Policies

Access to use the Poster Printing Service is available to active members of the University such as Students, Faculty and Staff. Access is not available for Alumni, Friends of the Library, Reciprocal Borrowers/Visiting Scholars, Library Community Access Members, Emeritus/Retirees, Contractors or Sponsored Guests. We reserve the right to revoke access for individuals that attempt to submit multiple requests that violate the submission policies and guidelines outlined here within.

Request for poster printing must be submitted via the Online Poster Submission Form. Upon submission, communications will occur entirely via email as necessary when it relates to review of the submitted files, request for quotes or other questions pertaining to the submission. In certain circumstances, we may call the telephone number provided in the submission for similar purposes. We may contact Department Budget Administrators as well if there are discrepancies with the provided University Account Code when this is selected as a payment method.

There are numerous ways the Poster Printing can help expand opportunities and enrich experiences as it relates to large-format printed materials, such as:

• Individual student use for academic, in-class presentations or supporting project materials.
• Student, faculty or staff use of large-format signs or posters for research symposiums, conferences or other academic-related presentations on- or off-campus.
• Student, faculty or staff use of large-format signs (in limited quantities) for on-campus, University event materials or locational signage.

Our large-format poster printers are primarily intended for such individual, academic usage for students in support of projects and presentations. There are however limitations of use, and such proceeding examples would fall outside of the spirit of the poster printing service in which we cannot provide support:

• Posters or large-format prints for personal use, such as materials within Residence Halls or individual offices.
• Duplication of copywritten materials without accompanying Letter of Copyright Permission for Print Use from the copyright holder.
• High volume of requests and/or quantities that exceed our print limitations.

We have a maximum quantity limit of 15 posters per order, per individual. If we observe attempts to circumvent these limits by way of multiple submissions, we will indicate we cannot process these request, referring you to our external vendors.

Copyright Limitations

As the we supervise and review submitted files requested for large-format printing, we are cognizant of copyright considerations. Printing is considered an act of duplication, whether one or multiple copies are requested, we strive to ensure we are following University policies related to copyrighted materials.

• The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code, 1976) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998 is designed to protect copyright holders from online theft.
• Copying, distributing, downloading, and uploading information on the Internet may infringe on the rights of the copyright owner. Even an innocent, unintentional infringement has the potential to violate the law. Every audio, visual or written work has copyright protection unless that protection has expired or the creator places it in the public domain. The work does not have to have a copyright notice or a copyright symbol to be protected by copyright. If a client cannot determine whether or not a work is copyrighted assume that it is copyrighted.

For more information regarding resources, visit these recommended resources:

• Copyright Resources at Loyola University Chicago
• Fair Use Checklist at Loyola University Chicago
• United States Copyright Office

Request Letter for Permission to Print Copyrighted Materials

Digital Media Services staff and student workers will adhere to and not knowingly violate the intent and the specifics of copyright laws. Support for duplication of materials cannot be granted by Digital Media Services without expressed written consent from the copyright owner. This includes, but is not limited to, use of third party sites or tools to download, extract or rip audio, video or other multimedia from websites or sources; duplication of media, including large format printing, or upload of media with watermark, trademark, copyright information and/or non-Loyola branded identifiers.

It is the user’s responsibility to determine whether information is copyrighted, whether it meets the criteria for "Fair Use", and to seek permission from the copyright holder for its use as necessary. As Digital Media Services support made be requested in the compilation or creation of multimedia projects, there is no way we can identify the final placement will be valid or within the realm of "Fair Use" guidelines.

Copyright ownership information can usually be found in the recorded or printed material itself or on labels or covers. Before using any image, make sure the copyright restrictions are understood and that permission has been obtained to use the image for use by Individual, Educational Institution or Entity you may be representing.

You can create and develop your poster in several applications, however we can only process and print Adobe Acrobat .PDF and Images (JPEG, PNG, BMP) files.

The PDF file format is compatible across multiple platforms, whether you have created them on your personal Mac, office PC or a Loyola computer, the file will retain embedded fonts and is best optimized to enable ease for scaling, processing and printing. Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Cloud and other web pages and design resources should offer the ability to either Save As Adobe PDF or Export files as the Adobe Acrobat .PDF format.

If Microsoft PowerPoint (PPT, PPTX) files are received, we will convert them to PDF in order to print for the first submission, however this can potentially impact the fonts you have selected, as those are not embedded in PowerPoint files, and dependent on fonts present on the workstation opening the file. If this is the case, during our review process, we will request the file be converted to PDF from the workstation where the file was created. We will also provide links to our instructions about converting to PDF in such instances.

Visit the Creating Posters section for pre-sized templates and related instructions.

Payments for poster may be made in two methods:

• Rambler Bucks from your Loyola ID Card. Loyola members can add Rambler Bucks funds to their Loyola ID cards by visiting the Campus Card office pages. Rambler Bucks can be loaded onto these cards via cash at ValuePort terminals located around campus, or through debit or credit cards online via the Online Card Office. Payment will be deducted at the time of poster order pickup.
• University Account Code transfers. Departments may provide University Account Codes/Accounting Units (UAC or AUs) as identified during the poster submission process. We will verify the account codes provided in reference with the Finance Department. A budget administrator's name and email will be required in such instances, for verification of account code or approval where necessary. Transfers will be submitted to the Finance Department at the end of each month. In June each year as the End of Fiscal Year approaches, any poster orders listing University Account Codes submitted after June 15th will be charged in the proceeding Fiscal Year after July 1st.

We do not accept cash, check or debit/credit cards as forms of payment. Please refer to the Rambler Bucks payment method above as you may use these methods to load your Loyola ID with Rambler Bucks.

For posters that remain unclaimed after 14-days from notification and reminders will be recycled and charges will occur. University Account Code transfer charges will list the order at the end of the month, and for individuals submitting payment via Rambler Bucks, an Invoice will be created and sent from the Equipment Loan Program system, and remain present preventing access to the loan program until the balance is paid. Such Invoices are ineligible for appeal, and balances that exceed $25 will be transferred to the bursar with an eBill line item in LOCUS. Individuals found with multiple unpaid posters may have access to the poster printing service restricted.

Processing orders requires review of each poster order submission to verify numerous factors per our policies and to help ensure the success of your poster. We review orders on three main criteria:

• Dimensions and Scaling. Dimensions requested in the submission form may not be possible to scale based upon the submitted files. We verify to best ensure the file has been properly sized and scaled for the dimension requested. In the event the dimensions of the provided file do not match and are not able to scale uniformly to the dimensions provided in the submission request form, we will contact submitters to provide options, including scaling to one of two dimensions possible based on the two measurements provided, or to accept a reply with the modified version of file that meets the dimensions requested.
• Pixelation. Pixelation is caused when an image is displayed at a large size, subsequently causing image pixels to be more apparent and look blocky. We review images and photos embedded in order submissions and will communicate with submitters on options to continue processing, or reply with an updated file that may have the photo or image imported into the project file, so it will be more amiable to larger scaling sizes.
• Copyright. As detailed above, we assess posters to best ensure the integrity of the Institution, that we are not knowingly duplicating materials that are or may have copyright. We will provide our policies and instructions for receiving Copyright Clearance Letters from original copyright holders.
• Account Code confirmations. In the event the submitted provides a University Account Code or AU that we cannot validate, we will reply to the submitter and/or Budget Administrator to confirm there is not a typo with the listed account code. We may also contact the the Finance Department for further confirmation where necessary.
• Quantity limitations. In the event we observe quantity requests exceeding our policies, or numerous/sequential submissions attempting to work around our quantity limits, a Digital Media Services supervisor will provide further information regarding our quantity limitations and referral to Printing Services in order to complete such requests.

Once all of the above conditions have been met, we guarantee posters will be printed in 72-hours. Although in some instances we may process posters within shorter periods of time, whether due to low traffic in our service locations and low volume of requests in our order queue, we cannot make any guarantees for orders to be processed in under 72-hours. This period of time affords us the ability to coordinate and review in the event any technical issues occur requiring maintenance to the poster printer we have at each campus location.

At the time of order submission, clients have the option to indicate the name of an individual that will pickup the poster on their behalf once the order is completed. Upon completion of processing and preparing the order, we will send a Ready For Pickup notification. After the original submitter or identified individual completing the pickup retrieves the order, we will send a Pickup Confirmation email that may serve as a digital receipt. A paper slip will also be provided with the poster as a receipt for your own records.

Posters will be stored and provided in Uline plastic sleeves that which can typically hold up to 3-4 posters each. The sleeves will help protect your posters in the event it is raining or snowing outside, though we do advise to hold the sleeve from the opening end to ensure no moisture can damage your posters. We do not provide or sell any poster mailing tubes or telescoping document holders, however these can be found at nearby USPS, UPS, FedEx or Walgreens stores as examples.

Clients are responsible to review their poster print jobs at the time of pickup. Once a client has departed the pickup location, the potential of creases or other poster defects may occur if not careful when handling the poster. If a significant print-related issue is identified at the time of pickup that was otherwise overlooked when processing, please notify our staff immediately to evaluate before you leave.

Refunds will not provided, however if the issue is determined as valid and significant, impacting the quality of the overall print for presentation, a reprint of the affected poster will be done, once, without additional charge. Such reviews are at the discretion of the poster printing staff to evaluate and determine on case by case basis.

This list identifies some similar and related services within the University:

• Printing Services (Purchasing Dept) - The Printing Services unit within the Purchasing Department can aid with a variety of services including design, binding, copy jobs, copyright clearance and course pack production and other printing projects.
• University Marketing and Communications - UMC offers Creative Request Forms that can help understand project design needs for departments and divisions, which may include options and recommendations for internal or external printing services.

This list identifies some outside vendors or resources that offer similar large format plotter/poster printing services:

• CVS Photo Printing & Enlargements
• Walgreens Posters and Banners
• Staples Self-Service Printing
• FedEx Online Printing Services