Participant

Question

Printing large scale banners outside indesign canvas size

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
February 10, 2021
4 replies
3402 views

Hi guys,

I have worked on large scale prints before, however currently working on one that is larger than the PDF export restrictions so it becomes cropped.

The resolve - creating the artwork as 1/2 the required print, for the printer to scale up

The issue: On exporting the file size, at the end(once scaled) is around 25dpi and becomes fairly pixelated. I am trying to work a resolve and would greatly appreciate someones expertise on the subject.

Is indesign the right software? Is there a better workflow ie photoshop > illustrator, export on illustrator.

Is there some flattening/image compression settings within indesign I am overlooking that will ensure the export retains as much dpi as possible?

This topic has been closed for replies.

Dave Creamer of IDEAS

Community Expert

How large is the document?

What format does your printer need?

A pixel-based format create in Photoshop might be better.

A PSB file (Photoshop Big) can be 300,000^2. (111 foot square at 225 ppi.) This size can be supported by TIFF and PNG but these formats have a file size limit, so compression might come into play.

David Creamer: Community Expert (ACI and ACE 1995-2023)

Peter Spier

Community Expert

Switching to an all pixel format won't help the resolution, and it will hurt type and vector content crispness.

When I worked in a large format output provider we asked for 150 ppi, but I recall a very successful set of larger-than-life wall coverings for a shoe store that we output from 75 ppi, and 50 ppi may well be OK if the expected viewing distance is from several feet away. Eugene Tyson provided a good rule-of-thumb formula for calculating required resolution in this thread several years ago: https://community.adobe.com/t5/indesign/8ft-x-4ft-poster-but-how-many-dots-per-inch-for-images/td-p/1961719#2042202

Viewers might have the opportunity to see it up close, but unless you have small focus areas I wouldn't try to size things for a small field of view.

Dave Creamer of IDEAS

Community Expert

At a reasonable resolution (225-to-300) the type would be fine. Obviously, if the was extreme vector detail (like a CAD drawing) that would be an issue, but banners rarely have that amount of detail. If the time is very large--say about 3 inches tall or more, one wouldn't even toice the difference. Also, many large output devices rasterize the image anyway. That's why one needs to know the format the printer actually needs. (I've output small type as raster many times and it looked completely acceptable. This was back when one had to build complex designs in Photoshop and save as TIFF files for QuarkXPress.)

If you use Eugene's method (which is mostly about scaling the document), make sure you are not downsampling the PDF--and make sure the printer knows to scale the PDF upon output. Here is an easier chart to follow: http://resources.printhandbook.com/pages/viewing-distance-dpi.php

David Creamer: Community Expert (ACI and ACE 1995-2023)

L

Laubender

Community Expert

"Is there some flattening/image compression settings within indesign I am overlooking that will ensure the export retains as much dpi as possible?"

Hi davuudg70928086,

simply disable all downsampling settings when you export to PDF.

If that yield in low res image quality that is not acceptable, you could use a new feature with Adobe Bridge to upsample your original image files you placed in the layout. See:

How to Double Image Resolution Using Bridge (Video Tutorial)
Theresa Jackson, April 13, 2021
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMLiZ9zW7Xo

"In this Bridge how-to, Theresa Jackson shows off the new “Super Resolution” option inside of Bridge. Using the Camera Raw filter, she demos how easy it is to enhance the resolution of an image while maintaining its high quality."

Did not try rhis yet. Would like to know, if that is working for you.

Thanks,
Uwe Laubender

( ACP )

BobLevine

Community Expert

How is it being printed? Anything that large may very well be fine with 25ppi. Nobody is going to be that close, anyway.

D

davuudg70928086Author

Participant

Thank you for your response, the print is going into a showroom which covers two floors so there will be the opportunity to see it in close proximity

When you ask how is it being printed, how did you mean?

D

davuudg70928086Author

Participant

so this is the preflight of the document as half the size and the ppi is shown as above, i assume once they double the size is what brings it down to 25ppi

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