Large banner and very large file size.

Does it make any difference if the file given to the printer is a pdf and not a jpeg?

thanks again

Absolutly, and after that I just say something technical.

In 90% of cases, Your print will be done by solvent printer, and it has some "drop size" (Just imagine, one drop of ink into medium, no matter which kind it will be, and You se splatter around drop), which means it will be some kind of "aliasing" on edges, and You cannot escape from that thing.

Thanks to everyone for their answers. I will have another chat with my Photoshopper and ask her to talk to the printer again.

Garth

Yep that's correct, I used to work at one of biggest Large Format printhouse in Poland (we make really big prints), and as said above, the resolution and color mode is depending on machine, that will be printed on. For that size, personally I'll be making image at 150 dpi, and 8bit image mode, saved as flattened TIFF with LZW compression.

You can also follow included resolution table, at most cases it will be quite well represented.

Of Course there is no better way to manage, that problem, that just ask Your printhouse, for technical requirements for that kind of print.

The printer doesn't need a file that is 300 ppi for wide-format inkjet printing, which I assume this is. Also JJMack is correct about the 16bit color depth. Follow what he said about resolution, and depth, and then save a flattened tiff with LZW compression. All those things combined should create a manageable file size that will print great.

Apart from what has been pointed out by JMack and Pierre, I would think that reducing the resolution from 300 to 40 px/in would be faster.  Try it and see what happens.  If it does work then contact the printer and explain to them about the file size and time it takes to save/render the image.

the image is very large and resolution might not affect that much because it goes on a bill-board.

Me think so anyway!!

Hi

Not sure you have the numerics right here, do you mean :

211 cm X 85 cm ( 83.11 inches X 33.46 inches ) ?

Pierre

No.   Most Print labs would be a little more specific.  In general  printers do not support 16Bit color depth and neither do device drivers. While working is 16Bit color may produce better gradients and color.  You must start with RAW image to have better color capabilities to start with.  Printers also use different inks and Paper.  For best print the correct printer profiles need to be used.  Print labs usually want jpeg image in srgb color space or ask you to convert the image to their printer color profile.  You also state that the banner is going to be view close up. For your eyes to be able to view a 7 foot wide banner there needs to be some distance between you and the banner so you have a 7 foot wide field of view. or the banner  needs to be viewed from an angle where one end of the banned will be close to you and the other end several feet away.    A banner 7foot wide does not need to have a 300DPI print resolution.

If you use 8bit you reduce the number of bytes Photoshop has to manipulate in half. If you create you banner with a 150DPI resolution instead of a 300dpi  you reduce the number or pixel in the banner by a factor or 4.   Those two changes reduce the  image by a factor of 8.