Why is my PSD file smaller than the previous graphics designers PSD?

[danted36312018]

Sorry, I may be vague.

I recently got a job as a graphics designer to help here and there.

I am currently create a graphics package for TV not for print and here are my specs for the template I use in-which is the default 1920x1080 film and video photoshop gives me (in the image)

Before I started, I googled what is the best options for my graphics package and nearly all forums stated these settings are fine.

So I started creating my package over weeks and I stumbled across last years graphics designer PSD files and they are over on average 50+ mb.

I have over 20 screens I designed but all my PSD files are around 2 - 5mb but has alot more content than the previous graphics designer PSD files from last year.

I am now worried that I created a low quality file and when its live, it's not going to be high quality?

Did I do something wrong?

thanks!!!

[gener7]

Only jpegs sacrifice picture quality to reduce file size. That's lossy compression. Photoshop, Png and Tiff can use compression to reduce file size, but there is no sacrifice in quality. That's lossless compression.

There are many reasons a file can be larger than expected. Layers increase file size, but there is another factor called "Document Ancestors", metadata imported into a file with other elements.

I don't know the specifics of the original file, but quality-wise, no worries.

[danted36312018]

Thanks gener7, that gave me a good understanding on what's happening on my end,

[Daniel E Lane]

Worked for two decades in television as an editor and designer. For one, the other designer may have been working at 300dpi, which many designers still do for the most part for high end television stuff, like HD and larger. That alone could make a difference. Also, you may have a different technique as to how you put things together. They may have kept a lot of stuff in their files for possible revisions, which are very very very common in television. So if you are designing something, and they want changes, keep the old versions as well because quite often after all of the changes are made, you have ended up pretty much right where you started from. I know a few designers I worked with that had huge files like you are talking about just for that reason. Some files had 5 or 6 versions built in the same file. Makes for a big fie, but also made life a lot easier when it was crunch time and revisions were asked for.

[danted36312018]

Thanks Daniel.

Yes I do keep different variations of PSD files based on changes.

Though, should I have created my project in 300DPI not 72?

Thanks!

[gener7]

When you display your image on screen, pixels are the only units that matter.

When you send your image to a printer, PPI is the metadata that instructs the printer how many pixels to lay down on an inch of paper.

300 ppi is an offset press specification, but a nice average given that printers can range from 220-360 depending on type.

It's a print specification, but 72 ppi is a legacy specification from the 1990s when monitor resolution mattered. Macs were 72 ppi, Windows 96 ppi.

Device screen resolutions are all over the map, so pixels are a simpler way to spec for screens.

[Conrad C]

You work in television, where PPI is not a factor. What’s important are the pixel dimensions. If your client targets 1080p video, that’s why you use a 1920 x 1080 pixel template. The video image will be the same 1920 x 1080 pixels on any size TV from a 4-inch smartphone screen to a 100-inch TV screen, so it isn't necessary to specify ppi, and there also isn't a right or wrong ppi value.

If your client wanted to start designing for 4K video content, then you would start using a 3840  x  2160 pixel template. Again, ppi wouldn't be specified because it would be the same number of pixels on a phone or a huge TV. Not like print where there is a definite single physical reproduction size on that piece of paper. It's when you have that single reproduction size that you use ppi.

[davescm]

Hi

I completely agree with the others. For TV output PPI is irrelevant. In addition, whatever the intended output, changing the PPI value whilst keeping the pixel dimensions the same does not change the file size when saved. Only one thing changes in the file and that is the metadata value for PPI.

There are a few things that might explain the difference and these can be set in Preferences.

1. Whether compression is used in the PSD. The compression is lossless but is often turned off which results in a larger file but is quicker to load as it does not need to be decompressed.

2. Content - some images compress more than others, depending on the detail in the image.

3. The number of layers and whether smart objects are used.

4. Whether maximise compatibility is checked. This saves-a flattened version in the PSD alongside any layers.

Dave

[Test Screen Name]

Have you checked the actual size in pixels of earlier designs? Some designers design oversize and reduce size later (which may be wise if technology changes could increase the demand in future).

[Daniel E Lane]

I do know that the actual pixel size doesn't matter when it comes to television broadcast, since it's set to the dimensions of the screen (1920x1080), but I do know that things will quite often get repurposed for other promotional materials. Quite often, things were designed for the screen first, then those elements were taken to pull out pieces for print and web. That's why we worked in 300ppi. But if where you are working has zero plans to do anything like that, then it doesn't matter at all.