Large PSB file export to JPG

[jeff_burkholder]

I have a file that ultimately needs to be 40ft x 9ft. at 150 dpi. It's for a truck trailer wrap. I've designed at 1/2 scale 20ft x 4.5 @300 dpi. (Pixels: 73500 x 17400) I'm having issues when trying to Export to JPG file at 100% scaling. The export keeps resorting to 20.4% scale (14994 x 3550 px). I need full scale at 300 dpi so the production house can do it at their native 150 dpi and scale to final 40 ft x 9 ft. print and their system to divide it as it prints for sections. 

How do I export to scale?  

[Theresa J]

Can you save as a PDF?

[jeff_burkholder]

Unfortunately PDF doesn't work. 

[kevin stohlmeyer]

20FT would exceed maximum PDF size limitations.

[Theresa J]

Actually a TIFF is better. TIFF files are better for printing anyway. You can save it with LZW compression and there won't be any noticable degredation. 

[jeff_burkholder]

Good idea! Thank you!

[Conrad C]

I am guessing you used File > Export As because I can reproduce it there, see picture below — the tool tip pops up when hovering the mouse pointer over the warning triangle. I am not sure which dimension is the limit in Export As, or whether it’s about the total number of pixels, because neither number lines up with the pixel dimensions limit in JPEG, which according to Wikipedia is 65,535 pixels on a side. 

At least Export As lets you try; with a document of that size it isn’t even possible to choose JPEG in File > Save a Copy, and File > Save for Web (Legacy) is disabled.

But even if Export As allowed the maximum pixel dimension supported by JPEG, it would still not be enough, because you might notice above that the requested pixel dimension of 73,500 pixels exceeds the JPEG limit of 65,535 pixels. So 73,500 on a side can’t be done in JPEG no matter what software you use.

That suggests it might be good to circle back to the production house and ask them what they have done about this in the past, assuming many customers before you have had to send them wraps this large. They must have worked out a standard solution that works for everybody.

[jeff_burkholder]

What's intersting is I don't get that message. I get a message of change the canvas size. Which that doesn't work either. Thanks!

[D Fosse]

Assuming 150ppi is really needed for this (which I really doubt), you should probably do this in sections.

73 000 pixels is well on the crazy side in any practical scenario, unless they expect people to study this with a magnifying glass. If you ask me, 60 to 80 ppi is already more detail than the sharpest eye can resolve at any normal viewing distance.

As Conrad suggests, I'd ask them again. It just could be that someone misunderstood (happens all the time). But if it's confirmed that's what they want, and that's what you have to give them, so be it. Do it in sections.

[jeff_burkholder]

I agree with you. As a photographer for 40+ yrs. around 100 dpi is what most billboard outputs need. Now with digital printing for vinyl most of those printers really give bad gradation results. We may do a test on a small portion. My thought too is to do sections and allow a 2" overlap. It's a bunch of files for boths sides of a 40ft x 9ft printout. 
Thanks for your input and time! 

[kevin stohlmeyer]

@jeff_burkholder I design truck wraps and have never been required to give a vendor 50% scale at that resolution.

Are you assuming the submitted file size or have you contacted the vendor for acceptable file specs?

I've sent my vendors 25% and less scale images at 150 ppi, but also try to avoid raster graphics whenever possible and send native Illustrator vector files when I can.

[jeff_burkholder]

Thanks Kevin. This project is 90% photos, so they are native pixels. Yes, 150 dpi is what they are asking for. I've got a call into the production house to check/confirm their scaling need. 

[Theresa J]

+1 @kevin stohlmeyer That's exactly how I designed vehicle wraps.

[D Fosse]

Right. If you need to give them some arguments... 😉

A high-end, top of the line camera these days, such as the Sony a7rV, has 9500 pixels on the long side. That's enough resolution for anything. Even a medium format back such as a Phase One IQ4, at the price of a very decent new car, stops at 14 000. Beyond that is NASA territory.

And considering ppi, a standard computer screen, say a 27 inch at 2560 x 1440, is around 110 ppi. I'm sitting in front of one right now, and I can assure anyone that I can't see any pixels unless I press my nose right against it. Just think about how that screen looks 1 meter away.

My guess is that they just didn't think this one through.

[jeff_burkholder]

When I look at this client's past truck wraps there's no pixelation in the image at 1 ft. away. It looks like 150 dpi to me at least and they are 40ft x 9ft. The gradation is very smooth too. 

[Theresa J]

Are you sure the past wraps were designed with Photoshop. I designed a lot of vehicle wraps in the past, and I always used Illustrator. All text, logos, and graphics were created as vector in Illustrator. Photoshop was used for images only.