What size is a conference poster?

There is no single answer, which is the main source of trouble. European meetings usually specify A0 (841 x 1189 mm), North American meetings usually specify 36 x 48 in, and a handful of societies hang square 46 x 46 in boards. Your abstract acceptance email is the authority — sizes can differ between halls at the same conference.

Should a conference poster be portrait or landscape?

Portrait unless the instructions say otherwise. Most boards are taller than wide. Every size here ships in both orientations, so if your instruction says landscape you are not starting over.

What should a conference poster include?

Title, authors and affiliations, the question, enough method to judge the result, the results themselves, and a conclusion a reader can take away in twenty seconds. Add funder logos if required and a QR code linking to the preprint or full paper. Reviewers notice missing affiliations and unreadable body text more than they notice design.

How do I make a conference poster in PowerPoint?

Set the canvas once under Design > Slide Size > Custom Slide Size to your board dimensions, then edit as an ordinary slide. Downloading a file that is already the right size skips that step and the type scale that goes with it. Export to PDF before printing.

Can I use a commercial-looking template at a conference?

Be careful. Some societies explicitly flag posters that look like marketing material, and reviewers at those meetings treat visible commercial branding as a negative. Every file here is an unbranded academic layout with nothing to strip out before you print.

How early should I print a conference poster?

Allow at least three working days for a university print service, and more around conference season. Bring a PDF on a phone or drive as backup — printing near the venue is expensive but possible, whereas a corrupted file the night before is not recoverable.

Scientific Conference Poster Template

Name: SciFig
Author: SciFig

Conference poster templates in every board size conferences actually hang, with the print type scale already applied.

Each preview below is a separate PowerPoint file — click one to jump straight to its download.

What is a Scientific Conference Poster Template?

A conference poster template is a PowerPoint file sized to the board your own meeting hangs, sections already in place.

A scientific conference poster template is a PowerPoint file sized to the board your own meeting hangs, with the section structure and print type scale already in place. The hard part is rarely the design — it is matching the size the organizers specified, which differs by region and sometimes by hall. Start from the size below, then pick portrait or landscape.

Conference poster size by region

Read your acceptance email first. When it is silent, these are the regional defaults.

Conference type	Board size organizers specify	Portrait or landscape	Templates
European conferences	A0 portrait, 841 x 1189 mm	Portrait is the norm; landscape accepted	A0 templates
North American conferences	36 x 48 in portrait	Portrait 36 x 48; landscape 48 x 36	36 x 48 templates
Smaller halls, departmental days	A1, 594 x 841 mm	Portrait, occasionally landscape	A1 templates
AVS, MRS, AIChE, Keystone	46 x 46 in square	Square — neither, plan for a 1 : 1 board	Square templates below
Digital and hybrid meetings	16:9 screen or A0 single page	Landscape 16:9, or A0 portrait single page	E-poster templates

Conference poster orientation: portrait or landscape

The orientation is set by the board, not by you — and getting it wrong is the one error no layout fixes.

A landscape poster does not fit a portrait board at all. A portrait poster on a landscape board fits, but leaves a strip of empty felt on either side. If the acceptance email names an orientation, follow it; if it only gives board dimensions, the larger number tells you which way it hangs.

Orientation	Print sizes available	Typical use	Templates
Portrait	A0 · A1 · A2 · 36 x 48 in	The norm at most European meetings; boards hung taller than they are wide	Portrait templates
Landscape	A0 · A1 · A2 · 48 x 36 in	Common in North America and on shared 8 ft rails; boards hung wide	Landscape templates

How to make a conference poster from a template

Download a conference poster template in the board size, layout and color you want, then fill it in.

Download the conference poster template in the board size your meeting hangs — including the 46 x 46 in square boards AVS, MRS, AIChE and Keystone use — in the layout and color you want. Write your study into the sections that are there: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions, References and Acknowledgements. Then fill the six image placeholders.

Text first
every gray prompt is a hint, not content. Click it and start typing; it disappears on its own and never prints.
Then the figures
six image placeholders are already sized and placed. A printed board is read from one to two meters away, and a figure carries further than a paragraph: it is what people remember, photograph and pass on. Need a graphical abstract, an infographic or a mechanism diagram you do not have yet? Describe it to the Scientific Figure Generator and drop the result straight into the box.
Someone walking a poster session gives a board about sixty seconds. 18 scientific poster examples shows what the good ones share, and it is all subtractive: one hero figure, 300–800 words, color that means something.

Conference poster template downloads by board size

Pick the board size your organizers specified; each conference poster template ships ready to print in all six colors.

The most requested board sizes in the Classic layout, plus all three layouts for the 46 x 46 in square board — the one size that has no page of its own. Every file is a single ready-to-print layout and ships in all six colors.

A0 portrait — Classic
A0 · 841 x 1189 mm · 33.11 x 46.81 in
three columns arranged 1.2 : 1.6 : 1.2
6 colors, same layout. Click any one to download the PowerPoint template or open it in Google Slides.
See all six color schemes — and how to swap in your lab or university colors →
A0 portrait — Four column
A0 · 841 x 1189 mm · 33.11 x 46.81 in
four even columns
6 colors, same layout. Click any one to download the PowerPoint template or open it in Google Slides.
See all six color schemes — and how to swap in your lab or university colors →
A0 portrait — Spotlight
A0 · 841 x 1189 mm · 33.11 x 46.81 in
central finding panel with supporting columns
6 colors, same layout. Click any one to download the PowerPoint template or open it in Google Slides.
See all six color schemes — and how to swap in your lab or university colors →
36 x 48 in portrait — Classic
36 x 48 in · 914 x 1219 mm
three columns arranged 1.2 : 1.6 : 1.2
6 colors, same layout. Click any one to download the PowerPoint template or open it in Google Slides.
See all six color schemes — and how to swap in your lab or university colors →
36 x 48 in portrait — Four column
36 x 48 in · 914 x 1219 mm
four even columns
6 colors, same layout. Click any one to download the PowerPoint template or open it in Google Slides.
See all six color schemes — and how to swap in your lab or university colors →
36 x 48 in portrait — Spotlight
36 x 48 in · 914 x 1219 mm
central finding panel with supporting columns
6 colors, same layout. Click any one to download the PowerPoint template or open it in Google Slides.
See all six color schemes — and how to swap in your lab or university colors →
A0 landscape — Classic
A0 · 1189 x 841 mm · 46.81 x 33.11 in
four-column grid arranged 1 : 2 : 1
6 colors, same layout. Click any one to download the PowerPoint template or open it in Google Slides.
See all six color schemes — and how to swap in your lab or university colors →
A0 landscape — Four column
A0 · 1189 x 841 mm · 46.81 x 33.11 in
four even columns
6 colors, same layout. Click any one to download the PowerPoint template or open it in Google Slides.
See all six color schemes — and how to swap in your lab or university colors →
A0 landscape — Spotlight
A0 · 1189 x 841 mm · 46.81 x 33.11 in
central finding panel with supporting columns
6 colors, same layout. Click any one to download the PowerPoint template or open it in Google Slides.
See all six color schemes — and how to swap in your lab or university colors →
48 x 36 in landscape — Classic
48 x 36 in · 1219 x 914 mm
four-column grid arranged 1 : 2 : 1
6 colors, same layout. Click any one to download the PowerPoint template or open it in Google Slides.
See all six color schemes — and how to swap in your lab or university colors →
48 x 36 in landscape — Four column
48 x 36 in · 1219 x 914 mm
four even columns
6 colors, same layout. Click any one to download the PowerPoint template or open it in Google Slides.
See all six color schemes — and how to swap in your lab or university colors →
48 x 36 in landscape — Spotlight
48 x 36 in · 1219 x 914 mm
central finding panel with supporting columns
6 colors, same layout. Click any one to download the PowerPoint template or open it in Google Slides.
See all six color schemes — and how to swap in your lab or university colors →
A1 portrait — Classic
A1 · 594 x 841 mm · 23.39 x 33.11 in
three columns arranged 1.2 : 1.6 : 1.2
6 colors, same layout. Click any one to download the PowerPoint template or open it in Google Slides.
See all six color schemes — and how to swap in your lab or university colors →
A1 portrait — Four column
A1 · 594 x 841 mm · 23.39 x 33.11 in
four even columns
6 colors, same layout. Click any one to download the PowerPoint template or open it in Google Slides.
See all six color schemes — and how to swap in your lab or university colors →
A1 portrait — Spotlight
A1 · 594 x 841 mm · 23.39 x 33.11 in
central finding panel with supporting columns
6 colors, same layout. Click any one to download the PowerPoint template or open it in Google Slides.
See all six color schemes — and how to swap in your lab or university colors →
A1 landscape — Classic
A1 · 841 x 594 mm · 33.11 x 23.39 in
four-column grid arranged 1 : 2 : 1
6 colors, same layout. Click any one to download the PowerPoint template or open it in Google Slides.
See all six color schemes — and how to swap in your lab or university colors →
A1 landscape — Four column
A1 · 841 x 594 mm · 33.11 x 23.39 in
four even columns
6 colors, same layout. Click any one to download the PowerPoint template or open it in Google Slides.
See all six color schemes — and how to swap in your lab or university colors →
A1 landscape — Spotlight
A1 · 841 x 594 mm · 33.11 x 23.39 in
central finding panel with supporting columns
6 colors, same layout. Click any one to download the PowerPoint template or open it in Google Slides.
See all six color schemes — and how to swap in your lab or university colors →
46 x 46 in square — Classic
46 x 46 in · 1168 x 1168 mm
four-column grid arranged 1 : 2 : 1
6 colors, same layout. Click any one to download the PowerPoint template or open it in Google Slides.
See all six color schemes — and how to swap in your lab or university colors →
46 x 46 in square — Four column
46 x 46 in · 1168 x 1168 mm
four even columns
6 colors, same layout. Click any one to download the PowerPoint template or open it in Google Slides.
See all six color schemes — and how to swap in your lab or university colors →
46 x 46 in square — Spotlight
46 x 46 in · 1168 x 1168 mm
central finding panel with supporting columns
6 colors, same layout. Click any one to download the PowerPoint template or open it in Google Slides.
See all six color schemes — and how to swap in your lab or university colors →
16:9 screen e-poster — Classic
40 x 22.5 in · exports 7680 x 4320 at 192 dpi
four-column grid arranged 1 : 2 : 1
6 colors, same layout. Click any one to download the PowerPoint template or open it in Google Slides.
See all six color schemes — and how to swap in your lab or university colors →
A0 portrait single page — Classic
A0 · 841 x 1189 mm
three columns arranged 1.2 : 1.6 : 1.2
6 colors, same layout. Click any one to download the PowerPoint template or open it in Google Slides.
See all six color schemes — and how to swap in your lab or university colors →
A0 landscape single page — Classic
A0 · 1189 x 841 mm
four-column grid arranged 1 : 2 : 1
6 colors, same layout. Click any one to download the PowerPoint template or open it in Google Slides.
See all six color schemes — and how to swap in your lab or university colors →

Conference poster layouts for 46 x 46 in square boards

AVS, MRS, AIChE and Keystone hang square boards, and three of them publish no template at all.

A square board is not a cropped A0 — the column proportions have to be rebuilt, which is why these are separate files rather than a resize. All three layouts are here because this is the only page that carries them. A0, A1 and 36 x 48 boards are laid out the same way — those sizes have their own pages.

Square — Classic
Three columns on a square canvas with RESULTS widened. The closest thing to a standard academic board that a square format allows.
Square — Four column
Four even columns. On a square board this reads better than it does on a tall one, because the columns stay short enough to scan without stepping back.
Square — Spotlight
One central finding with detail at the edges. The square canvas suits this format best of the three sizes — the middle panel ends up genuinely square rather than a letterbox.

Conference poster presentation guidelines organizers enforce

The rules organizers actually enforce are board size, mounting method, and staffed hours at your poster.

Board dimensions — an oversized poster is taken down, and the rule is enforced.
Readable body text from about one meter. This is the most common failure.
Complete author affiliations, including anyone who must be listed for compliance.
Required disclosure or funding statements, which some societies check before the session.
Absence of overt commercial branding at societies that screen for it.

Research poster session — what to prepare

Prepare a sixty-second and a five-minute version of the board, plus handouts and a way to be contacted after.

Rehearse a sixty-second version of the board and a five-minute version — you will be asked for both.
Print a few A4 handouts of the poster with your contact details.
A QR code to the preprint outperforms a QR code to a personal site.
Bring your own pins or velcro; venues run out early.
Fabric posters travel in hand luggage and do not crease permanently.

Conferences and departments write this size in different ways — you may also see it listed as: conference poster template · academic conference poster template · conference poster presentation template · conference poster template powerpoint · conference poster size · research conference poster template · square poster template · 46x46 poster template · academic poster template square

All Poster Templates

Browse every poster template page in SciFig's library.

Text-to-Figure

Describe a figure in words and generate it with AI

PDF-to-Figure

Draft diagrams from the content of a paper PDF

Scientific 36x48 Poster Template

36 x 48 in poster templates, plus the 48 x 36 in landscape version — the size most North American conferences hang.

Scientific A0 Poster Template

A0 poster templates sized 841 x 1189 mm, in portrait and landscape, with the type scale already set for print.

Scientific A1 Poster Template

A1 poster templates sized 594 x 841 mm, portrait and landscape, with a type scale recomputed for the smaller board.

A2 Academic Poster Template

A2 poster templates at 420 x 594 mm, portrait and landscape, with a type scale recomputed for a close-read board.

Scientific Poster Color Schemes

Six academic color schemes that stay readable in print, with hex values and a poster template in each one.

Scientific E-Poster Template

E-poster templates in three shapes: a 16:9 screen canvas, and A0 portrait and landscape single-page versions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Scientific Conference Poster Template.

Ready to publish?

Make your own Scientific Conference Poster Template in minutes.

Start for free

Free to start · No credit card required · Built for researchers