Making a banner

[Divine_reporter16B8]

I'm making a 6'x4' banner. Do I just make a 72 inch by 48 inch background file, then configure my photos to fit it? Can I scale it down to 25% of that size to work on it easier and get a good result with the printer?

[Derek Cross]

You can scale. Note, the Effective resolution (for the full size banner) can be lower than the “normal” 300PPI as the banner, unlike, say an image in a book, will be read from a distance. Something like 100PPI would be fine (200PPI if it’s half size).

[matthewn43692242]

Yeah, I would say 150 dpi for a print banner but don't work at a lower res then scale up. That would be bad. Just suffer the pain  of working on a gaint 150 dpi file... or use illustrator instead.

[Norman Sanders]

Regarding ppi value: Recently @davescm presented the formula and supporting data for calculating recommended ppi based on viewing distance. It is a treasure. Here is copy: