File Size

KL
Posted By
Kim_Lucich
Feb 25, 2004
Views
418
Replies
18
Status
Closed
I scanned some photos and they are 3×4", 300 ppi, CMYK, tif files. Why on earth are they so large? They are 3 and 4 Mb. each. I need them much, much smaller but high enough resolution to be printed in a magazine. How can I reduce these files? I’m going to compose them in QuarkXPress, but the final document and all images cannot be compressed for submission.

Thanks.
Related Tags
file size

How to Master Sharpening in Photoshop

Give your photos a professional finish with sharpening in Photoshop. Learn to enhance details, create contrast, and prepare your images for print, web, and social media.

J
JasonSmith
Feb 25, 2004
3 and 4mb isnt much at all.
JS
John_Slate
Feb 25, 2004
Beside the other things that contribute to file size overhead just consider the pixels.

That is 900×1200 pixels or 1,080,000 pixels.

@ 4 bytes per pixel (one for each channel) thats 4,320,000 bytes or 4.1MB.
KL
Kim_Lucich
Feb 25, 2004
Well, I guess if it’s a magazine, they should be more than capable of receiving larger files. I’m surprised they say no compression though.
R
Ram
Feb 25, 2004
I’m surprised they say no compression though.

Why are you surprised? Compression degrades the image. They want to conserve image quality, it’s that simple.
R
Ram
Feb 25, 2004
And your files definitely do not fall under the category of larger files, not by a long, long shot.
J
JasonSmith
Feb 25, 2004
naw.

400mb can be considered a ‘large’ file, but still to some it isnt.
KL
Kim_Lucich
Feb 25, 2004
Yes I know; I never work with files that large. I have to e-mail files and proofs out a lot. I work for a small print shop.

What the heck do you do when someone wants you to e-mail their file somewhere? Ha!
B
Buko
Feb 25, 2004
What the heck do you do when someone wants you to e-mail their file somewhere? Ha!

ftp
B
Buko
Feb 25, 2004
Then there is LZW compression for tiffs

Also 3 or 4 MB is small I get emailed files that big all the time.

I even get emailed 25 to 50 MB files. as long as the email server does not have a limit on how big the files can be, there should be no problem.
CC
Chris_Cox
Feb 25, 2004
Or for bigger files, FedEx them a CD or DVD.
R
Ram
Feb 25, 2004
What Chris says. Some files won’t even fit onto a CD so you need a DVD.
KL
Kim_Lucich
Feb 25, 2004
Most of my clients that are wanting proofs can only handle about 3 Mb. Like I said, we’re a small print shop. Yes, I guess CD’s would be the next step.

I’ haven’t worked with DVD’s at all. Do they hold quite a bit more?
R
Ram
Feb 25, 2004
About five times more, roughly.
G
graffiti
Feb 25, 2004
If they’re just proofs, PDF them.
CC
Chris_Cox
Feb 25, 2004
Of course, make sure you are compressing the image data when you save the file (in TIFF, ZIP is best compression, but not as compatible with other applications).

3×4" @ 300 ppi @ 8 bits/channel CMYK == 4.3 Meg uncompressed
JS
John_Slate
Feb 26, 2004
If they’re just proofs, PDF them.

Like graffiti said, if all you are sending is something for them to preview on their monitor, there is no reason to send them all the data.

Provided that they understand that the file you send it ONLY for proofing purposes.

Just send them enough pixels to fill the screen nicely and in RGB (which will save file size).

I they are the same people that need to print the file, or redistribute it to a printer, well, that is a different story.
R
Ram
Feb 26, 2004
John,

More concise than that there’s nothing. 🙂
KL
Kim_Lucich
Feb 26, 2004
Ok you guys. Thanks for your help.

How to Master Sharpening in Photoshop

Give your photos a professional finish with sharpening in Photoshop. Learn to enhance details, create contrast, and prepare your images for print, web, and social media.

Related Discussion Topics

Nice and short text about related topics in discussion sections