Exporting InDesign page to jpg

Hi BudWashington,

export the page to PDF/X-4 without downsampling images in the process.

Open the PDF in PhotoShop and render it to the desired pixel size.

Regards,
Uwe Laubender

( ACP )

I just ran some quick tests and I have an idea about what might be going here.

And I don't think it has anything to do with what kinds of files you put on the page. (In other words, although EPS is an outdated format, I don’t think that is related to the problem.)

Several Adobe applications have a limit on the pixel dimensions they can work with. When creating the document page, InDesign let me create a maximum page size of 15552 x 15552 pixels. On export, it gave me the same error if I tried to export that as a JPEG at anything above 151 ppi.

What is special about a 151 ppi limit? First we have to back up to what happens when this document is exported at 72 ppi. The document is 216 inches on a side because 15552 divided by the InDesign default of 72 pixels per inch equals 216 inches. On export the 216 inches is multiplied by that same 72 ppi default, exporting 15552 pixels on a side. Increasing the ppi to the maximum it allowed, 151 ppi, results in 216 * 150 = 32,616 pixels. Now what does that number, 32,616, have to do with anything?

The number 32767 is very commonly seen in computers when working with 16 bits. It has been responsible for a number of limits in many applications. If I export my document at 152 ppi, 216 * 152 = 32,832 …which is beyond 32767. But what I got at 151 ppi, 32,616, is less than 32767, and it was allowed. So my guess is that if you specify a ppi resolution that, when multiplied by your page size in inches, works out to more than 32767 pixels on the long side, you get the error.

My InDesign document is just a single rectangle covering the entire page. I kept it as simple as possible to help confirm that it is all about the pixel dimensions of the export (inches * ppi), and not about the number of types of files on it.

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@BudWashington wrote:

Is there any way around this? The page is made up of about seven eps files, I chose gray thinking that might reduce the size of the file. Would it help if my images were also jpg? Any clever tips for this please?

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If I’m right about the above, the ways to get around this are:

• If you require 600 ppi, you can get there if you reduce the size of your InDesign page in inches. My guess is that for 600 ppi to be allowed, your page size would need to be under (32767/600) or less then 54.6 inches on the longer side. Because 600 * 54.6 = 32,760 pixels, just under the limit.
• If you require a physical page size more than 54.6 inches long, you will probably have to reduce the ppi below 600 in the JPEG export dialog box. The larger it is beyond 54.6 inches, the lower the ppi value will need to be to keep the final pixel dimensions under 32767 pixels. 
• The Web says the maximum pixel dimensions allowed in the JPEG format are 65,535 pixels on a side, so you could also try composing and exporting your page in another application with a higher limit. For example, I just tried Photoshop and it allows exporting a JPEG at the full 65,535 x 65,535 pixels. If you have Photoshop, you could just as easily drag and drop your EPS images into a Photoshop document, arrange them, and export at larger pixel dimensions than you can in InDesign. 

It’s possible that the limit in InDesign is because of the specific code library they used to export a JPEG. I have not tried Illustrator.

May I ask why you are using EPS files? This is generally an outdated format, which carries extra info as a "wrapper." Are these Illustrator files? If so, just place as AI files. It could make a difference.