Making 7'x8' banner for Print--question about sizing and file type?

[lemonlung]

Hi there! I am a self-taught marketing gal that is currently making a 7'x8' banner for print. Like I mentioned, I am completely self taught in Photoshop and it's gotten me pretty far....until now!

I have never made anything this large for print before. I have always just winged it, so to speak, but now I really need to know this:

Does my file size need to be the same size as it is going to be printed? Does my file need to be 7'x8'? Is EPS the best file type for vector images to be printed? What PPI should I use?! 300?

I am making a photo background for an event--think the backgrounds you see on the red carpet with all of the logos.

I will gladly take any help I can get... I have scoured the internet and I can't find anything directly pertaining to this question.

Thank you!

 

[hawkeye]

First off, if it's a photo background then it isn't vector. Photos are pixel based and the PPI for printing photos depends on the viewing distance. The closer it will be viewed, the higher the resolution needs to be. If it's Photoshop then yes, your canvas size should be the print size.

 

[Tom Mann]

The description you gave helps, but if you could post a small (ie, under 1000 px in the long direction) version of the poster, it would immediately answer a lot of questions without us having to ask you or guess about each possibility.

If you could post the actual PS or AI file that you are working on, that would be even better, but I realize that (a) there might be information contained therein that you don't want to share; and/or (b) it might be too big to post conveniently. Talk to us and we can help you. Some of us regularly print at this size or larger.

Tom M

 

[dv8_fx]

Hi there! I am a self-taught marketing gal that is currently making a 7'x8' banner for print. Like I mentioned, I am completely self taught in Photoshop and it's gotten me pretty far....until now!

I have never made anything this large for print before. I have always just winged it, so to speak, but now I really need to know this:

Does my file size need to be the same size as it is going to be printed? Does my file need to be 7'x8'? Is EPS the best file type for vector images to be printed? What PPI should I use?! 300?

I am making a photo background for an event--think the backgrounds you see on the red carpet with all of the logos.

I will gladly take any help I can get... I have scoured the internet and I can't find anything directly pertaining to this question.

Thank you!

Your cpu night be able to handle the work load and resulting file size but you should take into consideration the final artwork file size you'll be sending out for print. Bear in mind that during pre-press production, most of the data will be discarded.

Resolution is also based on the material it will be printed on as well as the "viewing distance" of the banner. For vinyl print, a resolution of 50dpi will suffice in most cases. For textile print, 75dpi will do.

Personally, my rule of thumb is to create a large sized artwork at a quarter of it's full size (in inches and set to CMYK) and at between 200 and 300dpi. This is said to be a play-safe setting but I find that this document size and resolution is a perfect balance between file size and image quality.

It's only for special jobs like Illuminated billboards or work that require a higher degree of image quality for "ultra-sized" billboard formats as required by the client that I will create the work at normal size and do the necessary math so's to achieve a workable file size with the needed resolution and quality expected by the client... .

And don't make the mistake of up-sizing or increasing the resolution of a small image just so to accommodate the artwork's final size. You'll only end up with an uglier, fuzzy representation of the small image.


Everything could be done in Photoshop. But for crisp sharpness in text, logos and shapes, it's best to do or prepare these in a vector application like Illustrator or other vector applications. Images can be prepared in Photoshop. Finally, all these elements are combined in a layout application like Illustrator or with In-Design - linking in the raster and vector files and adding in text or extra details like color blocks.