Illustrator scales down image when saved

[Yeah No]

Hello,

Lets say I have an artboard 48"x48".  When I save and reopen said document, the artboard size will be 4.8" x 4.8".

Why is Illustrator scaling down my artwork?

[rcraighead]

I don't see that in AI 2020 (Mac). What version are you running?

[Yeah No]

I'm using Illustrator 2021 (version 25.2.3) for PC - Windows 10 Professional 64-bit

[Met1]

Did you initially set this up as an oversized artboard (larger than 227") then made it smaller?

[Yeah No]

I did not

[Yeah No · Accepted solution]

I figured out the problem.  I am using the latest version of Illustrator CC 2021.  If and when I make an artboard larger than 227" and save it as an older version (legacy format), it casues the artboard to shrink to 10% of the origanl size when opened again.