Printing files over 2GB Image Size

[Jon Burris]

I am trying to print files with over 2GB of image information in them (the file sizes in .psb format are in the 80 - 120MB range). Specifically they show over 2GB of info in the Image>Image Size resizing box. When I print them in PS, I receive a Photoshop warning message "Documents containing more than 2GB of data may not print correctly." When I do print, there are errors in the print (using an Epson P800.)

These images cannot undergo further down-size resampling without substantial loss of information (these are non-photographic images: algorithmically created compositions through Java scripts in PS). Their size (already downsampled 50%) is approx 30k x 30k pixels with an underlying image size of about 2.6GB.

When I save to a jpeg, the image size doesn't change although, of course the file size is reduced, but my problem appears unrelated to file size.

Can anyone help me to figure out a way to print these images? I will be grateful for any light you can shed on this and any work-arounds you can suggest.

(Other info: Using 2017 MacBook Pro, 16GB RAM, running Monterey and 2013 iMAC, 32GB RAM, running Catalina. All Adobe software is up to date.)

[Stephen_A_Marsh]

I"d still try reducing image size further, you should be able to get away with less than you may think.

Otherwise you may need to look into RIP software (not for rasterisation).

Good luck!

[Jon Burris]

I tried reducing it further but then I lose essential information.

These have 1 pxl-wide elements on a field which is 29912 pxls wide (don't ask why). And in that they largely stand alone, the interpolation performed by the printer is already compromising the image. When further reduced, colors shift and, if I could printt them, certain elements are likely to be left out. I will look at RIP software, with which I was not familiar until your suggestion. Thank you for your response. 

[NB, colourmanagement net]

Stephen, yeah, good idea, he could get/try the free demo of Proofmaster

Jon - need help getting the demo? Ask me (via private message) and I'll connect you to them 

I hope this helps
neil barstow, colourmanagement net :: adobe forum volunteer
google me "neil barstow colourmanagement" for lots of free articles on colour management
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[Derek Cross]

What are the dimensions of the image and does it really need to have a high resolution?

Have you tried creating a PDF (eg PDF/X-4) and printing from that?

[Jon Burris]

The dimensions are 29912 x a bit over 30k (nearly square). Yes, it does need that resolution (already reduced by half) by virtue of the data being visualized (this is an art application of a sort of data visualization). I will try a pdf. Thank you for that suggestion.

[NB, colourmanagement net]

Hi, the SC-P800 is A2, right?

Epson's "native" resolution is apparently 720ppi (according to tests), but (again according to test data I've seen) 360ppi shows the same detail in fine lines, so, if that’s right, there's little point in sending an image with any more resolution than that.

However, even at 720ppi the filesize would seem to be 573MB and I'm pretty confident there's no point in printing above 720ppi.

I hope this helps
neil barstow, colourmanagement net :: adobe forum volunteer
google me "neil barstow colourmanagement" for lots of free articles on colour management
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[Lumigraphics]

Why are you not tiling this image?

[NB, colourmanagement net]

Hi Lumigraphics, please explain further how they would tile onto an A2 sheet? Or are you thinking they should print on multiple A2 sheets? 

I hope this helps
neil barstow, colourmanagement net :: adobe forum volunteer
google me "neil barstow colourmanagement" for lots of free articles on colour management
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[Jon Burris]

The image must be on an unbroken sheet. I could otherwise easily paste up the image, or potentially pass through the same sheet with the main file divided into smaller files offset appropriately, but given potential registration issues, I've not yet tried this.

What puzzles me is that after having significantly reducing the image size to about 880MB (29912 x 31000 with indexed color) and a file size of only 15.8MB, I continue to get the alert "Documents containing more than 2GB of data may not print correctly," and on which I can find no documentation. I should add that the image is well over 95% unvariegated white, which is why the file size is so small for a .psb file.

I assume that the 2GB issue relates to data sent to the printer but I see no way of changing the printer's setttings within Photoshop aside from within the print settings menus (which give me a choice of 1440 or 2880 dpi, and which makes no difference when changed).

I cannot resample this image any smaller without loss of data (I've tried).

So, I should mention that this image is not all that important to me, so I'm going to drop this version and treat it otherwise, but to inform future work, I would appreciate anyone's insight on what the "2GB of data" alert means (what specifically is the data in question) and any workarounds you might suggest. 

[Lumigraphics]

Must be is nonsense. If it won't print, you may have no choice. Print tiles of whatever size works.

[davescm]

Forget the dpi of 1440 or 2880 - that is the dots that make up the pixels not the pixels themselves .

IIRC (I have an SCP5000) the Epson print driver will scale to 360 or 720 ppi. So anything outside of those values will be scaled in the driver. If you use 720ppi on a borderless A2 print then you will need 11880 pixels across the page. Any higher is going to be scaled down.

Your file of 29912 x 31000 pixels is higher than needed (as shown above it will be scaled). It takes 29912 x 31000 x 3 to send that information as an RGB document - the Epson driver is an RGB driver. That needs 2781816000 bytes = 2.59 GB.  The compressed storage on disk has nothing to do with that filesize.

Reducing to 11880 x 12312 pixels will not change your printed output (as it will use the full width A2 at the maximum 720 ppi) but will reduce the size of the data sent to the printer to  438799680 = 418MB

Dave

[TheDigitalDog]

---

IIRC (I have an SCP5000) the Epson print driver will scale to 360 or 720 ppi. 

---

According to Epson the driver does no scaling or interpolation of the image data but the OS print pipeline does.

[davescm]

The testing I did, outlined below, was in Windows.

Dave

[TheDigitalDog]

The Epson print driver on both Mac and to a lesser degree Windows has a max size you've exceeded. It is as simple as that. You either need to reduce the size/number of total pixels or use another driver that supports larger documents (ImagePrint is one example). 

[Jon Burris]

Thank you. That's very clear.

[TheDigitalDog]

This is all you need to know/read about resolution to the Epson:
https://www.digitalphotopro.com/technique/photography-workflow/the-right-resolution/

[davescm]

Yes I did some testing a while ago with specifically designed test patterns at 358,359,360,361,362ppi and the same intervals around 720ppi. It did show scaling artifacts at the none 360/720 resolutions. In real world images I doubt I would see the difference.

Dave

[Jon Burris]

It is an excellent article which has clarified many issues for me. Thank you for passing it on. 

[Maruhana]

Hello,

trying to print halftone files in bitmap, I encountered the same size problem. Despite PS showing some 60 MB, it alerts upon print command. 

Now I am puzzled with the following:

1. Why does it give the 2 GB alert when the file is substantially smaller?
2. Why do printer specs mention higher PPI resolutions than 300/360 if their head cannot print more than that? 
3. Is there a free driver for mac that can work with bigger files? I cannot spend a grand for a RIP since it is all for art projects, not commercial.

Thank you for your help in advance. 

[davescm]

1  Where are you seeing 60MB? There are various places that report file size and some can mislead.

2. Printer manufacturers often quote dpi (note dots per inch not pixels per inch). Those are the fine dots that make up the pixels when printing so unsurprisingly PPI (pixels per inch) is lower.

3. Outside of a RIP, the drivers tend to be written and supplied by printer manufacturers. Make sure first that you are not sending excessive detail to the driver that will not be printed. 

Dave

[Stephen_A_Marsh]

A 1K RIP would be cheap!

Although not a RIP, you could start with Mirage, it has a 14 day fully functional trial:

https://dinax.com/mirage-2/download-mirage/?lang=en

Another option for Windows, QImage Ultimate:

https://ddisoftware.com/qimage-u/downloads.htm

Or QImage One, cross platform:

https://www.binartem.com/downloads/

Good luck!

P.S. As Dave wrote, don't throw more resolution than you need to. If you can print in say 2880, try in 1440 or 720 to see if you can get away with a lower resolution and scale a copy of the original to suit.

[Maruhana]

Thank you both for your replies. 

I was referring to the file size displayed bottom left in the Photoshop image viewer window. 

Now, I understand the differences of PPI, DPI and LPI for that matter. What is harder to figure is what is the PPI that will be the maximum quality that a printer can reproduce. 

This might not be an issue with photo printing. However, at printing positive films for silkscreen printing, we want to know this. When we print film via an Agfa imagesetter, we have this data as not only resolution but also spot size is published. 

Now, the problem is that imagesetters are a dying species and in the future we will need to resort to printing films on printers. Unless you are not specifically interested in this subject, I will stop the rant here. 

The issue is in half toning, as it benefits immensely by the resolution set for the file. Try out and make a halftone with same LPI (lets say 60) and 300PPI or 1200PPI. 

Now, I want the halftone file to have as nice raster as possible — preferably comparable to an imagesetter. Imagesetters have the resolution up to 2540 DPI, and they are black only. This means they can reproduce halftone images of roughly the same PPI and achieve nicely rendered halftone shapes. 

Now with printer I have no idea. What is native resolution? Does that really exist? What is the read DPI or one colour print? Do they need to print more colours to achieve higher DPI?

I guess there is not much need for this info in consumer grade photo printing, however such printers (for formats up to A3) achieve about the same results as the professional large format ones. 

Cheers! 

[TheDigitalDog]

Print resolution for photo printers? Start here:

https://www.digitalphotopro.com/technique/photography-workflow/the-right-resolution/