Ever see an image and think "Hey! I'd love to see that blown up on a poster". Well, good news, it can be done.

The following article will cover what types of posters you can create and where you can go online to have one professional printed.

Ideas for posters:

• Indie band posters
  
• Art posters
• Motivational or Inspirational posters
• Posters to advertise your business
• Posters to promote your organization or cause
• Photo posters from your own photographs
• Image collage posters
• "Wanted" posters
• Jumbo calendars
  

Sizes of posters:

Sizes Vary. Some examples might be 8x10, 11x14, 24 x36, 30x40, 40x 60

Uses for posters:

• promote your band at your next show
  
• promote your business, organization or cause at a information fair
• personalize your room or dorm room with custom posters
• give as gifts (grandparents love giant posters made with pictures of the grandchildren!)
• use to motivate employees or students; use create inspirational quotes
• display many photographs or images on one poster; design a huge collage
  

The possibilities of designing and using your own posters are endless!

Now that you've made up your mind on what you'd like your poster to look like, you'll have to make sure that you have the right type of graphic design to use.

Using a Photograph or Creating a Graphic Design for Your Poster

Use your computer's graphic program to design your image. Some fun ideas are creating a "wanted image". Use a picture of the "wanted person" and use old looking western fonts to create a humorous poster. Or, create a graphic that can be blown up into a large wall calendar. It's up to you! You can do a search online for poster templates that will give you further ideas, as well. The possibilities are truly endless.

Graphic Resolution - Important!

You need to make sure that your graphic is high-resolution, so it will reproduce correctly after you submit it to an online poster printing service. If you give them a bad quality photo or graphic to work with, they cannot reproduce it on the scale that you're aiming for.

Now that your graphic or photograph is fully optimized for your poster, it's time to find a place online that will print your poster professionally and mail it to your home or business.

A Few Places to Order Posters Online:

Make Signs - This company has the ability to print a wide array of poster types.

Zazzle - If you don't have a graphic design program, you can create your poster design on their website for free; a very handy feature!

Large Format Posters - This site can do all sorts of poster requests, they'll do "any size up to 60x100!" They also give free proofs before you pay so you make sure your poster will look good after it is printed.