Hi, am trying to send large files ( 400ppi, 37" x 75" ) from CS to my 9600. I have read that there is not much point in using 400ppi, and i accept this - however, i have had to reduce the file to 300ppi to get it to print at all. my questions are ;

1. will i get artifacts downsampling 400ppi to 300ppi? whats the best way to do this if so ?

2. why, and what is the actual pixel limit for printing from CS? is there a way round this with other file formats?

3. i read the other res threads, and people say 360 is a desirable upper limit. trouble is, this file won't SEND to the printer at this size.. epson support say its the pixel limit in CS..is this true?

help?

have G5 with 2.5 GB RAM .

james thompson -all replies greatfully received!

I'm betting you'll get perfectly acceptable prints at 240 or 288ppi. Test a partial print to save paper and ink and see for yourself.

The pixel limit is a function of 32 bit processor and the OS-it's in the math-that's the upper limit until full 64 bit processing arrives.
Down sampling will be fine, it's upping or extreme downing that can hurt.
Stick with a ppi that is evenly divisable into your output res, 2880 or 1440 is divisable by 240, 288 and 360.

Yeah, this is true, i have tested one at 300, its fine. But my question is , are there artifact issues asscoiated with downsampling?

I would also love it if some one could confirm this 'pixel limit' thing is CS - i don't understand it - why won't the fiel print? what IS the pixel limit? answers please!

see, thanks for that, thats very interesting. james

Rene, you say 120 tp 220ppi? will i notice no difference at 300? you say its for the size i mention, do bigger prints need les res? this seems very odd to me( novice as i am)

rene_walling

1. will i get artifacts downsampling 400ppi to 300ppi? whats the best
way to do this if so ?


Artifacts are not created by changing the resolution of your image. You will loose some detail however (wether that detail shows up on you print or not is another story.

2. why, and what is the actual pixel limit for printing from CS? is there
a way round this with other file formats?


The pixels limit of older versions of PS is 30 000 pixels. Photoshop CS has upped that to 300 000 pixels, but the print drivers have not followed suit so far.

AFAIK, the only way around it is to use a third party RIP (something like ONYX's Posterworks)

3. i read the other res threads, and people say 360 is a desirable upper
limit. trouble is, this file won't SEND to the printer at this size..
epson support say its the pixel limit in CS..is this true?


That 360 resolution refers to small format ink jets. for a print the size you mention, somethin in the range of 120 to 200 ppi should do the job just fine.

just read that indesign can handle very long prints -is this soemthing you'd recommned?

rene_walling

Rene, you say 120 tp 220ppi? will i notice no difference at 300? you say
its for the size i mention, do bigger prints need les res? this seems
very odd to me( novice as i am)


Think of it this way:

8x10" at 300 ppi is 2400 by 3000 pixels

37x75" at 100 ppi is 3700 by 7500 pixels

You have a larger print and more pixels, but the number of pixels in any given inch is much less than for the smaller image.

You can get away with a lower resolution for larger prints because they usually will be viewed from further away. ie: Most billboard you see on the side of highways look awful up close, but really great as you zoom by at 100km/h

You can print large format from ID, but again, you need a third party RIP to do so.

larryr544

If you walk right up to it you will probably see a difference. I suspect that the viewing distance of this large of a print won't be that close so a difference won't be noted. Billboards look fine and sharp at even 5 or 10 ppi but they would not if you got close.