Poster Sizes Chart

We put this poster sizes chart together because people keep asking us the same question before their campaigns start: “What size should my posters be?” The answer lives at the intersection of your campaign goals, your posting surfaces, and your budget. This chart gives you the reference data you need to answer it.

At American Guerrilla Marketing, we’ve run campaigns across New York City in every major format. We know what prints cleanly, what reads from distance, and what fits the posting environments we work in every day. This guide is built from that experience.

US Standard Poster Sizes Chart

These are the standard sizes used for printed poster campaigns in the United States. Every major print shop stocks equipment calibrated for these formats.

International (ISO) Poster Sizes Chart

Outside the US, the ISO A-series paper size standard is used. Here’s how those sizes compare to US formats.

Poster Board Sizes Chart

Poster board (the rigid display material) uses a separate sizing system from printed posters. Here’s the reference for poster board dimensions.

Two Systems: Printed posters (11×17, 18×24, 24×36) and poster boards (22×28, 14×22, 11×14) use different sizing conventions. Know which system you’re working in before you design or order. Mixing them up is the most common mistake we see.

How to Use This Poster Sizes Chart

A chart is only useful if you know how to apply it to your situation. Here’s how to work through the decision.

Step 1: Identify Your Posting Surface

What will you be posting on? Construction hoarding, telephone poles, venue walls, windows, kiosks, and transit placements each have size requirements. Some surfaces have physical size limits. Some programs have specifications you must follow. Know your surface before you pick your size.

Step 2: Consider Viewing Distance

How far away will your audience be when they see the poster? A piece on a venue wall inside a bar might be read from six feet away. A poster on a construction wall along a busy street might need to be read from fifteen feet away. Larger formats with bigger type work for greater distances. Smaller formats with denser content work when viewers are close.

Step 3: Factor in Your Budget

Print costs scale with size. An 11×17 run of 500 pieces costs significantly less than a 24×36 run of 500 pieces. If your budget is fixed, figure out what size gives you enough coverage at a quantity that actually matters for your campaign.

Step 4: Match the Design to the Format

Some designs need space. Complex artwork, multiple elements, detailed information, these need a larger format. Simple, bold designs, a logo, a date, a headline, can work at any size. Build your design around what the format allows, not the other way around.

Poster Sizes for Specific Industries

Entertainment and Music

Concerts and music events: 11×17 for saturation, 18×24 for premium placements, 24×36 for headline act campaigns. Film: 27×40 (one-sheet) is the industry standard. Music festivals often use both 11×17 and 18×24 in a single campaign.

Food and Beverage

Restaurants and bars: 11×17 is the workhorse. It fits most venue posting areas. For window promotions, 18×24 gives more visual weight from the sidewalk. Temporary specials and events use 8.5×11 for quick turnaround.

Retail and Commercial

Retail window campaigns: 18×24 and 24×36 are common. Store interior: 11×17 and 22×28 (poster board) for sign holder displays. Grand openings and special events often use larger formats (24×36 or 36×48) for maximum presence.

Real Estate

Real estate uses formats calibrated to their specific display hardware. Window signs at property listings often use 18×24 or 24×36. Open house directional signs use smaller formats like 11×17 or custom sizes for yard signs.

Print Spec Reminder: Whatever size you choose, set up your file at 300 DPI, in CMYK color mode, with 0.125-inch bleed on all sides. Export as PDF/X-1a for offset printing or PDF/X-4 for digital. These specs prevent print errors that cost you time and money.

Poster Sizes Chart: Pixel Dimensions for Digital Use

If you’re designing digitally, you need to know the pixel dimensions that correspond to each print size at 300 DPI.

These are large files. A 24×36 at 300 DPI will be in the range of 200 to 400 MB depending on the design content. Make sure you have sufficient storage and a capable design machine before you start working at these sizes.

Scaling Your Design Across Multiple Poster Sizes

Many campaigns use multiple sizes running at the same time. An 18×24 anchor piece and a matching 11×17 for higher-volume coverage, for example. When you scale across sizes, maintain consistent proportions in your design elements.

The 18×24 is a 3:4 ratio. The 11×17 is a 1:1.55 ratio. These don’t scale perfectly from one to the other. You’ll need to recompose the design to fit each format rather than just resizing. The headline and primary visual can usually scale. The supporting text layout will need adjustment.

Plan for this in your design workflow. If you’re running three sizes, build three versions of the design. Don’t assume a resize will look right. It almost never does without adjustment.

Poster Sizes by Campaign Type: What Actually Works in the Field

A chart tells you the dimensions. It doesn’t tell you which size works for which campaign. Here’s the breakdown by campaign type, based on what we see work in actual street-level programs.

Concert and Music Venue Promotion

Music venues and concert promoters have used 11×17 as the standard for decades. It fits standard retail windows, community bulletin boards, and telephone pole surfaces. For headliner announcements, 18×24 adds visual presence and signals a bigger show. For stadium acts and major festival headliners, 24×36 is appropriate. Film lamination (glossy or matte) protects the poster against weather and theft while adding visual quality.

New Product Launch Campaigns

Product launches typically use a mix: 24×36 for anchor placements in high-visibility locations, 18×24 for secondary coverage across a wider area, and 11×17 for maximum volume in high-turnover environments like college campuses and dense urban neighborhoods. Running three sizes at the same time lets the campaign have presence across multiple surface types.

Event Announcement Campaigns

For local events (gallery openings, neighborhood festivals, restaurant launches), 11×17 in high volume is the standard approach. The cost efficiency of the smaller format means you can cover a wider area with more exposures. For major events with larger production budgets, stepping up to 18×24 or 24×36 communicates the scale of the event through the size of the marketing itself.

Brand Awareness Programs

Pure brand awareness campaigns for running national brands typically go larger. 24×36 and bigger for key placements. The goal is impression and brand association, not specific information delivery. A large, well-designed brand poster conveys scale and confidence. A small poster for a major brand reads as an afterthought.

Local Business Promotion

Local businesses with limited budgets get the most from 11×17 high-volume programs. A restaurant promoting a new menu, a fitness studio announcing a class schedule, a bar promoting weekend events: these are all well-served by 11×17 in the immediate surrounding neighborhoods. The key is printing enough copies to create genuine saturation in the target area, more than putting up two or three posters and hoping for the best.

Understanding Poster Size and Viewing Distance

One of the most practical considerations in poster size selection is the relationship between size and viewing distance. A poster that reads perfectly from 3 feet is illegible from 20 feet. A poster designed for 30-foot viewing is too sparse in information to be useful for close-range reading.

Here’s a practical viewing distance guide by poster format:

Design text sizes for the maximum viewing distance, not the minimum. A poster on a wall that most people will encounter from 10 feet should have its key message legible at 10 feet, even if some body copy requires closer reading. The headline and key visual do the work at distance. The detail is for the people who stop and get close.

Print Paper and Material Options by Poster Size

Poster size determines which paper and material options are practical. Not every format is available in every material from every printer. Here’s what typically works:

11×17

Available from virtually every print shop, online and physical. 80lb gloss or matte text paper is standard. 100lb cover stock for higher-quality single-sided posters. Full-color digital printing is widely available, fast, and affordable. Minimum order quantities as low as 25 copies from most online printers.

18×24

Available from most large-format print shops and many online services. Standard paper is 80lb or 100lb text paper for flat posters. Adhesive-backed vinyl is available for window and surface applications. Lamination (glossy or matte) protects against weather for exterior applications.

24×36

Large-format digital printing territory. Available from Staples, FedEx Office, and many online large-format services. Material options expand: photo paper, canvas, foam core mounting, Coroplast (corrugated plastic), adhesive vinyl. For outdoor applications, UV-resistant inks and lamination extend the life of the print significantly.

Specialty and Custom Sizes

Sizes outside the standard range (14×22, 16×24, 20×30) are available from large-format digital printers as custom cuts. They cost slightly more than standard sizes because they require custom paper handling. For campaigns with very specific display requirements, custom sizing is an option worth exploring with your print vendor.

How do I know which poster size to order?

Start with your posting surface. Then consider your viewing distance. Then check your budget. The best size is the one that fits your locations, reads well from the intended viewing distance, and allows you to print enough copies to have real campaign impact.

Frequently Asked Questions