Poster guide

Making a Scientific Poster in PowerPoint: Limits and Alternative

PowerPoint can make a conference poster, but with a lot of friction on an A0. How to do it, the concrete limits, and a simpler alternative.

July 4, 2026 · 6 min read

Quick answer: can you make a poster in PowerPoint?

Yes. Many conference posters are made in PowerPoint (or Google Slides), on a single slide sized to the poster's dimensions. It is possible and free, but tedious on a large format: manual alignment, columns that overflow, font sizes to guess, and an export that is not always sharp in print. For a clean result without spending hours, a tool built for the poster format saves a lot of time.

How to make a poster in PowerPoint

The principle: a single slide, at the poster's real size.

Open PowerPoint, go to Design > Slide Size > Custom Slide Size.
Set the width and height to your poster dimensions (for example 84.1 × 118.9 cm for an A0 portrait). PowerPoint allows up to about 142 cm, so an A0 fits.
Work on that single slide: text boxes, images, shapes.
Export to PDF at real size for printing.

This is the approach documented by university libraries such as the University of Minnesota, which suggest building your poster via PowerPoint or Google Slides.

The limits of PowerPoint for an A0 poster

PowerPoint is a presentation tool, not a poster layout tool. On a large format, the friction adds up:

Manual alignment: every block, every column is placed by hand. One nudge, and everything shifts.
Columns that overflow: nothing manages content distribution; a section that is too long overflows or overlaps the next.
Sizes to guess: no guarantee your body text is legible from a distance. That is the number one cause of an unreadable poster.
Low-resolution images: PowerPoint does not warn you if an image will be blurry when large; 300 DPI is not guaranteed.
Fragile consistency: colors, margins and spacing are kept by hand, risking a "patched-together" look.

Nothing insurmountable, but every detail takes time and vigilance, especially the night before a conference.

The alternative: a template built for the poster format

Starting from a template designed for the conference poster removes all that grunt work. A good template handles columns, section cards, data blocks and high-resolution export; you just fill in your content and pick a color theme.

That is what Folio Poster offers: conference-grade templates, a live preview, font sizes adapted to the format, and an A0 or A1 PDF export ready to print, from portrait to landscape. You focus on the substance; the layout is handled. For the fundamentals, see the guide how to make a scientific poster, and for printing, the article printing a scientific poster.

In summary

PowerPoint can make a poster: one slide at real size, PDF export.
Its limits on an A0: manual alignment, overflowing columns, sizes to guess, low-res images.
A dedicated template handles columns, sizes and export: faster, cleaner.
Either way: design at real size and aim for 300 DPI.

Frequently asked questions

Can you really make a conference poster in PowerPoint?
Yes: you create a single slide at the poster's dimensions (for example 84.1 × 118.9 cm for an A0) and export to PDF. It is common, but the layout stays entirely manual.

What slide size for an A0 poster in PowerPoint?
Set the custom size to 84.1 × 118.9 cm (A0 portrait). PowerPoint allows up to about 142 cm per side, so an A0 fits. Work on a single slide.

Why is my PowerPoint poster blurry in print?
Most often because of low-resolution images: PowerPoint does not warn you. Aim for 300 DPI at final size and avoid images grabbed from the web.