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 --no-project --with "python-pptx==1.0.2" --with "Pillow==12.3.0" \
  --with "lxml==6.1.3" \
  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.
• [ ] Exporter/settings and any online conversion route are recorded and permitted.
• [ ] Actual PDF page size is measured against canvas and final artboard separately; printer scaling or a full-size PDF derivative is confirmed when they differ.
• [ ] 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.