PPTX poster release checklist

Use this checklist for the final generated package and every exported/printed derivative. A script pass is necessary but not sufficient.

1. Requirements and approval

• The organizer's current poster rule is recorded with an exact source ID.
• The printer's current trim, bleed, safe-margin, scaling, file-format, and color requirements are recorded with an exact source ID.
• The selected physical trim size and orientation comply with those records.
• No generic "standard poster size" was substituted for organizer/printer rules.
• Every claim, number, citation, author name, affiliation, logo, figure, and asset license has an exact source ID.
• Every source record is marked author-verified.
• Every element and asset is marked author-approved.
• No placeholder, sample claim, invented citation, or inferred result remains.
• The approving author reviewed the canonical content hash after the final edit.

Run:

python -B scripts/validate_manifest.py poster.json

2. Safe local generation

• Generation used the exact versions in generation_dependencies.json.
• All optional image paths are manifest-relative local PNG/JPEG files.
• Every asset hash matches.
• Every asset has exact provenance and a license/permission statement.
• No template file, remote image, URL download, API key, environment file, image-generation service, or network service was used.
• The output path was new; no existing file was replaced.
• The generated file is .pptx, never .pptm.

Run:

uv run --with "python-pptx==1.0.2" --with "Pillow==12.3.0" \
  --with "lxml==6.1.1" \
  python -B scripts/generate_poster.py poster.json --output poster.pptx

3. PPTX package security

• ZIP member names have no traversal, absolute paths, symlinks, duplicates, encryption, oversized entries, or excessive expansion ratios.
• The package has the standard macro-free PresentationML content type.
• The package matches the strict generated one-slide part profile.
• No VBA, ActiveX, OLE, embedded package, executable/binary payload, external link part, or custom UI is present.
• No relationship has TargetMode="External".
• No remotely linked image is present.
• Internal relationship targets resolve to existing package parts.
• The presentation was inspected as ZIP/XML and was not opened or executed by the inspection script.

Run:

python -B scripts/inspect_pptx.py poster.pptx

Treat any package finding as a release blocker. Do not "fix" an untrusted package by opening it in PowerPoint.

4. Dimensions, scale, bleed, and margins

• PowerPoint canvas width and height are each in the current 1–56 inch range.
• Final physical trim dimensions are recorded separately from canvas dimensions.
• Final artboard dimensions include twice the confirmed bleed on each axis.
• Canvas and final artboard have the same aspect ratio.
• Uniform print scale is explicit; no nonuniform stretching is allowed.
• Printer permission is recorded if final output is scaled from the PPTX canvas.
• All non-bleed content stays inside the confirmed safe margin from the trim edge.
• Full-bleed imagery reaches the artboard edge and does not move text into bleed.
• A physical or contract proof confirms trim and bleed behavior.

Run:

python -B scripts/plan_export.py poster.json

5. Layout and typography

• No shape is out of bounds.
• Every reported bounding-box overlap is either removed or documented as intentional after visual inspection.
• No text box visibly overflows, clips, wraps unexpectedly, or uses silent auto-shrink.
• Font sizes were assessed at final physical output, not only on the PPTX canvas.
• The manifest labels its minimum-font value as a project heuristic or ties it to an exact organizer/printer/source requirement.
• Required fonts are available on the export workstation and printer workflow.
• Font embedding rights and the chosen embed/not-embed workflow were reviewed; the generator itself did not embed fonts.
• Font substitution, equations, symbols, and scientific glyphs were checked.
• Visual hierarchy and reading path remain clear at reduced-scale proof size.

Run:

python -B scripts/check_layout.py poster.pptx --manifest poster.json

The checker cannot determine rendered overflow or font substitution; inspect those in PowerPoint and in the exported PDF.

6. Raster images and assets

• Effective DPI is calculated from pixel dimensions divided by final placed inches, not from file metadata.
• Every placement meets the manifest's source-labeled or heuristic DPI threshold.
• No image is stretched out of aspect ratio.
• The final PDF and printer proof show no resampling artifacts.
• Asset IDs, hashes, source IDs, provenance, permissions/licenses, and alt text are in the inventory.
• EXIF, XMP, comments, and embedded text/application metadata were stripped in an author-reviewed offline workflow before hashing and approval.
• Logos and images are authorized for this use.

Run:

python -B scripts/inventory_images.py poster.json \
  --output poster.assets.json

7. Color and graphical accessibility

• Normal text pairs meet WCAG 2.2 SC 1.4.3 at 4.5:1.
• Large text pairs meet 3:1 only when final text is at least 18 pt, or at least 14 pt and bold.
• Essential graphical objects meet the 3:1 non-text contrast screen where WCAG 2.2 SC 1.4.11 is being used as the design target.
• Information is never encoded by color alone.
• Categories also use direct labels, shapes, markers, patterns, or line styles.
• Palette selection is appropriate to data type: qualitative, sequential, or diverging.
• A grayscale/color-vision simulation is reviewed as a screen, not treated as proof of accessibility.
• A color proof confirms the printer's conversion and substrate behavior.

Run:

python -B scripts/check_palette.py poster.json

8. PowerPoint accessibility

• Every picture has concise, accurate alt text that conveys purpose.
• Complex figures have an approved source-bound native long description when alt text and adjacent prose are insufficient.
• Important text is native text, not only pixels inside an image.
• The visible title is the native slide-title placeholder and text language is correct.
• The Reading Order pane matches the intended logical sequence.
• The PowerPoint Accessibility Checker has no unresolved errors.
• A keyboard and screen-reader pass confirms the actual reading order.
• Text links have meaningful visible labels.
• Every QR code has the exact destination URL in visible fallback text.
• Each final printed QR code was tested with multiple devices.
• Language, author names, acronyms, captions, and table alternatives are correct.

Automated XML inspection cannot certify these manual checks.

9. Export and print

• Export uses PowerPoint's Standard/high print quality, not Minimum size.
• No audio, video, linked media, OLE, ActiveX, embedded file, or external relationship was introduced after generation.
• Exported PDF page size equals the final artboard expected by the printer.
• Exported PDF is checked independently for tags, reading order, alt text, links, fonts, clipping, image quality, and page dimensions.
• RGB is distinguished from any printer-required CMYK conversion.
• If CMYK is required, the printer-approved conversion/profile and proof are complete; the native PowerPoint export is not represented as CMYK-compliant.
• Conference file format, naming, file-size, and submission rules are met.
• Printer deadline, substrate, mounting, delivery, and backup requirements are met.

10. Final sign-off

• Presenting/corresponding author approved all scientific content and citations.
• Accessibility reviewer completed manual checks.
• Printer or production contact approved dimensions, bleed, scale, and color.
• The exact approved manifest, PPTX hash, asset inventory, audit reports, exported PDF, and proof are retained together.
• A final change triggers a new content hash, new author approval, regeneration, re-export, and all checks again.