Sign and Poster Guidelines for the Forest Service (December 2005)

Recreation Posters—November 2006

The recreation posters have been updated, redesigned, and translated into Spanish to meet nationwide needs. They have been renumbered so more posters can be added at a later date without disrupting the numbering sequence.

Posters are sized to fit together on a bulletin board. The majority of the 32 posters are 12 inches by 14 inches. However, there are a few different sizes, for example:

• Poster R5-2, 5 inches x 8 inches, is designed to be mounted on a hydrant so visitors can read it while drawing water.
• Poster R3-4, 44 inches by 16 inches, is designed to be mounted on the edge of a highway.
• Poster R8, 12 inches by 20 inches, is for use at small or dispersed sites, and holds four decals. Use these decals instead of full-sized posters.

Posters R2-4 and R8 are the only two posters that require decals. There are 10 informative R8 decals from which to choose. The five R2-4 decals indicate different lengths of stay at a site.

Each poster number begins with an “R” for recreation and is numbered 1-8 to represent categories. The categories are broadly described as:

• R1, Rules and regulations with CFRs referenced.
• R2, Site availability.
• R3, Sanitation.
• R4, Resource protection.
• R5, Water.
• R6, Animal etiquette.
• R7, Ski and snowmobile.
• R8, Welcome board for small sites.

How to Electronically Apply Decals to Your Poster

In the past, decals were printed separately and adhered to a poster. Now it is possible to electronically place decals on the poster before printing. Use Abode Illustrator CS2, or a similar program, to electronically place the decals on the R8 poster. As you customize the R8 poster (up to four decals), be sure to put each decal on a separate drawing layer so each decal can be moved independently. Save the R8 poster with a unique name and print.

This same process can be used on R2-1 and R2-4 posters to change the hours a site is open and to add the number of days, respectively. Again, put the added information on separate drawing layers so the information can be easily manipulated.

If you, or a colleague, do not have the necessary software, a local sign shop can work with you to electronically apply the decals.

How to Print

Note: Follow the directions closely. Do not use your normal file, print, enter sequence; the poster will not print correctly.

The proper sequence is:

• In the print window, choose the plotter name, and then click on Properties (figure 1).
  
  
• In the Properties window, always check the Application page size, and be sure that No scaling is checked. The posters will print at their proper sizes when the page size is equal to or larger than the poster size. For example, the 12-inch by 14-inch poster and R8 poster will print on page size JIS B3, which is 14.33 inches by 20.28 inches (figure 2).

Figure 1

Figure 2

• Poster R3-4 is sized for a highway at 44 inches by 16 inches. The Application page size for this poster is ANSI E, which is 34 inches by 44 inches (figure 3).

Figure 3

• Print poster R2-5 on letter size paper with a landscape orientation. R5-2 can also be printed this way, but it is meant to be mounted on a hydrant so aluminum may be a better surface choice. Printing on aluminum would need to be contracted out.

Printing Decals

If decal information is not applied electronically to the poster, then print each decal separately and apply it to the poster. Print R8 1d-10d and R2-4 decals on letter-sized adhesive backed paper.

Note: For a professional look, make a sign of several posters. See figure 4.

Figure 4: Sign made from a digital laminate material.
(I apologize for the old posters.)

Download the Posters

• Posters in English
• Posters in Spanish

Click the icon on the left to download a free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader.