Exhibit Design Help?

[kcrossley]

We're getting ready to design the graphics for a portable exhibit, which is approximately 90" high x 120" wide, and is basically (4) magnetic panels that are each approximately 90" high x 30" wide. Since our design will contain a mix of photos and vector based artwork our preference is to use InDesign to create the artwork. However, not having done many exhibits I want to make sure we're setting this up properly.

Our plan is to design everything to size in InDesign CC 2017. Any photos used in the design will be resized with Photoshop CC 2017 and On1's Resize plugin, which simply uses a proprietary algorithm to upscale the images to reduce pixelation. We'll then place any logos and or vector based art and save the file as a printable PDF, although I'm unsure of which PDF format to provide my printer.

I just called my client's exhibit company, which is really a large advertising specialty company, and the art department said they run everything though Corel Draw. That makes me a little nervous, but I read it's the norm for much of the industry. I just want to make sure our workflow makes sense and that we're doing everything we can to ensure the best possible results. Any help and/or advice, especially from seasoned exhibit designers, is very much appreciated.

Thanks!

[BobLevine]

You need to speak to the company producing this.

All we can do here is guess.

[kcrossley]

Thanks Bob. I did speak with them. I'll ask them if they have a specific PDF preset they prefer. I guess I'm more interested in our workflow. Does working in InDesign make sense or should we consider another approach?

[BobLevine]

If they’ll take a PDF it doesn’t really matter what you create it with.

[kcrossley]

Yeah, that's kinda what I thought as well. The one thing they did specify is that we keep the PDF images to 100-150 dpi to make the file more manageable, but doesn't that (to some degree), defeat the purpose of interpolation?

[Derek Cross]

As Theresa states 100 to 150PPI  should be fine as exhibition displays and posters are viewed from a distance (unlike say magazines etc).

[Kat Gilbert]

Late to this conversation but having done many exhibit "posters" I would push the printer/output company for more details. It is unusual that they do not have specs that they need to give you the best results. Is the choice of printer yours or the client you are creating for?

Getting the correct info can only come from the printer and if they do not have specs I would question their expertise... just my opinion.

[Derek Cross]

If your printers don't give you a spec, I suggest you work in RGB in InDesign and supply them with a PDF using the InDesign Adobe PDF Presets and selecting High Quality Print from the list (this is the best choice generally for inkjet printers).

[Theresa J]

Your workflow makes sense, just plan on delivering a print ready PDF file. Corel Draw is pretty standard in the industry for in house art departments, but they shouldn't have any issues printing from a PDF file. Also, large format does not require the same resolution for images that offset printing does. 150 ppi at actual size should be more than enough. I've even gone lower than that with decent results.

[kcrossley]

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate the advice.