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Poster Printing at the Bollinger Digital Fabrication Lab, Holman Biotech Commons

Payment Options

  • Credit Cards: we will send you an online invoice to pay via credit card. 
  • Departmental Account Number:  Submit a poster charge approval request to your business administrator for approval to charge the account. 
  • No cash, checks, Penncash, departmental copy cards, pro-cards or CHOP departmental accounts.  Sorry!

Cost and Turnaround Time Comparison

Please note: turnaround times for print-by-email orders will depend on your response rate, as we will require confirmation via email before processing your order.  Please make sure you include a valid email and phone number in your order. 

Service Cost (per sq. in.) Guaranteed Turnaround-Time
Paper $0.04 per square inch 2 business days
Fabric $0.08 per square inch 2 business days
Priority service (why?) $25 on top of poster cost same day (if submitted by 12 NOON)
Poster with layout service (on hiatus until January 2025)  $0.10 per square inch 5 business days

Extras:

  • Cardboard tubes: $5
  • Reusable telescopic tube with a strap: $30
  • Priority service: $25
  • Tax for personal posters (not for academic, research, or clinical purposes): 8%

 

Formula for calculating poster cost (scroll down for sample calculations):

height (inches) x width (inches) x 0.04 for paper or 0.08 for fabric

Priority Service: + $25.00 (if submitted by 12 NOON)

Why should you pay for priority service when you can sometimes get your poster right away at no extra charge?

We process requests in the order they were received.  When business is slow, we are able to provide instant service without compromising our service to other patrons.  However, when there is a long queue due to high volume of requests or printer failures, giving priority to your request means delaying someone else's.  So in essence, you pay extra in order to jump the queue. 

We only charge for priority service during extremely busy times

If we don't have a long queue we'll have your poster ready as fast as possible without charging extra.  To avoid extra back-and-forth that will result in delays, please select priority when you need your poster the same day.  We will not charge the priority fee unless we have to, we promise! 

Please note that priority service is also contingent on our business hours which are sometimes irregular due to staffing shortages.  

What determines turnaround times? (the long winded explanation)

Factors that can affect turnaround time:

  • printer failure
  • we are staffed by student workers whose schedules are subject to change
  • the volume of printing requests we receive during conference season is extraordinarily high

When one or more of the above factors delays our performance, we will take responsibility and find a way to have your poster ready within the promised timeframe.  However, if you make an appointment, say, 2 hours before flying out to a conference, that leaves us no time for a "plan B". This is why we typically advise patrons to leave 24 business hours for turnaround time. If you choose not to follow this recommendation, please understand and take responsibility for the risk. 

Also, for orders submitted online, please remember that your response rate will affect turnaround time as well as we notify you of any issues and await your confirmation before processing your order.

Sample Poster Printing Costs

Dimensions Size in Square Inches Paper (no tax) Paper + 8% tax Fabric (no tax) Fabric + 8% tax
18 x 24 in 432 sq in $17.28 $18.66 $34.56 $37.32
36 x 48 in 1728 sq in $69.12 $74.65 $138.24 $149.30
42 x 72 in 3024 sq in $120.96 $130.64 $241.92 $261.27
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