Workflows that need large canvas / artboard

We do sublimated clothing design and production. The canvas size limitation in Illustrator is a big problem, we have to split print files into 2 separate files for the sublimation which takes extra time and is a pain when proofing.

I agree with everyone who needs to work in a 1: 1 scale. It is very unreliable with this limitation of canvas to 577 cm! I need a new program.

You may also want to look at increasing the bleed amount as that is limited to 1 inch and those who work in large scale graphics  routinely need more. 

There are a few reasons I'd like to see a larger (or even limitless) canvas for Illustrator:

1. I occasionally work on wall-sized murals and designs. The latest one was on a wall with dimension of 753" x 40". This is not possible in Illustrator, so I had to reduce it to 25%. It's annoying to have to work this way and do calculations on a piece of paper because my software can't manage it.
2. I would like to be able to use Illustrator for things like floor-plans and other really large scale designs. The reasoning comes back to the use of scale measurements, like drawing out a scale 120ft yacht with rulers and grids that support feet / meters. Sometimes to illustrate an image to be printed on a standard poster-size, it is still helpful to create at real-world scale. I envision my 3-D tools that have limitless scale grids.
3. Like many web/mobile app designers, I use the multi-artboard feature in Illustrator to create all of the high-fidelity screens in the products we develop. There can be a LOT of screens. Currently the canvass can run out of space for some projects. This process also highlights the deficiencies in managing artboards on the canvass - how they are initially centered and as you add artboards, you run into the canvas edge and need to move all of them. I feel like there is room for improvement here.

I work at a large format printer and run into this problem constantly. Whether for a 70' banner to hang, or fabric wall coverings muraled I have fought this sooo many times. I would love to create at size, no scaling allowing me to focus more on the creative elements and not having to break out the calculator for conversions on my larger scale projects... It is not uncommon for me to have to do a 6'X100' or 30'x60' paneled mural piece. I would so love expanded canvas..

I work for a large wholesale manufacturer of fabric displays and exhibition systems. A good majority of our artwork will exceed the allowable 577cm. Sometimes when we receive art there will be excess hidden artwork outside the canvas which can prevent the artwork from being moved or scaled. Because we work with a lot of different fabrics this can also be an issue when we need to apply certain shrinkage or stretch rates to the fabric.

I find that 'copy and paste' vs 'copy and paste in place' to new document can throw errors with some larger artworks. The ability to define a canvas size when creating a new document could be helpful in lowering some of my frustrations.

I too often work on trailer/bus wraps, billboards and similar large graphics. The ability to finally work at 1:1 scale would be a great relief and a major help in alleviating many of the common scaling errors and problems already mentioned in this thread.

--OB

Hi.

I work for a company that produce adverts, vinyl wrapping  and interior decor. Sizes could be often enormous.

I find myself shifting between scales from 100% to 1:10 and so on. Working 1:10 might be fairly reasonably because when I outputting to print I could just set it to 1000% to get the right size. However, I have experienced that having to scale might sometimes mess with stroke width and perhaps miss alignment in text and lines that may seems like little details at first but when finally outputted might be a massive mistake.

My colleges and some clients work in several other programs where they can use 100% sizes and at times it could be a bit messy when importing files to illustrator

The possibility to work in real size may reduce error that can happen while scaling from one size to other.  I am using artboards to export parts on a canvas on their own file to fit into the media output for print and cut where I need precision. 0,01 mm in 1:10 could be 10 mm off the cutting edge and miss alignments for the cutting machine just to name an example. Also if you export an artboard 1:10 with trim marks would end with giant marks, it could be advantageous that since we need to work in scales because of the canvas limitation, it would be great to be able to put trim marks or crops mark in scale. I often find my self creating them and placing them one by one increasing the possibility of errors.

I design signs, billboards and other kinds of large format graphics. I prefer working at full size whenever possible. A lot of the work I produce gets exported to other applications (Flexi, EnRoute, Onyx, Roland VersaWorks) used by other people. If the art is sized at a certain scale that creates a chance a co-worker may not scale it up properly before printing, cutting or routing. Setting the artwork at full size removes the chance for errors.

Quite a few sign designs can fit within the current 227" X 227" limit. But other types of designs won't fit. I have to work at reduced scale for most billboard designs, high rise pylon sign designs, building signs that incorporate much or all of the building elevation and larger vehicle graphics designs. It can be a tight squeeze fitting all sides of a vehicle wrap design within Illustrator's art board limits.

I mainly use CD for large format because of size limitations in Illy and other software.

However, working at a 1:1 scale over 200" really doesn't mean a lot if you cannot get the Acrobat people on-board and lift the 200" PDF viewable (and artificial) limitation. I can produce PDFs that are viewable in Acrobat larger than that (>400" isn't uncommon for me). But it would be better if I didn't have to do what I do.