artboard = trim + 2 × bleed.Raster effective DPI and final font size depend on physical placement, not merely the canvas.
Microsoft's current slide-size guidance states that each custom dimension is from 1 to 56 inches (2.54–142.24 cm). It also states that all slides in a presentation have the same size.
Do not bypass this limit by supplying pixel values; PowerPoint converts entered units. This skill accepts inches and enforces the 1–56 inch range.
If a required physical artboard exceeds 56 inches on an edge:
Do not scale width and height independently.
For a proportional design:
scale_x = physical_artboard_width / canvas_width
scale_y = physical_artboard_height / canvas_height
scale_x must equal scale_y
final_font_pt = design_font_pt × scale
final_placed_width_in = design_width_in × scale
effective_dpi_x = image_width_px / final_placed_width_in
The manifest validator allows only a small numerical tolerance between scale_x and
scale_y.
Bleed and safe margin are printer-specific. A conference board dimension does not establish either.
The manifest treats the physical artboard, including bleed, as the area mapped to the PowerPoint canvas. It computes the safe inset on the canvas as:
(bleed + safe margin) / print scale
Native text must remain inside that boundary. Only intentional imagery may set
allow_in_bleed: true.
PowerPoint generation is not a press-ready preflight. The printer must confirm crop, trim, bleed, substrate, and proofing behavior.
These are dated examples, not presets:
The differences are the point: check the current instruction for the actual event. Board size, maximum poster size, submission-document format, and physical print size can be different rules.
Choose a grid after content, orientation, language direction, and required dimensions are known.
No column count is inherently standard or accessible. Use consistent alignment and spacing, and leave enough room for the actual approved content without shrinking type.
The strict manifest places every text or image element in an explicit rectangle. Elements are listed in contiguous reading order and are generated in that order.
The layout checker reads PresentationML transforms directly. It reports:
reading_order.Bounding boxes are conservative. A report can include an intentional overlay, while a clean report can still hide text overflow, rotation, group-transform, chart, SmartArt, or font-substitution problems. The generator avoids groups, charts, SmartArt, and overlays so that a clean direct-box check is meaningful.
Always inspect in PowerPoint and in the exported PDF.
Image placement uses contain fitting:
If the scientific message depends on a crop, create and approve a new local asset, hash it, and update its source/alt text. Do not apply a silent crop during generation.
QR placement boxes must be square. Test the final physical QR code; pixel count and box geometry do not guarantee scan reliability.
Treat PowerPoint as an RGB authoring workflow. Its documented automation color property is RGB, and the generated package uses opaque sRGB hex colors.
If the printer accepts RGB, record that requirement and approve a proof. If the printer manages conversion, obtain its profile/process and approve a proof. If the printer requires CMYK, the export plan blocks a claim of readiness until a printer-approved conversion and proof are complete. Do not label a native PowerPoint PDF as CMYK-compliant without verifying the actual output.
Transparency, gradients, photographs, and institutional colors can change during conversion. Contrast calculations on source sRGB values do not predict the printed result.
Microsoft's export guidance distinguishes Standard quality for publishing/printing from Minimum size. Use the current PowerPoint interface and Standard/high print quality when PDF is required.
After export, independently verify:
Microsoft's PowerPoint PDF accessibility documentation describes modern tagged-PDF behavior, but availability varies by PowerPoint version and channel. Verify the installed version and the actual PDF; do not infer PDF accessibility from the PPTX.
Microsoft presents Maximize and Ensure Fit when changing slide size. Maximize can move content outside the slide; Ensure Fit can make content smaller.
This workflow sets dimensions before adding content and does not repurpose an existing slide. If a human later changes the size, treat that as a layout change:
Inspect a reduced-scale proof and the printer's full-size or contract proof. Confirm readability at expected distances, trim, bleed, margins, color, raster quality, QR function, mounting constraints, and accessibility. No XML or geometry checker can simulate the final venue.