I am presenting a poster at a conference in November but have never printed an academic poster before. I have read a few things, like that printing on fabric makes the poster easier to transport and last longer. But, all this is moot until I find a place that can print them. What do you all do when you’re in this situation? Do you print it locally to proof it and then transport it in a tube? Or do you send it to a print shop closer to the conference for local pickup? Any tips on local shops appreciated.
There is a poster printing facility right in the building (Crerar) in the basement: http://graphicarts.uchicago.edu/
The last time I got a poster printed in May, these were the rates (I consider this facility over-priced):
You can consider going to Booth School (Harper Center) that has a business center with cheaper pricing:
From what I know, many of us in CS tend to print at PSD Graphic Arts as they can charge the department directly instead of us paying (they don’t accept credit cards, so cash or check) and then going through the hassle of the reimbursement process (YMMY).
I haven’t had to carry a poster since I moved to Chicago, but printing and carrying in a tube sounds safer and I have seen many other poster presenters do the same.
Also, I was told that many external facilities such as FedEx can also print posters, but I am yet to try them.