How can I reduce my file size in Illustrator before printing?

[alex123455]

I have an Illustrator file that is pretty big 2.5gb to be exact. There are a lot of complex bristle brushes to make a chalkboard effect for the background and there are also text and illustrations using the brush as the strokes.

It's for a big print file that will be 7' wide by 5' tall. Illustrator is advising me to rasterize the bristle brushes before saving, but I'm worried if I do the final outcome will look pixelated when printing. My artboard is the exact dimensions as what the final print size will be. My client told me they were thinking of printing on a foam board through FedEx.

So my questions are:

Should I rasterize the brush paths before printing?

Can I make the artwork smaller to decrease the file size and the print company can blow it up to the right dimensions before printing?

What should I export the artwork as (pdf, tiff, ai, etc)

This is my first big print project through Illustrator so any information and help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[pixxxelschubser]

What is the viewing distance?

Did you try to save as PDF without Illustrator compatibility?

What is the resulting file size?

[alex123455]

What do you mean by viewing distance? I read an article on it but I'm not sure how to calculate that in Illustrator. It will be hanging up on a wall so I'm assuming someone would have to look at it at least 3 feet away to see all the details. How would I calculate this?

When saved as a pdf without being editable the file size is 1.5GB so still rather large. that's why I was considering rasterizing everything but I don't want the quality to be lost.

[alex123455]

The print measured diagonally is 103 inches. So following the viewing distance rule I read I take that measurement and divide it from 3438 which gives me 66". Then I believe I multiply that by 1.5 or 2 which would give me a viewing distance of anywhere from 4 to 5ft.

[Mike_Gondek]

pixxxel schubser​ was suggesting to  Save As and turn this off

You may need to start with find another printer as max size at Fedex  is 2 foot x 3 foot. Then adjust design if needed to the  width of your printers material.

And their file size is 150mb (as they are low budget and wantt to minimize processing time.)

What city are you in if Chicago I can refer someone that can handle the size you need, but someone else on forums may be able to help with another city. Or look for a company that does trade show/exhibition  graphics (eg: GES or FREEMAN or smaller one that will do a one off print) , they can mount to the proper material foamcore, gatorboard or vinyl, use sunfast inks (if  sunlight hit through window hits or will fade), etc.

[alex123455]

Thanks for your reply! My client specifically wants that size so FedEx will definitely not be an option then.

Yes, I'm and they are based out of Chicago so if you could refer someone that would be fantastic! The only thing is they would like this printed by Thursday. Would that be possible?

[Mike_Gondek]

Tight deadlines and high quality are no problems for Andres, known as Moss now. Cold weather might be an issue tomorrow, so get in ASAP.

MOSS
Chicago, Illinois

222 North Maplewood Avenue

Chicago, IL 60612

800.341.1557

Elk Grove Village, Ill. Headquarters

2600 Elmhurst Rd

Elk Grove Village, IL 60007-6312

800.341.1557

[pixxxelschubser]

MikeGondek  schrieb

https://forums.adobe.com/people/pixxxel+schubser  was suggesting to  Save As and turn this off

Hi MikeGondek​,

I agree with your post. But for the quoted part: I meant the opposite.

[Mike_Gondek]

Apologies I misunderstood as I thought the original poster had a large .ai file, and I now see you are referring to the .pdf settings.

In any case both are replies are good advice, just oneis for the .ai file, and the other is for the .pdf file. Added the pdf screen in Engllish incase that helps with any of the confusion I may have created.

[alex123455]

Ok thank you for the contact! My client said FedEx can do a custom order but can't handle the file size. I tried your solutions and I'm thinking I might have to rasterize the whole thing and hope for the best if they don't want to go with moss.

[Mike_Gondek]

You are most welcome. That is probably one of the most nicest usages of the mixer brush I have seen, as few people use that in Illustrator, and even fewer do it well.

I would make a 2 layer .psd for background and text. Then export a copy to .pdf with some compression. If this is more than a one print let me know as could recommend GES or Freeman, but they take on bigger jobs and wont give you service level unless you exactly ask for that, but pricing on large quality they might be better.

If you have any question on choosing the correct substrate eg: so your print does no warp over time, feel free to ask.