Topic awaiting preservation: resizing a massive AI to export as TIF

I have a problem spawned from complete ignorance.... I've built some Illustrator files, mostly vector stuff, each piece has *1* placed raster image (PSDs) and the physical dimensions are roughly 10 feet by 3.5 feet (3x1 meters). Of course Illustrator will have nothing to do with exporting these files as a TIF (or apparently any other bitmap type format) file.

The printer (signs and banners man, usually vinyl) is not entirely savvy. We have printed large TIFs with him in the past and have tha down to a "T". His suggestion for remedying this problem is to reduce the physical size of the AI art and then try to output the TIF, this man really wants a TIF! I was worried about him trying to print a small bitmap type image into such a large format, wouldn't there be harsh quality loss akin to pixelation in a raster based image if upsized? Printer says it won't be a problem?

If this is the way to go and I can output the TIF at say 1/4 size of the current dimensions, what's the best way to go about doing that?! The way I'd do it with my limited knowledge seems like an *awful* solution: change the artboard size then select every friggin thing and shift+resize/eyeball it... surely there'd be a better way!

I'm in a pickle here, this is semi-urgent stuff so any help is gold!

thanks



(Edited by JKMabry on 02-04-2005 19:22)

You might be able to export the tif at a lower resolution with anti-alias off , but of course the detail won't be there.

Depending on the viewing distance you might get away with a lower resolution.

Is the entire banner for a printed image, or cut vinyl also?
if so,
Just give him the hi-res psd as a tif, let him layout the vector stuff, have him output it from his
application?

~where's jsj when you need him~
cheers
kromaz

the viewing distance could be in your face to across an exhibit hall, it's a tradeshow booth wall (4 banners at 3x1 meters each), anyone visiting the booth could get a peak up close so it should be all it can be I guess

the entire thing is going to be printed due to the fact that the placed PSDs will be laying over white and (very saturated) red-or-blue, about half and half

thanks for the answer! Not sure if there's a solution in there or not but I appreciate the effort!

As it stands right now I've upped EPS files and the placed PSDs for him to download. Unfortunately he admits to a lack of savvy with his software and my client wants thse by the middle of next week for shipping to a tradeshow in Mexico in the not-too-distant future. I'm sweatin the delivery a bit! edit oh yeah, forgot to mention, I finished these out as PDFs with bleeds and crop marks in a previous attemtp to give him something he could use, and he said he could open them with Acrobat, but couldn't 'rip' them... He'll be printing these on some kind of vinyl on a massive solvent jet printer if that info's of any use



(Edited by JKMabry on 02-04-2005 23:47)

Don't understand why he can't rip these, seems like a simple print job to a 48" wide camjet or such wideformat printer.
The only other thing I can suggest is create the file in PS, export as TIF, text and all at the required size and res.,
seeing as there is no vinyl lettering to be cut out.?

kromaz

yeah, if worse comes to worse I can rebuild the files, however that's precisely what I'm trying to avoid! They're not that complicated but still, do overs is do overs and that's somehow admitting defeat isn't it?!

I've already billed this work so all this wheel spinning is just free stuff, prolly going to eat into my weekend too, bleh! bleh I say!

Jason what resolution of the underlaying psd are we talking about? If this thing is printed on an inkjet printer anything more as 300dpi not needed. Even in an commercial setup an 48" inkjet is still an inkjet.
When i go to a tradeshow there are often stands with big pictures on the wall. Most off them have very big pixels when seen from a 2 feet distance. So those are blown-up from smaller pictures i guess.


good luck

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Jason,

Try removing the PSD from the AI image and save it as a new file.
You can then import that into Photoshop and make a layer of it.
Then Import the PSD and place it on its own layer.

Now you can position the PSD layer where it needs to be in the overall image and see if Photoshop can creat the TIFF file you want at the resolution you need.



.

-- not necessarily stoned... just beautiful.

r2 - it's done at 300dpi

hyperbole - there's something I haven't tried!

The printer has the AI files now and all the placed graphics, hopefully he can come up with a solution, but he has the base files now and can output whatever he likes/can figure out

didnt see this til now, i'm curious what the outcome was JK? the fact that these are at 300dpi seems really high res imo, i'd imagine you could do them at 150dpi with no concern for quality loss at that viewing distance. not that this prob matters now

chris


KAIROSinteractive | tangent oriented

well I meant to get back as well but forgot, been super not around lately.

Ended up going with a different printer who took my files first time and said "no problem" and printed them. Coulda saved about 10-15 hours of unbillable time if I'd done that earlier

To be fair to the first printer, the second printer said there was an issue with transparency but they solved it by doing essentially what hyperbole suggested (which is something I did for printer #1 as well but he still couldn't deal with it).

I certainly appreciate everyone's responses (forgive me for not getting back earlier), the client received these banners early this week and they reportedly came out fantastic and in time to take with them to the show in Mexico. And I've found a new large format vinyl printer! So it's all good in the end.

300dpi is probably a fiction to some degree Chris, the majority, in Illustrator, was done at 300dpi but the placed bitmaps were 300dpi printable to maybe a foot or 18", upped to that final size of 3 or 4 feet they certainly lost some clarity but are fine at that size/distance, the rest of the AI junk is just math

Thumbs up

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