am working on large wall size files for a client and need to make a file 80 inches wide at 400 dpi. the limit is 75 inches at 400 dpi. is there a plug-in i can use/purchase that gives me the ability to make larger files like this? i need info asap. thanks.
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.
Short answer: Not in Photoshop 7.0.1. It has an absolute limit of 30,000 pixels in any one direction (height x width). Additionally, maximum file size cannot exceed 2GB.
Photoshop 8 ("CS") has a limit of 300,000 pixels in any one direction. No file size limit.
Thanks so much for that info! it was very helpful (i did not know there was a file size limit of 2GB…which will most likely also be an issue with this file). i will upgrade…thanks again!
Most murals do NOT require high resolution, because they are not viewed from normal reading distance. Even if these files were to be made into wallpaper for the reception area of an office, you don’t need it. And if the images are photo enlargements, you certainly would find that the film (or digital camera) resolution is far coarser, softer, and grainier/noiser than your print resolution. Without more information on the mural environment and use, I’d say that 400ppi is overkill.
Well, if the 80"/400 ppi file is to be enlarged 4x to 320" (netting 100 ppi), I still think it is overkill. You could probably get away with a fraction of that resolution for such a large mural. But we still don’t have a clear understanding of what kind of installation this will be or viewing distance. I do like Pierre’s suggestion of tiling the image if that kind of resolution is required. But, as I said, if this is from a photographic source (film or digital), no matter how big the original shot, anomalies (grain, noise, lens resolution and aberrations) of the process will overwhelm and nullify the benefits of a very fine ppi when printing. We need more information.
But I’m wondering what print driver will accept the .PCB files of PSCS with big files support checked in the preferences… A RIP, maybe?
I know from experience that the software driving Durst Lambdas will accept TIFF over 30 000 pixels in size (there is still a 4Gb limit AFAIK) it will however generate much larger .ppm file (its internal format) so you could send a very large LZW compressed TIFF to it.
I think the main thing you can do with a truly massive .PSB is revel in the fact tha you have made one. And that’s it. I mean how would you get it anywhere other than the hard drive you made it on, much less print it?
When you have 60+ layers on a 70-foot by 30-foot sign in Photoshop, the PSB file format is really handy to have around. The TIF spec. allows for a huge number of pixels, so when I’m done, I just flatten it out and save it to a tiff, then RIP it.
As far as sizing that image for a final rez of 100ppi. You can go all day long at 72ppi and be fine nearly 100 percent of the time.
All the wall murals we print on our equipment (VuTek 23xx series) average between 50 and 72 ppi. Some can be viewed from an arm’s length away, while others are positioned where people can’t approach it from less than 25 feet away.
Using other printing methods may invoke the YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary) response, but I really doubt it.
