A poster is said to be an original poster for a film when it is known to have been printed and distributed concurrent with the first release of the film. A poster will often have a National Screen Service service number in the right (usually) bottom border area of the poster. Such a number might read, for example, 57-128. This configuration of numbers means that the poster was made for distribution in the year 1957 and that in that year said poster was for the 128th film that NSS had serviced for the studios. A poster which has a number configured like this may reasonably be construed to be an original poster from a film released in the year 1957, although rarely you will find films copyrighted in the year previous or following the year on the poster screen service number. Keep in mind that these numbers were not invented for the convenience of poster collectors but to assist in the day to day operations of what was a working business. So this numbering system may be regarded as generally correct, but not absolutely correct. Some posters may have no date at all printed on them. If you are concerned about the originality of a poster and there is no date, remember a pressbook for the film will probably show the poster, if you can find one. Or ask for the advice of a dealer or a trusted collector.

Roadshow or limited engagement films often had posters which were printed and distributed specially, not coming to the exhibitors from the normal National Screen Service channels, but directly from the studios or other subcontractors. These are posters for films which were popular in the heyday of reserved seat engagements from 1952 - 1967: This is Cinerama, Around the World in Eighty Days, Oklahoma!, Ben Hur, Spartacus, Cleopatra, My Fair Lady, and The Sound of Music, just to name a few. These roadshow posters are becoming increasingly collected and are considered the most original posters on these titles.

Films which were thought to have residual life in them at the boxoffice were sometimes re-released by the studios years after their first release. Certain films were re-released or reissued several times. Posters for films which were re-released were printed and they are referred to as reissue posters. These reissue posters are real movie posters in every sense, but they are simply made for the re-release, not original release of a film. They were usually marked with a "r" in the lower border area near the National Screen Service service number. For example, a reissue poster for West Side Story , re-released in 1968 will have R 68 on the poster. These posters may have used the same designs as the original posters or entirely new ones, but the r" designation indicates that the poster was intended for a film that was being re-released. That is why such posters will sometimes have copy to the effect that the film may be enjoyed again and again, or will, in some way clue the public that the film is not a new one. This was essentially a truth in advertising technique; after all, films were as ubiquitous as TV programs and the established producers did want to be seen as passing off old films as new ones to an unsuspecting public.

A reissue poster is not to be confused with a reproduction poster. A reproduction poster is merely a reproduction of a real poster, usually an original. Some movie posters have been reproduced by poster manufacturers for mass marketing.