LaTeX beamerposter: Setup, Options, Columns and Troubleshooting

The beamerposter package lets you write a conference poster as a single beamer frame at a custom paper size, such as DIN A0. It extends the beamer class and a0poster for custom-sized posters, with font scaling and beamer-style colour boxes (CTAN package page, read 2026-11-07). This guide gives the options the package actually accepts, a minimal working layout, and fixes for the problems people most often hit. For the content and design side of a poster, see research poster structure and design.

What it is used for in research

Researchers use beamerposter to produce print-ready poster PDFs from LaTeX source, so that the poster shares fonts, maths and bibliography handling with the rest of their LaTeX work. The package README lists DIN A0 to A4 and custom sizes (double A0 is possible), landscape or portrait orientation, scalable fonts (through the fp and type1cm packages), a debug mode, and continued use for 16:9 beamer slides.

beamerposter LaTeX versus beamerposter on its own

Searches for “beamerposter latex” and “latex beamerposter” refer to the same CTAN package. It is a LaTeX package loaded with \usepackage in a document whose class is beamer; it is not a separate program.

Install or access (official source only)

The package is published on CTAN (ctan.org/pkg/beamerposter). At the time of reading (2026-11-07) the listed version is 1.13, licensed under LPPL and GPL, and maintained by Philippe Dreuw and Thomas Deselaers. Documentation is beamerposter.pdf on CTAN, the source repository is github.com/deselaers/latex-beamerposter, and questions go to the package’s Google group.

The README states these requirements: beamer, fp, xkeyval (a version supporting choice keys, for example v2.5f), type1cm and paralist. If you prefer not to install anything locally, a hosted LaTeX editor such as Overleaf can compile the same source.

Step-by-step: build an A0 portrait poster

The structure below follows the official example.tex shipped with the package and the Overleaf documentation on posters (both read 2026-11-07).

1. Start the document with the beamer class: \documentclass[final]{beamer}.
2. Choose a beamer theme and, if you like, a serif maths font: \usetheme{Berlin}, \usefonttheme[onlymath]{serif} and \boldmath, as in the official example.
3. Load the package with its size options: \usepackage[orientation=portrait,size=a0,scale=1.4]{beamerposter}.
4. Open a single frame with \begin{frame}{}. A poster is one frame; the official example uses \vfill and block environments inside it.
5. Lay out columns with \begin{columns}[t] and \begin{column}{.30linewidth}, and put content in \begin{block}{Block title} … \end{block}. The block takes its title as an argument (Overleaf documentation).
6. Compile as for any beamer document and check the PDF page size.

\documentclass[final]{beamer}
\usetheme{Berlin}
\usefonttheme[onlymath]{serif}
\boldmath
\usepackage[orientation=portrait,size=a0,scale=1.4]{beamerposter}

\begin{document}
\begin{frame}{}
  \begin{columns}[t]
    \begin{column}{.30linewidth}
      \begin{block}{Introduction}
        ...
      \end{block}
    \end{column}
    \begin{column}{.30linewidth}
      \begin{block}{Methods}
        ...
      \end{block}
    \end{column}
    \begin{column}{.30linewidth}
      \begin{block}{Results}
        ...
      \end{block}
    \end{column}
  \end{columns}
  \vfill
\end{frame}
\end{document}

Package options

These option names and defaults were read from beamerposter.sty and the official example on 2026-11-07. Unknown options produce a warning and are ignored.

Option	Default	Use
size	a0	Paper size, for example a0, a1, or custom together with width and height
orientation	portrait	Portrait or landscape layout
scale	1.0	Font scaling factor; the official examples use 1.4 and 2
width, height	none stated	Dimensions for a custom size; the official example uses width=200,height=120
debug	none stated	Debug mode, used in the official examples
grid	none stated	Grid, shown in the official A1 example: size=a1,scale=1.4,grid,debug
printer	none stated	Listed in the style file; see beamerposter.pdf for its exact effect

A custom-size example from the package: \usepackage[size=custom,width=200,height=120,scale=2,debug]{beamerposter}. The package also defines the font-size commands \veryHuge, \VeryHuge and \VERYHuge.

Output and how to read it

The output is one PDF page at the size you set. Open it at full-page zoom to judge column balance, and use debug and grid while you tune a layout, as the official examples do. scale changes the font scaling, not the paper size: choose the paper size with size (or width and height), then adjust scale until text fills the columns. Remove debug and grid before sending the file to print.

Troubleshooting

“Unknown option” warning

The package ignores unknown options after warning. Check spelling against the table above.

Missing package errors

An error naming fp, xkeyval, type1cm or paralist means a required package is not installed; the README lists all four, plus beamer. An old xkeyval may lack choice keys (v2.5f is the version the README names).

Hyperref with beamer 3.10

The README advises against hyperref={pdfpagelabels=false} with beamer 3.10.

Logo does not appear

Overleaf’s poster documentation states that \logo{} does not work in most themes and has to be set in the theme’s .sty file.

Few theme choices

Overleaf’s documentation notes that beamerposter has fewer themes and is less flexible than tikzposter. If a theme will not do what you need, the comparison below may help.

Free alternatives (table)

	beamerposter	tikzposter
What CTAN says it does	Extends beamer and a0poster for custom-sized posters	Creates scientific posters using TikZ
Version on CTAN (2026-11-07)	1.13	2.0
Licence	LPPL and GPL	LPPL 1.2
Overleaf’s comparison	Fewer themes, less flexible	More flexible

FAQ

What is the LaTeX beamerposter package?

It is a CTAN package that extends the beamer class so a single frame can be a custom-sized poster, for example DIN A0, with scalable fonts and colour boxes.

How do I set the poster size in beamerposter?

Use the size option, for example size=a0, or size=custom with width and height. The default is A0 in portrait orientation.

How do I make a landscape poster?

Set orientation=landscape; the default is portrait.

What does the scale option do?

It scales the fonts (default 1.0). The package’s examples use 1.4 and 2.

Does beamerposter work on Overleaf?

Overleaf’s documentation includes a beamerposter example with the preamble \documentclass{beamer} and [orientation=portrait,size=a0,scale=1.4].

Related guides

• Research poster: structure, design, and how to present it
• LaTeX document structure
• Helvetica in LaTeX
• Text colour in LaTeX

Sources (official docs)

• CTAN, beamerposter package page: ctan.org/pkg/beamerposter (read 2026-11-07)
• beamerposter README, example.tex and beamerposter.sty on mirrors.ctan.org (read 2026-11-07)
• Overleaf documentation: Posters (read 2026-11-07)
• CTAN, tikzposter package page: ctan.org/pkg/tikzposter (read 2026-11-07)