Despite today's vast digital communication options, printed media still commands a strong position. Thought some may consider it "old school", it remains one of the most successful methods of conveying ideas.
In fact, research indicates that the use of visual aids typically increases retention of the presented material six times more than when the information is only provided verbally.
One group of professionals who probably knows this better than anyone is educators.
Teachers are really some of the best creators of visual aids. They consistently use posters, signs, and other visual aids to engage students, teach new concepts, and help build connections for long-term retrieval.
These are the 10 of the most popular uses for posters for classrooms and schools.
- Different versions of printed materials to use for differentiated instruction
- Monthly calendars
- Job assignment charts
- Charts to track assessment results
- Response to intervention planners (RtI)
- Custom designed visual aids
- Uniquely created classroom size game boards
- Classroom photos and collages
- Campus maps and signs
- Anything else the staff can dream up…
Shop now - explore wide-format printer options
For decades, teachers have personally crafted classroom posters, by hand, which is a very time consuming process.
Although grabbing some construction paper and a pair of scissors has been part of the teacher experience for decades, today’s educators simply don’t have the time to invest in a handmade poster.
Outsourcing the printing is another option, but that can be expensive. Most schools have experienced some budget cuts, and printing budgets have been pummeled.
To be more productive and to save money, many schools have taken the step towards investing in equipment to print large documents themselves.
The technology departments at many schools and educational service centers have started turning to using their own large format printers to print all of their over-sized graphics.
Printer Options
Canon, HP, and Epson all make printers capable of printing posters. Prices for these units have come down to levels that easily justify the purchase versus outsourcing to a local printer.
A great choice for printing school posters is the Canon TM-200 24-inch printer.
Print everything from posters, maps, and more.
Produce great looking images with Canon LUCIA TD Inks.
Unleash your creativity with free, included workflow and management software.
Powerful Design Software
Every Canon large format printer comes with PosterArtist Lite poster creation software. It gives users the ability to quickly and easily create professional large format prints and now supports the creation of multilingual posters and tiling!
Users simply follow the program's four (4) easy steps to create posters that can be used in applications such as office Presentations, Trade shows, Retail Signage, and much, much more.
The PosterArtist QuickCopy* feature provides an easy solution for a CanoScan desktop scanner to be used as a copier, making letter-size flyers and documents into full-size posters with a touch of a button.
And if you need even more options, you can upgrade to the full version of Poster Artist.
So, with the new school year in full swing, it just might be worth your time to take a look and see if a wide-format printer makes sense for all posters used for classrooms.
Texas School Districts: Purchase new wide-format equipment and software via the State DIR contract.
Search for Printers for Classroom Posters and More!
Editor's note: This article was originally published 2012 and updated in 2019.
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