Converting PowerPoint to PDF (Windows)

This post will talk about how to convert your poster made by PowerPoint to a PDF file so that you can submit it to PosterSmith.com for print.  We will talk about how to do so in Windows environment first.  If you are a Mac OS X user, we will cover this topic in our next post.

First of all, before making any conversion, please make sure that your PowerPoint poster is set at the size that you want it to be printed into.  

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If you are using PowerPoint 2007 to prepare your poster, converting your file to PDF format can be accomplished by the following steps:

1. Click the Microsoft Office Button, point to the arrow next to Save As, and then click PDF or XPS.
2. In the File name list, type or select a name for the poster.
3. In the Save as type list, click PDF.
4. If you want to open the file immediately after saving it, select the Open file after publishing check box. This check box is available only if you have a PDF reader installed on your computer.
5. Next to Optimize for,  click Standard (publishing online and printing) since your poster requires high print quality.
6. Click Publish.

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If you are using PowerPoint 2010, please follow these steps to convert your file to PDF format:

1. Click the File tab.
2. Click Save As.
3. In the File Name box, enter a name for the file, if you haven't already.
4. In the Save as type list, click PDF (*.pdf).
• If you want the file to open in the selected format after saving, select theOpen file after publishing check box.
• Click Standard (publishing online and printing), since your poster requires high print quality.
5. Click Save.

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If you are using an earlier version of PowerPoint, the easiest solution for converting your file to PDF format is to use a third-party tool:

While you can use Adobe Acrobat (Pro or Standard) or Adobe Distiller to convert your PowerPoint poster to PDF format, many third-party providers offer software for converting Microsoft Office documents to PDF files. Here are some of the Office Marketplace providers that provide PowerPoint-to-PDF converters.

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As a final reminder, please proof your new PDF file carefully before submitting for print!  PowerPoint is famous for not printing things exactly as they appear on screen.  We will talk about some tips of proofing your PDF file in our future posts.