A senior yearbook ad (the recognition page parents buy in the back of the book) is a simple thing that the internet makes complicated: one to a handful of photos, a short dedication, and an exact page size the school sells by the fraction. Every big-name result for the job hands you a template that needs an account, a purchase, or a sign-up funnel before it produces a file. This page builds the finished file itself, at the exact size, in your browser, free.
What size is a full, half or quarter page yearbook ad?
The sizes below are what the yearbook vendors and the template sellers sell (checked October 2026); the tool enforces them at pick time, so the file you download is already the right shape:
| Ad size | Inches | At 300 DPI (pixels) | PDF page box (points) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full page | 8.5 × 11 in | 2550 × 3300 px | 612 × 792 pt |
| Half page | 8.5 × 5.5 in | 2550 × 1650 px | 612 × 396 pt |
| Quarter page | 4.25 × 5.5 in | 1275 × 1650 px | 306 × 396 pt |
Schools name the fractions differently (“half-page horizontal”, “1/8 page” for the quarter in some books), so match the form, not the name. If the school quotes pixel sizes instead of inches, 300 DPI is the number print shops expect; the photo print size checker tells you whether your own photos are sharp enough for the size you bought before you commit.
How do you make the ad?
- Add the photos: up to eight, in the order you want them used. One great portrait is enough for the Classic layout; the Collage, Filmstrip and Polaroid layouts take more.
- Write the words: the headline (the name and class, like MAYA RIVERA · CLASS OF 2027), the dedication, and an optional sign-off. The message shrinks to fit the page; it never spills off the edge.
- Pick the size, the layout and an accent color (school colors work well) and download. The PDF is the exact page size; the JPG is sized for upload forms and email; the PNG is the lossless copy.
Every layout works with no photos too: a text-only quarter page with a short message is a real thing people buy.
What should the message say?
The ads that work are short, specific and in the family’s own voice: the trait you hope the yearbook captures, one shared memory, and who it is from. The guide what to write in a senior yearbook ad walks it with examples for parents and grandparents: sizes, deadlines and the words, in one place.
How does the ad get to the school, and by when?
Senior-ad sales open in the fall and the deadlines run through the winter; schools announced their windows in October 2026 with price-increase dates attached, and some collect ads by simple email to a staff address while others use an upload portal (school announcements, checked October 2026). Download the JPG for an email attachment or an upload form; the PDF is the print-shop copy. If your school’s yearbook company runs its own ad-builder portal, build there instead: the school wants that file, and no outside file substitutes.
What is out there, and what does this page add?
Checked 14 October 2026, page one of this search: template listings that need a marketplace account plus a design account before anything can be edited, a template gallery behind a login, a “free generator” whose button leads to a sign-up wall, paid template sets for teachers, and the yearbook vendors’ own portals that require an account by design. Not one ranked result produces a finished file without an account. What this page does differently is finish the job: your photos and words composed onto the exact vendor page size, downloaded as a submittable PDF and JPG, free, with nothing uploaded. That is the whole difference, and it is the only claim this page makes.
Honest limits: four layouts and one serif type family, no clip art, no stickers, no text curves. The tool does not choose or retouch photos; fix scratches and faded color first on the restoring old photos page, and pick the sharpest shots with the print size checker. When the ad is done, the same camera roll keeps working: more printable gifts live on the photo gifts page, the graduation advice cards maker prints the June party-table run, the graduation memory book covers the years before senior year, and the photo year-in-review card turns the year into a keepsake page. All five graduation makers and both guides share one shelf: the graduation page.
Questions
What size is a full, half or quarter page yearbook ad?
The standard sizes the vendors and template sellers use: a full page is 8.5 × 11 inches, a half page is 8.5 × 5.5 inches, and a quarter page is 4.25 × 5.5 inches. The tool builds your file at exactly those page sizes (2550 × 3300, 2550 × 1650 and 1275 × 1650 pixels at 300 DPI, and a PDF page box of 612 × 792, 612 × 396 and 306 × 396 points). Check your school's ad form for which size you bought.
How do I send the finished ad to the school?
However the yearbook staff asks. Many schools email the ad to a staff address or attach it to an order form; download the JPG (small enough for email) or the PDF. Schools with an upload portal take the same files. The only schools this tool cannot serve are the ones where parents must build the ad inside the vendor's own portal, because there the school wants their builder's file, not yours.
Are my photos uploaded anywhere?
No. The photos are opened, cropped and composed inside this page in your browser, and the PDF, JPG and PNG are built on your device. No request carries a photo or a word you typed, and closing the tab erases everything.
Is there a watermark or an account?
No account, no sign-up, no watermark. The file contains only your ad; nothing sits over the design, and nothing is added to the corners.
What if our school uses an online ad builder like the yearbook company's?
If the school's portal builds the ad for you, use it: the school wants that file and the tool here adds nothing for you. This maker is for the many schools that ask parents to prepare a finished image or PDF themselves and email or upload it; that flow is exactly what the downloads produce.