I started an illustration for a whole wall in a restaurant today, the first one I do for large scale printing. I’ve been working for 10+ hours today in a giant file (200+ inches wide) at 600dpi. It has been a total nightmare, moving something, copying something, pasting something, etc all takes like one to five minutes loading. This helps A LOT, THANK YOU!
@@TomFroese update: Thanks to the file adjustment, today I finished the illustration in 6 hours of work, getting 3 times more progress in those 6 hours than the 10+ hours from day 1!
this is incredibly specific and incredibly helpful! have not seen this discussion/information anywhere else although digital murals are becoming increasingly popular. thank you so much!!!
THANKSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS as soon as my canvas was like 100k pixels wide and took my pc 3 minutes to move something, i run to UA-cam and searched for an answer, this is my first large format project, thank you bro.
Thank you so much! I'm a professional illustrator starting to get enquiries for large format work where clients would be like "we'd be wanting to print a poster or a giant point of sale or exhibition contraption" and I start sweating buckets trying to ask them how big they need a piece of work, knowing my tablet and even laptop was slowing down, screen turning black even when multiple layers where used, whilst trying to do a 7000px squared illustration at 300dpi 😅 And of course, me sounding uncomfortable about how big they might want to go can make me seem like a risky option for a client. I've heard of 150 DPI for posters, but even that sometimes still means giant pixel dimensions. Watching your procreate for large prints video and this one, where you talk about your murals at 50 DPI (seeing the murals projects you delivered in this video really cemented this for me, letting me associate a real life project to DPIs), I finally let go of the 300/150 DPI idea and realised it changes the far back you need to stand to observe the illustration as a whole and then I did more research and found recommended dpis by distance of viewing and I'm floored!. I'm also intending on getting new equipment for my business, not only am I now relieved that what I currently have can still output decent extremely large format work, but I can calm down and identify the specs for my new equipment without looking for one that can do 4m by 4m at 300 DPI 🤣. Saving me money and the effort of looking for a unicorn. God bless you!
Ahhh, I got drilled into my mind early on, that Adobe Illustrator and ONLY Adobe Illustrator can do large file formats because its a vector-based software hence no matter what, it will still be sharp. I think they all were assuming that everyone would be up right close to it staring at it for some reason. 😅 So I couldn't fathom how I can bring my own art style which is only achievable in Photoshop to Illustrator and then exported out again. But now, I know for the future, thanks!
Just trying to create a mural image to cut and i was at 72 DPI and it almost killed my PC, watched your video (somewhat late 2hours later doh) and saved at 25DPI and boom its perfect and took minutes. Thanks Tom super helpful
tom, and toms up u are the best i have been look fro solutions to this problem u just made my day just 11:42 thanks so so much. pls i will need ur help on something if u dont mind
Hi Tom! Thank you SOOO much for this video! I was trying to design a large mural at full size 300 dpi for a client project and feeling SO stressed out, watching this gave me so much more confidence and super awesome specific instructions. Just wanted to leave a comment of thanks :)
Hi Tom! Thank you for this video! I got so happy when I saw it as I were thinking about this subject for some time. Thank you for explaining it! Although I ''live'' in the metric system, so I will have to think how to adapt it to the metric system :D
This video is extremely helpful. I've been asked to potentially create a 53 foot long by 10 foot high mural in a very painterly, detailed style. Does this lower dpi conversion work for really detailed, water colored, textured styles too? I'm so scared of messing this up! I've never done anything like this before.
All the math went right over my head. :D Info for us Europeans and the rest of the world 12in = 1ft. It was nice to see you show how to recalculate to the the bigger size by lowering resolution (dpi). 600 - 300dpi for fine print and murals 50dpi viewing distance 2 - 7m. Nice. :)
Thanks Milos. In Canada we do everything metric at the official and school levels, but when it comes to dimensions of things, whether printed, or building supplies, it's all imperial. I don't even know my height in metric.
@@TomFroese I left BC 3 months ago. Nice part of country you've got over there. And Vancouver is beautiful! I know you guys are half way metric. Too bad it stopped... I remember calculating gas money from Tofino to Calgary. And I probably couldn't do it with gal and mi/gal... I also had couple funny stories with conversion. Europeans just can't imagine how hard is imperial - expecially the lenght(!) - and how easy we have it at school. Best regards to Vancouver. Keep up the good work!
Hi Tom. I stumbled onto your work and your youtube channel just yesterday and I'm already a really big fan! I was blown away by the extensive mural work in your portfolio and designing a mural is definitely something on my bucket list someday. I almost couldn't believe you released this video just this morning because I had wondered last night how you even build a gigantic mural without crashing whatever program you're using. Back in my graphic design days, I remember doing billboard artwork at 72 DPI so its cool to know you can even get away with 50 DPI on murals. I work more extensively in Procreate and I wonder if you feel that Procreate is even able to do push out files this large? I know the higher resolution you go, the less layers it allows you (which is really sucks) so I'm wonder if I should go the other direction (lower dpi, larger size)... Have you ever tried this in Procreate and do you think it would cause issues?
Thanks Van! :) I don't typically illustrate on Procreate and have only ever done so for smaller sizes (max 8x10"). To help me answer your question, I just went into Procreate to set up a 240" x 120" @ 50 dpi file, and I get the "Too large" warning. Just to be sure, I also tried using 20" x 10" @ 600 dpi (which is the exact same pixel dimensions) and I get the same warning. Just to see what the limit is, I went up to 15" x 10" @ 600dpi (15' x 10' real world @ 50dpi) and Procreate allows me to create a file with 8 layers. So there's that.
@@TomFroese Wow. Thanks for checking that for me! Its actually really useful to know the max limit on Procreate (although 8 layers is kind of laughable), but I can definitely see how I would probably want to start a mural project in Photoshop over Procreate. At least until Procreate figures out a way to resolve large file sizes. Thanks again!
Thanks Tom🙂, SO helpful! I was just hired for my biggest wall commission (8' x 17') and the printer/install guy said I need the final product to be in 100dpi for clarity. But I LOVE your 50dpi strategy. Now I'm not sure what to do!...IF YOU WERE ME, would you create the file as 8 inches by 17 inches at 600dpi (as your video suggested in the beginning), then switch to 50 dpi just before printing? OR.. would you create the file as 204 inches by 96 inches at 50 dpi and print at that resolution?? Would absolutely LOVE your expert opinion! Thank you 🙂
Hi gbozanic, thanks for your comment! I have gone as low as 25 dpi for really large format work created in raster (PSD) format. But 50 is good enough if you're typically viewing from 8 feet or more, IMO. Keep in mind that 300 dpi is for photographic and typographic detail in prints that you hold in your hand or will be viewing from arm's length distance. For me I push how low I can make the resolution because of how many layers I often end up working with. Even at 100 DPI my files can become too big when working with room-sized walls. Speak with your printer about it and see what they ultimately recommend, and see if you can do that. If you need to lower the resolution a bit to make the file more manageable, then push it down a bit.
Thank you!!!! never knew i could work at a lower resolution. I am doing a design for vehicle branding. So do you export it as 300 dpi pdf to the client?
Hi Tom, thank you for this information! I really thought that I could not work with photoshop with such big sizes and it was easy to understand how you explain it. Question: Do these dimensions and resolution (50) works on billboards too? around 60 by 40 ft billboard? 60*12 = 720 in and 480 in for the 40*12 then set resolution to 50? Thank you Tom! really dont know who to ask. Internet gives too much info where i do not know where to start.
Just came across this video and THANK YOU!! Instant subscribe!!💯💯 Lately I've been doing lots of billboards and big scale works, and I start to panic when I have to do it in photoshop and not illustrator... May I ask about the export settings when working on Photoshop for this? In my country, the print shops always ask for the files to be pdf, because they open it in Corel and then scale it to the right size... Thank you in advance!
Output can be any lossless raster format. PSD is what I use. TIFF would work as would PDF with no compression, but there is no benefit to pdf in this case. The point of this video is to say you can use a low dpi for large format raster images for the reasons I explain.
i don't need this information now. but i'll probably return to this video at some point. it's really reassuring to know it's here, when i need it. i'm surprised how nice the mural came out with only 50dpi irl! that puts things more into perspective for me. :D
Thanks Miokka. I specialize in answering questions nobody is asking … yet 🤣 … honestly, I've worked at 25 dpi for larger murals and things have worked out great.
Thank you so much! This is exactly the information I have been seeking. Do you ever need to incorporate a significant amount of text into your design? I am curious if you would suggest also making these same adjustments in InDesign. I am designing panels for an exhibition. The final design will have a lot of text (which I would like to use InDesign to create) textures and backgrounds (which I would like to use photoshop to create) and illustrations (which I plan to use Illustrator to create). I would use InDesign as the main program and place the photos and illustrations. My panels are not mural size, at print size they will be 39"w x 82"h. For the photoshop textures and backgrounds, I used your method and changed my ps file to 19.5 x 42" @ 300 dpi and then I will resize to 150dpi for printing. If you were working on a project like this would also adjust your working InDesign file to half the size of needed print size?
Thanks for watching and for your question. The short answer is that all that matters is what the final dimensions and resolution are of your output files, and this only matters if your output file is raster. If it’s a mix of raster and vector, such as with an illustrator, with Raster elements in it, then what matters here is the resolution of just the raster parts.
This is very helpful! I didn’t know Photoshop is workable so I worked on Illustrator (vector based) for my mural projects instead. It would be easier to add different textures on photoshop. 😀 Do you also add many texture layers to your mural design?
Thanks Yushan. It's true - PS is better at handling textures than AI. Textures factor into my work one way or another - whether murals or otherwise - and often result in more layers.
Wow, thank you so much!!! I find this very important information i was looking for something like this. When you export your file you go back to the 50 DPI and export it in a PDF and send that to the printer? Or the 600 DPI is for the printer? I just love you for this info!!!
Ha, thanks! Dpi is just a ratio of pixels to output size. You can have the same pixel dimensions (e.g. 3000 x 3000 pixels), but depending on how large you print it, the resolution (DPI) goes up or down. So 3000x3000 at 50 dpi = 60 x 60 inches. But at 600 dpi it's 5 x 5 inches. Bottom line: Just make sure that the DPI is high enough at the output size you want. I'm saying that for very large format printing, which isn't viewed up close, 50 can be enough. Higher is better but you almost never need 300 DPI or up for these situations.
Thank you for your video! I have a question though - since you created a vector design in Illustrator, do you always have to export the design from Illustrator and put it into Photoshop when you are resizing & getting the final file ready? Or can you do these resizing/resolution changes within Illustrator? Thanks so much!
Hi Tom, thank you so much for this helpful video! Do you have any advice on system requirements for working with bigger photoshop files? I'm looking into buying a good futureproof MacBook and I'm (for example) not sure if 32GB RAM will be sufficient or if 64GB RAM would be a wiser option when you're working with bigger photoshop files a lot. Any advice or thoughts? (Sorry if this is a bit off topic)
Hi Wilma, thank you for your comment! I cannot give you technical advice about which RAM option to get for your new MacBook, other than the obvious: if you can afford it, more is better! Please look at recommended specs from Photoshop, and also, do some searching here on UA-cam - somebody has DEFINITELY made a video on this topic.
I am also on a metric system but that is not a problem considering the auto-conversion in Photoshop, but I wonder if I am sending the final artwork of 50 resolution to the print shop at the size of 196x128cm (77x50inch), would it be a good printing quality or will it require a 300 resolution document at post-processing? Also what is the behaviour of the document if I am using an artboard of 50 resolution with embeded photos of 300 resolution?
Best to ask your printer about what they think is best. Work in the highest possible resolution that balances the capabilities of your device and output quality in print. If you need to print at 2 x 1.3 meters output size, see if your hardware can support 150 dpi. If it’s too laggy keep going down till you have that balance. Doesn’t matter what your placed objects are in the file, your resolution will be only as high as your lowest resolution asset.
Hi Tom. This video was very interesting and helpful. I am brand new to photoshop and large format illustrations alike. I'm learning as I go. The wall mural you used as the example in this video is very similar to what I'm trying to do, in that it contains lots of individual images. The part I'm stuck on is, at this time I'm not looking to create the images in PS but import them from a collection of photos and drawings I have on my computer. Do you have a video explaining how to do that, and how to size them etc once on the background? I'm able to size my printable space but I can only seem to drag and drop one image and then I get stuck. Any input or pointing in the right direction would be much appreciated!
Hi Holly, thank you for your comment. As long as your images have equal or higher resolution than the mural image you will be placing them in, you should be fine. Placing images that are lower resolution and then up-scaling them in the mural image may not turn out well. To place these images in PS, just drag them in from the Finder (or file browser), or go Image -> Place from Photoshop.
@@TomFroese Thank you Tom. I can drag and drop multiple images, and have figured out how to rastisize them for editing, but I'm still having trouble on sizing them. Some images I can use the Rectangular Marquee tool and then the Move tool to move an image or resize it, but others do not respond to those tools. Any tips or suggested video links?
HI Tom. Thanks a million for the information shared in your video, just priceless. I have a question I believe you have the answer for. My illustrations are full of very small details, all of them were created at 300DPI, does this mean there's no way to print them in a mural size? there's any way to modify them once saved?
Hey Osiris, thanks for letting me know the video helped you! If you didn't find the answer to your question in this video, you might find it by watching this one: ua-cam.com/video/HWJAc22tF5c/v-deo.html You don't need 300 dpi to print large format. Use the Image properties dialog box as I do in these videos to determine how large your work will go scaled down to a lower DPI. The lower DPI you go, the larger the effective output, as long as you DON'T resample. Pixel size stays the same. Resolution decreases. Output size increases.
does it work the same even for photos? I work on high res images of 300dpi but obviously 2meters hight banner makes it very heavy in weight with 300dpi, but I am scared if the photo will come out bad as print with any lower dpi :( always scared and confused about how to deliver. ( online)
Client wants me to enlarge 2 images for event fabric back wall image enlarging to 144"x120" A is 5600x3733 300ppi(18.6'x12.4") image 2 is 4864x3648-240 ppi(10."2x15.2") what should i expect in terms of quality if i enlarge to 144x120". I bought images from istock and adbobe stock and i will print on fabric at tradeshow printer plant and client will have people stand in front of images on backwall for a corporate event background. Guessing printwer will be about 8-12 feet away when they take the shot. Print plant wont assess image until i pay so im trying to gauge if they will work or if i should send for interpolation etc before submitting). any help appreciated as i will need to do this again in future. Printer suggest print large images at 120-150dpi for 12x10ft walls.
One quick question. So when you're laying out the artwork are you working at the 600dpi then once you're ready for output, are you changing the resolution to 50dpi before saving the print file? Thank you!
If I change the resolution from 600 to 50, as long as I disable the "resample" setting, only the output dimensions will change, not the actual pixel count or file size. So for clarity's sake, yes, I will change the resolution in this way, only so it's clear what the final output size is. does that make sense?
@@TomFroese Yes, that makes since. So I am in the middle of creating a 24ft x 8ft large mural for my owners museum. It will printed on ACM panels for install. I set up my file to 24" x 8" @ 600dpi. When I export this for the printer, should I set the the dpi to 50? Or just give them the 600dpi file? I really appreciate you're input. Thanks again!
Hey again! That sounds right. Just to be sure though it would be a good idea to consult with your printer about their process opinion on resolution requirements.
@@cole69lopez my point in the video is that large format art does not need to be in 300dpi. If you did make it 300dpi it would definitely be too big of a file and it would probably crash your system. If you need large format and 300dpi (or very crisp reproduction from less than an arms length away), it might be worth considering vector art.
hey mr.tom please answe me, need help this is good information, i am working on a mural project, which will be printed in 5mx3m. i am still confused to make the masterfile/artwork. so do i have to make a canvas in photoshop with a4 size with 600 dpi. and draw it there. then i convert it to 50 dpi with a size of 5 meters, is that something right? 🙏🙏
Thanks for the comment. I’m Photoshop, set up canvas at the real world mural dimensions, and set the resolution to 50dpi. You don’t need to covert anything after that.
@@iSaleArt You're working in Photoshop. Send the PSD file. JPGs are lossy. Speak with the printer of the mural, they will tell you exactly what they want from you.
hmm my only problem is they've asked for is the end result must be 300dpi and be 1800millimetres, I can't change one or the other. I don't know how this video helps me then...
The size you need here is not quite the large format I’m addressing here. It’s obviously quite big but not a mural. So I would suggest just reducing resolution to 200 or even 150 dpi. You might be able to get away with that. Try some tests if time and budget allow, and discuss with client about possible problems working at 300 dpi.
This video helped speed up my work for Large Billboards and Prints. Thanks so much for sharing Tom. From a grateful Creative in Ghana, West Africa.
That's amazing! Thank you for sharing.
I started an illustration for a whole wall in a restaurant today, the first one I do for large scale printing. I’ve been working for 10+ hours today in a giant file (200+ inches wide) at 600dpi. It has been a total nightmare, moving something, copying something, pasting something, etc all takes like one to five minutes loading. This helps A LOT, THANK YOU!
Wonderful!
@@TomFroese update: Thanks to the file adjustment, today I finished the illustration in 6 hours of work, getting 3 times more progress in those 6 hours than the 10+ hours from day 1!
wow I was having the same issue at only 70inches 300dpi, It just freezes and crashes. Can't imagine trying something at 200 inches 600dpi
Loved the juice analogy🍊♥️
this is incredibly specific and incredibly helpful! have not seen this discussion/information anywhere else although digital murals are becoming increasingly popular. thank you so much!!!
Hi Gautam, thank you so much for the comment. Good to know I'm touching on something relevant and needed here! :)
I was commissioned to design a large mural for a gym and this helped me so much to understand the conversion! Thanks so much for sharing! :D
Glad it was helpful!
THANKSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS as soon as my canvas was like 100k pixels wide and took my pc 3 minutes to move something, i run to UA-cam and searched for an answer, this is my first large format project, thank you bro.
Glad I could help!
Thank you so much! I'm a professional illustrator starting to get enquiries for large format work where clients would be like "we'd be wanting to print a poster or a giant point of sale or exhibition contraption" and I start sweating buckets trying to ask them how big they need a piece of work, knowing my tablet and even laptop was slowing down, screen turning black even when multiple layers where used, whilst trying to do a 7000px squared illustration at 300dpi 😅
And of course, me sounding uncomfortable about how big they might want to go can make me seem like a risky option for a client. I've heard of 150 DPI for posters, but even that sometimes still means giant pixel dimensions.
Watching your procreate for large prints video and this one, where you talk about your murals at 50 DPI (seeing the murals projects you delivered in this video really cemented this for me, letting me associate a real life project to DPIs), I finally let go of the 300/150 DPI idea and realised it changes the far back you need to stand to observe the illustration as a whole and then I did more research and found recommended dpis by distance of viewing and I'm floored!.
I'm also intending on getting new equipment for my business, not only am I now relieved that what I currently have can still output decent extremely large format work, but I can calm down and identify the specs for my new equipment without looking for one that can do 4m by 4m at 300 DPI 🤣. Saving me money and the effort of looking for a unicorn.
God bless you!
I really appreciate this video...I've been searching for this answer for years
Working on a hoarding right now... you are a life saver Tom! Your video answers all my questions about managing the file size.
Glad to help!
your amazing, you just solved this huge issue for me I was having working on a 8 foot by 10 foot backdrop for a client THANK YOU
Glad it helped!
Ahhh, I got drilled into my mind early on, that Adobe Illustrator and ONLY Adobe Illustrator can do large file formats because its a vector-based software hence no matter what, it will still be sharp.
I think they all were assuming that everyone would be up right close to it staring at it for some reason. 😅
So I couldn't fathom how I can bring my own art style which is only achievable in Photoshop to Illustrator and then exported out again.
But now, I know for the future, thanks!
Now you know, and knowing is half the battle! 😜 Yes, this should help you be able to work in PS and not have to export to Illustrator, ever again!
Just trying to create a mural image to cut and i was at 72 DPI and it almost killed my PC, watched your video (somewhat late 2hours later doh) and saved at 25DPI and boom its perfect and took minutes. Thanks Tom super helpful
tom, and toms up u are the best i have been look fro solutions to this problem u just made my day just 11:42 thanks so so much. pls i will need ur help on something if u dont mind
Hi, Thanks for the amazing and unique video. resolved many issues and confusions.
Thank you so much🙏 This video will last forever!
Thank you! These videos are so helpful. The amount of times I spent frustrated at my computer is a little embarrassing knowing how simple this is.
Thank you!
Your explanation is just what I needed to know. Orange Juice metaphor works perfectly to understand, thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
Super helpful! You have just cleared up something that I have been struggling to understand for a while now. Thank you so much!
Glad it was helpful!
This was so very helpful. Thank you. Just printed a 8x4 feet banner and it turned out amazingly clean and sharp. Thank you 🤍
Fantastic!
@naunau What were pixels of your image? What dpi? I have to print a 6x4 image on canvas. what should i do?
Hi Tom! Thank you SOOO much for this video! I was trying to design a large mural at full size 300 dpi for a client project and feeling SO stressed out, watching this gave me so much more confidence and super awesome specific instructions. Just wanted to leave a comment of thanks :)
Glad it was helpful!
Life saver - Extremely grateful for the detailed solution... thanks alot
Thank you so much for sharing! you are godsend !
You’re welcome! Thanks for watching!
Damn you just saved my life bro! Huge thanks. Keep up the good work!
Happy to help sir!
Work fast and export big size printing ❤ thank you!
thanks tom that was really helpful 🙏 lots of love from ladakh.
Glad it helped!
thank you, that was really helpful!
Thank you, truly a life saver!
This is was extremely helpful!
Thanks
Hi Tom! Thank you for this video! I got so happy when I saw it as I were thinking about this subject for some time. Thank you for explaining it! Although I ''live'' in the metric system, so I will have to think how to adapt it to the metric system :D
Just plug in the numbers using inches, and then select cm using the drop-down menu - PS will make the conversion for you.
@@TomFroese Ooo! Thanks for the tip! :)
Thanks Tom..... This video was very helpful. Thanks!
This video is extremely helpful. I've been asked to potentially create a 53 foot long by 10 foot high mural in a very painterly, detailed style. Does this lower dpi conversion work for really detailed, water colored, textured styles too? I'm so scared of messing this up! I've never done anything like this before.
Best to check with the printer you’ll be working with, but any kind of image/media should work.
@@TomFroese Thank you!
This is very helpful!
Great Work Mr.ToM
Thank you!
This is super helpful, thank you!!
Glad it was helpful!
My PS was crashing. Problem solved! Thank you so much!
Glad I could help!
this is so helpful!!! thank you!!!!!
You're so welcome!
All the math went right over my head. :D Info for us Europeans and the rest of the world 12in = 1ft.
It was nice to see you show how to recalculate to the the bigger size by lowering resolution (dpi).
600 - 300dpi for fine print and murals 50dpi viewing distance 2 - 7m. Nice. :)
Thanks Milos. In Canada we do everything metric at the official and school levels, but when it comes to dimensions of things, whether printed, or building supplies, it's all imperial. I don't even know my height in metric.
@@TomFroese I left BC 3 months ago. Nice part of country you've got over there. And Vancouver is beautiful!
I know you guys are half way metric. Too bad it stopped... I remember calculating gas money from Tofino to Calgary. And I probably couldn't do it with gal and mi/gal... I also had couple funny stories with conversion.
Europeans just can't imagine how hard is imperial - expecially the lenght(!) - and how easy we have it at school.
Best regards to Vancouver. Keep up the good work!
thank you so much!! this helped me big time ✊️
Hi Tom. I stumbled onto your work and your youtube channel just yesterday and I'm already a really big fan! I was blown away by the extensive mural work in your portfolio and designing a mural is definitely something on my bucket list someday. I almost couldn't believe you released this video just this morning because I had wondered last night how you even build a gigantic mural without crashing whatever program you're using. Back in my graphic design days, I remember doing billboard artwork at 72 DPI so its cool to know you can even get away with 50 DPI on murals. I work more extensively in Procreate and I wonder if you feel that Procreate is even able to do push out files this large? I know the higher resolution you go, the less layers it allows you (which is really sucks) so I'm wonder if I should go the other direction (lower dpi, larger size)... Have you ever tried this in Procreate and do you think it would cause issues?
Thanks Van! :) I don't typically illustrate on Procreate and have only ever done so for smaller sizes (max 8x10"). To help me answer your question, I just went into Procreate to set up a 240" x 120" @ 50 dpi file, and I get the "Too large" warning. Just to be sure, I also tried using 20" x 10" @ 600 dpi (which is the exact same pixel dimensions) and I get the same warning. Just to see what the limit is, I went up to 15" x 10" @ 600dpi (15' x 10' real world @ 50dpi) and Procreate allows me to create a file with 8 layers. So there's that.
@@TomFroese Wow. Thanks for checking that for me! Its actually really useful to know the max limit on Procreate (although 8 layers is kind of laughable), but I can definitely see how I would probably want to start a mural project in Photoshop over Procreate. At least until Procreate figures out a way to resolve large file sizes. Thanks again!
Thanks Tom🙂, SO helpful! I was just hired for my biggest wall commission (8' x 17') and the printer/install guy said I need the final product to be in 100dpi for clarity. But I LOVE your 50dpi strategy. Now I'm not sure what to do!...IF YOU WERE ME, would you create the file as 8 inches by 17 inches at 600dpi (as your video suggested in the beginning), then switch to 50 dpi just before printing? OR.. would you create the file as 204 inches by 96 inches at 50 dpi and print at that resolution?? Would absolutely LOVE your expert opinion! Thank you 🙂
Hi gbozanic, thanks for your comment! I have gone as low as 25 dpi for really large format work created in raster (PSD) format. But 50 is good enough if you're typically viewing from 8 feet or more, IMO. Keep in mind that 300 dpi is for photographic and typographic detail in prints that you hold in your hand or will be viewing from arm's length distance. For me I push how low I can make the resolution because of how many layers I often end up working with. Even at 100 DPI my files can become too big when working with room-sized walls. Speak with your printer about it and see what they ultimately recommend, and see if you can do that. If you need to lower the resolution a bit to make the file more manageable, then push it down a bit.
You are awesome THANK YOU! ❤❤
Happy to help!
Very helpful video keep it up ❤️❤️❤️
Thank you! Will do!
Thank you for the video, helped out so much understanding files sizes. One question tho, how do you export so printer can print in the 12ft size??
Well since you’re working in Photoshop, send the psd file!
Soooo helpful!
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you!!!! never knew i could work at a lower resolution. I am doing a design for vehicle branding. So do you export it as 300 dpi pdf to the client?
Ask your printer about accepted file formats. I send PSD.
Also, the whole point is that you don’t need 300dpi in the cases mentioned.
Hi Tom, thank you for this information! I really thought that I could not work with photoshop with such big sizes and it was easy to understand how you explain it.
Question: Do these dimensions and resolution (50) works on billboards too? around 60 by 40 ft billboard? 60*12 = 720 in and 480 in for the 40*12 then set resolution to 50? Thank you Tom! really dont know who to ask. Internet gives too much info where i do not know where to start.
Billboards and murals are pretty much the same thing here. Nobody's looking at your billboard from 3 feet away.
Just came across this video and THANK YOU!! Instant subscribe!!💯💯
Lately I've been doing lots of billboards and big scale works, and I start to panic when I have to do it in photoshop and not illustrator... May I ask about the export settings when working on Photoshop for this? In my country, the print shops always ask for the files to be pdf, because they open it in Corel and then scale it to the right size...
Thank you in advance!
Hi! Thanks for watching and subscribing. I just send PSD files.
@@TomFroese Thank you! Will try!
This was great, just one open question - is the output file in Pdf? (if yes, is there any particular settings?)
Output can be any lossless raster format. PSD is what I use. TIFF would work as would PDF with no compression, but there is no benefit to pdf in this case. The point of this video is to say you can use a low dpi for large format raster images for the reasons I explain.
Thank you!!!❤
You are so welcome!
i don't need this information now. but i'll probably return to this video at some point. it's really reassuring to know it's here, when i need it.
i'm surprised how nice the mural came out with only 50dpi irl! that puts things more into perspective for me. :D
Thanks Miokka. I specialize in answering questions nobody is asking … yet 🤣 … honestly, I've worked at 25 dpi for larger murals and things have worked out great.
Thank you so much! This is exactly the information I have been seeking. Do you ever need to incorporate a significant amount of text into your design? I am curious if you would suggest also making these same adjustments in InDesign. I am designing panels for an exhibition. The final design will have a lot of text (which I would like to use InDesign to create) textures and backgrounds (which I would like to use photoshop to create) and illustrations (which I plan to use Illustrator to create). I would use InDesign as the main program and place the photos and illustrations. My panels are not mural size, at print size they will be 39"w x 82"h. For the photoshop textures and backgrounds, I used your method and changed my ps file to 19.5 x 42" @ 300 dpi and then I will resize to 150dpi for printing. If you were working on a project like this would also adjust your working InDesign file to half the size of needed print size?
Thanks for watching and for your question. The short answer is that all that matters is what the final dimensions and resolution are of your output files, and this only matters if your output file is raster. If it’s a mix of raster and vector, such as with an illustrator, with Raster elements in it, then what matters here is the resolution of just the raster parts.
This is very helpful! I didn’t know Photoshop is workable so I worked on Illustrator (vector based) for my mural projects instead. It would be easier to add different textures on photoshop. 😀 Do you also add many texture layers to your mural design?
Thanks Yushan. It's true - PS is better at handling textures than AI. Textures factor into my work one way or another - whether murals or otherwise - and often result in more layers.
Wow, thank you so much!!! I find this very important information i was looking for something like this. When you export your file you go back to the 50 DPI and export it in a PDF and send that to the printer? Or the 600 DPI is for the printer? I just love you for this info!!!
Ha, thanks! Dpi is just a ratio of pixels to output size. You can have the same pixel dimensions (e.g. 3000 x 3000 pixels), but depending on how large you print it, the resolution (DPI) goes up or down. So 3000x3000 at 50 dpi = 60 x 60 inches. But at 600 dpi it's 5 x 5 inches. Bottom line: Just make sure that the DPI is high enough at the output size you want. I'm saying that for very large format printing, which isn't viewed up close, 50 can be enough. Higher is better but you almost never need 300 DPI or up for these situations.
Thank You So Much... : ) ... A great video...
Incredibly helpful information in this one!!!
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you for your video! I have a question though - since you created a vector design in Illustrator, do you always have to export the design from Illustrator and put it into Photoshop when you are resizing & getting the final file ready? Or can you do these resizing/resolution changes within Illustrator? Thanks so much!
Thanks! Short answer: I don’t use illustrator!
@@TomFroese Oh okay! Thanks for the reply!
Needed to be said.
Hi Tom, thank you so much for this helpful video! Do you have any advice on system requirements for working with bigger photoshop files? I'm looking into buying a good futureproof MacBook and I'm (for example) not sure if 32GB RAM will be sufficient or if 64GB RAM would be a wiser option when you're working with bigger photoshop files a lot. Any advice or thoughts? (Sorry if this is a bit off topic)
Hi Wilma, thank you for your comment! I cannot give you technical advice about which RAM option to get for your new MacBook, other than the obvious: if you can afford it, more is better! Please look at recommended specs from Photoshop, and also, do some searching here on UA-cam - somebody has DEFINITELY made a video on this topic.
Thanks very much
You are welcome
I am also on a metric system but that is not a problem considering the auto-conversion in Photoshop, but I wonder if I am sending the final artwork of 50 resolution to the print shop at the size of 196x128cm (77x50inch), would it be a good printing quality or will it require a 300 resolution document at post-processing? Also what is the behaviour of the document if I am using an artboard of 50 resolution with embeded photos of 300 resolution?
Best to ask your printer about what they think is best. Work in the highest possible resolution that balances the capabilities of your device and output quality in print. If you need to print at 2 x 1.3 meters output size, see if your hardware can support 150 dpi. If it’s too laggy keep going down till you have that balance. Doesn’t matter what your placed objects are in the file, your resolution will be only as high as your lowest resolution asset.
Thanks. What about text though? Is that still clean enough at 50 dpi?
How big is the text?
So if I need a 5ft x 10ft banner, I can size it at 120 in x 60in and 50 dpi and it will print clear? Working on this job right now
Thank you! What I’m saying is it will appear clear from a father distance, typical for where you usually stand from a wall.
Hi Tom. This video was very interesting and helpful. I am brand new to photoshop and large format illustrations alike. I'm learning as I go. The wall mural you used as the example in this video is very similar to what I'm trying to do, in that it contains lots of individual images. The part I'm stuck on is, at this time I'm not looking to create the images in PS but import them from a collection of photos and drawings I have on my computer. Do you have a video explaining how to do that, and how to size them etc once on the background? I'm able to size my printable space but I can only seem to drag and drop one image and then I get stuck. Any input or pointing in the right direction would be much appreciated!
Hi Holly, thank you for your comment. As long as your images have equal or higher resolution than the mural image you will be placing them in, you should be fine. Placing images that are lower resolution and then up-scaling them in the mural image may not turn out well. To place these images in PS, just drag them in from the Finder (or file browser), or go Image -> Place from Photoshop.
@@TomFroese Thank you Tom. I can drag and drop multiple images, and have figured out how to rastisize them for editing, but I'm still having trouble on sizing them. Some images I can use the Rectangular Marquee tool and then the Move tool to move an image or resize it, but others do not respond to those tools. Any tips or suggested video links?
HI Tom. Thanks a million for the information shared in your video, just priceless. I have a question I believe you have the answer for. My illustrations are full of very small details, all of them were created at 300DPI, does this mean there's no way to print them in a mural size? there's any way to modify them once saved?
Hey Osiris, thanks for letting me know the video helped you! If you didn't find the answer to your question in this video, you might find it by watching this one: ua-cam.com/video/HWJAc22tF5c/v-deo.html
You don't need 300 dpi to print large format. Use the Image properties dialog box as I do in these videos to determine how large your work will go scaled down to a lower DPI. The lower DPI you go, the larger the effective output, as long as you DON'T resample. Pixel size stays the same. Resolution decreases. Output size increases.
does it work the same even for photos? I work on high res images of 300dpi but obviously 2meters hight banner makes it very heavy in weight with 300dpi, but I am scared if the photo will come out bad as print with any lower dpi :( always scared and confused about how to deliver. ( online)
It applies to photos too!
Client wants me to enlarge 2 images for event fabric back wall image enlarging to 144"x120" A is 5600x3733 300ppi(18.6'x12.4") image 2 is 4864x3648-240 ppi(10."2x15.2") what should i expect in terms of quality if i enlarge to 144x120". I bought images from istock and adbobe stock and i will print on fabric at tradeshow printer plant and client will have people stand in front of images on backwall for a corporate event background. Guessing printwer will be about 8-12 feet away when they take the shot. Print plant wont assess image until i pay so im trying to gauge if they will work or if i should send for interpolation etc before submitting). any help appreciated as i will need to do this again in future. Printer suggest print large images at 120-150dpi for 12x10ft walls.
Go with what the printer recommends! This video is my own take and works but you need to trust the printer.
One quick question. So when you're laying out the artwork are you working at the 600dpi then once you're ready for output, are you changing the resolution to 50dpi before saving the print file? Thank you!
If I change the resolution from 600 to 50, as long as I disable the "resample" setting, only the output dimensions will change, not the actual pixel count or file size. So for clarity's sake, yes, I will change the resolution in this way, only so it's clear what the final output size is. does that make sense?
@@TomFroese Yes, that makes since. So I am in the middle of creating a 24ft x 8ft large mural for my owners museum. It will printed on ACM panels for install. I set up my file to 24" x 8" @ 600dpi. When I export this for the printer, should I set the the dpi to 50? Or just give them the 600dpi file? I really appreciate you're input. Thanks again!
Hey again! That sounds right. Just to be sure though it would be a good idea to consult with your printer about their process opinion on resolution requirements.
@@TomFroese Thanks so much!
What if you are going to be looking at art piece close up? What dpi would you use then?
300 dpi
@@TomFroese okay but I start with the artboard size dpi at 50? then before exporting I change it? so my computer doesnt crash
@@cole69lopez my point in the video is that large format art does not need to be in 300dpi. If you did make it 300dpi it would definitely be too big of a file and it would probably crash your system. If you need large format and 300dpi (or very crisp reproduction from less than an arms length away), it might be worth considering vector art.
@@TomFroese okay, thank you for the information. I appreciate it
hey mr.tom please answe me, need help
this is good information, i am working on a mural project, which will be printed in 5mx3m. i am still confused to make the masterfile/artwork. so do i have to make a canvas in photoshop with a4 size with 600 dpi. and draw it there. then i convert it to 50 dpi with a size of 5 meters, is that something right? 🙏🙏
Thanks for the comment. I’m Photoshop, set up canvas at the real world mural dimensions, and set the resolution to 50dpi. You don’t need to covert anything after that.
@@TomFroese and after that you send the 50 dpi psd file to the printer? or you only send the jpg and png files?
@@iSaleArt You're working in Photoshop. Send the PSD file. JPGs are lossy.
Speak with the printer of the mural, they will tell you exactly what they want from you.
@@TomFroese got it. thank you for helping me. i really appreciate it. u are awesmome tom. have a nice day 😊😊
hmm my only problem is they've asked for is the end result must be 300dpi and be 1800millimetres, I can't change one or the other. I don't know how this video helps me then...
The size you need here is not quite the large format I’m addressing here. It’s obviously quite big but not a mural. So I would suggest just reducing resolution to 200 or even 150 dpi. You might be able to get away with that. Try some tests if time and budget allow, and discuss with client about possible problems working at 300 dpi.
How much you price for your mural sir?
Pricing is a dark art !
No matter how much I give thanks, it will be less.