images for Grand Format Printing

[Jackie]

Hi All,

Can anyone help me with a source for images that will print on a banner that 22' x 16'. We are going to design at a 1/3 of the size. So at the scale, I will need an image that is approx. 50" x 40". I'm thinking at about 200 dpi. We are new at designing graphics in such a large size. I have had an image scan before at a higher resolution that turned out great for a large wall mural. And just a thought has anyone had a photo made in to a vector image then used that instead of the raster image. (by the way the image my client wants is a women listening to music through headphones).

thanks,
J

 

[Solventinkjet]

1/3 of the size would be 88" x 64" and at 200 DPI it would end up at 66 DPI. You should try to get closer to 300 DPI so you end up at 100 DPI. 66 will look pixilated.

As for vectorizing a bitmap, it won't work like you think it will. Think about it this way, you have a few choices on how to vectorize the image. One way would be to vectorize each pixel. Obviously if you enlarge this image it will look exactly like if you just enlarged the bitmap. So maybe you vectorize areas of the same color pixel, the same exact outcome occurs. So maybe you generalize a few areas and get a little looser with which pixels and colors to vectorize as one shape. If you blow this image up you will have lost a lot of information in the image and it won't look like the original. It just doesn't work unfortunately. There are programs out there that claim to be able to enlarge images with less pixelization and they do work somewhat but it's always better to just start with a very high res image.

 

[Jackie]

Vander,
Are there stock photo sites that offer images that large and that high of a dpi? I haven't been able to find any. What does everyone else do in these situations?

 

[Solventinkjet]

I don't produce signs anymore so I don't know what the current sites are but the guys on here will know.

 

[ColorCrest]

1) Why 1/3 scale of the size? A more typical industry method is to use a 50%, 25% or 10% scale. 10% scale in your case of the final size.



2) Why 50”x40” when that aspect ratio is not what the 22’ x 16’ aspect ratio is?



3) Why 200 dpi? Where does one set “dpi?” My Photoshop only has “ppi.”



I think you will find modern photography files are around 60-100Mb these days. You will, however, be fine with using those file sizes for you project. I recommend building at 10% scale and place the full resolution file into your layout software and letting the printer RIP software do its job. It will scale your photo to the final size and save you the trouble of needing to do so. It will translate “PPI” to “DPI” as, again, that is its job.



So, just purchase the highest resolution download option of stock photography you might find from the usual commercial sources. Those sources are the same for the grand format industry.

 

[Solventinkjet]

Although DPI and PPI are different things they are almost always used interchangeably in the sign industry.

 

[AKwrapguy]

Hi All,

Can anyone help me with a source for images that will print on a banner that 22' x 16'. We are going to design at a 1/3 of the size. So at the scale, I will need an image that is approx. 50" x 40". I'm thinking at about 200 dpi. We are new at designing graphics in such a large size. I have had an image scan before at a higher resolution that turned out great for a large wall mural. And just a thought has anyone had a photo made in to a vector image then used that instead of the raster image. (by the way the image my client wants is a women listening to music through headphones).

thanks,
J

LMGTFY

 

[CreativeCreationGraphics]

unsplash.com is a great site for free high quality images

 

[unclebun]

Just did a quick perusal of Nikon's website. Their flagship camera is capable of 5568x3712 pixels at full frame. So if you divide that out by your final image size, that comes out about 20 ppi or dpi. The D850 has a 45 Mpixel sensor (8256x5504) that pushes that to 30 dpi. And Canon has a 120 Mpixel sensor that would get that to about 60 dpi. You aren't going to be able to do any better than the camera can give. But on a billboard you don't need to. At normal viewing distances, the eye doesn't resolve much better than 15 dpi. At 30', 20 dpi is the minimum needed.

I've never had any trouble working with full frame full resolution digital images at full size for my final application in the computer. But if you want to scale, common scales to use are 1"=1' (what we used in the painting days) or 1:20.

All the stock photo sites I use have full resolution photos available.

 

[HandsomeBob]

Two-hundred dpi may seem nice but this is a banner. People will not be right up next to it. People you want reading your message will be 50-300 feet away. You could get by with 100 dpi or less and still look good.

Do a test - take an image down to 72 dpi and crop out a piece 18x24 and print it. You can judge for yourself if the dpi of the image will work as you view it at distance.

Since you are making something for commercial use, be honest enough to go out and BUY the rights to the image you use. Don't abuse someone on one of the free sites. The free sites are for casual users - not commercial users, which clearly you are. If you do use a "free" image, no complaints when someone rips you off.