Is it 300 DPI?
- Is it sized to your actual print dimensions?
If yes to both — you’re ready to print.
One-Hour Turnaround — But Only If Your File Is Ready
QuikPrint can turn around a poster in as little as one hour.
The catch: your file needs to be the right size and the right resolution when you send it. If the dimensions are wrong or the file needs to be rebuilt, that one-hour job becomes a multi-day process of explaining, revising, and resending.
Students printing last-minute before a presentation deadline — this is the part that matters most. Get your file right before you come in, and you’ll have your poster same day.
If you’re not sure whether your file is ready, email it to QuikPrint before you make the trip. The team will check it and let you know if anything needs fixing before you place the order.
This is exactly why students in Oakville keep coming back instead of going to Staples. At a big-box store, they click print and hand you whatever comes out. At QuikPrint, someone actually looks at your file, catches the problems, and helps you fix them — at better prices too. That’s a different experience entirely, and if you’ve ever had a print go wrong at a chain store the night before a deadline, you know why it matters.
For a deeper look at how local print shops compare to big chains on quality, turnaround, and service, read Staples vs Local Print Shops — Where Should You Print Large Format Posters?
Quick Pre-Send Checklist
Before you submit your file, run through this:
- File is PDF, AI, EPS, PSD, TIFF, PNG, or JPEG
- Resolution is 300 DPI or higher
- File is sized to your actual print dimensions (not a small file scaled up)
- Fonts are embedded or outlined (vector files)
- You know what size you need: 24×18, 24×36, 36×48, or custom
All five checked? You’re good to go.
