Producing and presenting an academic poster in Swansea

• Posters can be made in LaTeX or in a dedicated DTP app. I used Scribus for mine. If you're using Scribus, beware placed PDFs (particularly ones passed through to the output PDF). They can cause font substitution errors that only turn up on printing. This happened to me, and completely messed up one of the graphs I was presenting.
• If possible, leave at least one non-weekend day between when you submit your posters to the printers and when you need the finished article. (See next points.)
• Where to print with notice: Print Partnership have a laser A0 printer in Cardiff, which will produce high-quality and highly inexpensive posters (£6 for A0 colour when I checked), and will send the finished poster for collection on De La Beche street (along from the police station).
• Where to print urgently: Staples in Parc Tawe, next to Plantasia, can print poster sized prints, but at A0 size can only print in black and white. They are open Saturdays. For colour A0, try Print Partnership. They don't have a laser plotter in house, but they do have an A0 inkjet machine. Cost £17 on heavy paper when I used them. The shop is open Saturdays, but the print shop area claims not to be. However, when I used them, after some grumbling, they started up the plotter and printed my work anyway, for no more than their standard price. I wouldn't rely on getting the same service next time, but in case of desperation, being polite might save you from disaster.
• Transporting your poster: Use a poster tube! These aren't carried in many places. Harrison Brothers in the Uplands carry them in various sizes; I got an extending A0-capable one for £12.95. Take this when you pick up your print, as the print shops don't generally carry cardboard tubes long enough for A0, and will roll your poster around a smaller tube and bag it. This leaves it highly vulnerable to creasing.