digital printing on a banner question?

[godstrong1 2]

what size should a picture image or file be, in order to get a good clear print quality on a 3"x8" banner? thanks 

[Rodger 527]

There is a sign letter size somewhere in here if you want to know what distance is considered readable . I assume the 3 inch X 8 inch banner is a typo error ? If you mean print quality , I don't have much experience in printing , but know that depends on how good the artwork is , the bigger the picture the more dpi you need to keep the image sharp . Example , my business card clipart is too poor quality to blow up to a 2' X 4' replica

  found it

  http://www.gotsigns.biz/LetterVisibilityChart.html

[jfought 120]

depends on the picture that you are using and what it is for. 72 dpi is ok for printing and it is kinda standard. never go any lower. let me know i can resize any pic that you need to almost any size up or down.

[john! 1]

I print usually in 150 DPI for super large graphics or 300 for others. 150 DPI usually gives decent quality and saves a not so big file also.

[bayotle 26]

correct me if i'm wrong  but vectors dont have the problem raster images have when blown up...

So if it is a vector, no matter the size it's going to look the same...

[jfought 120]

I print usually in 150 DPI for super large graphics or 300 for others. 150 DPI usually gives decent quality and saves a not so big file also.

you don't really need to print at 150 dpi, 72dpi is usually good for most everything. watch the print craft tutorials from aroara graphics they tell you to print their files at 72 dpi. now don't get me wrong i am not telling you that you are wrong just trying to help you reduce file size.

[godstrong1 2]

sorry i made a typo! i mean 3'x8' banner thanks ! 

[XLII-Guy 8]

depends on the picture that you are using and what it is for. 72 dpi is ok for printing and it is kinda standard. never go any lower. let me know i can resize any pic that you need to almost any size up or down.

I disagree...

I've been in the commercial printing industry for better than ten years and the standard resolution for commercial printing (business cards, brochures, postcards, etc...) is 300 dpi. A decade ago you could get away with 150 dpi as the bulk of the work that people saw was produced on older machines. On large format prints you could probably go as low as 130 as the viewer usually isn't holding the piece in their hands. (Things look clearer from a distance)

72 dpi is the standard for images on the web.

@bayotle You are correct, vector files scale to any size without losing quality. Raster images lose definition when scaled up.

[neron15210 10]

Sometimes the issue of "size" can be confusing, even to a seasoned graphic designer. First let me just say that DPI and PPI are different. DPI is Dots Per Inch and usually is a printer term, referring to how many dots of ink are being laid down horizontally and vertically in a square inch. This generally needs to be fairly high to get maximum coverage and to avoid actually seeing the individual dots. PPI is pixels per inch and often times graphic designers call this DPI for some reason. I suppose it is fine if you want to call your digital file's resolution DPI, but when you cross over into the print world it can get confusing (since they are two different things). PPI is your Pixels Per Inch, and this refers to your digital raster file's resolution.

If you think about it, this makes sense in a more simplistic way. (The following example isn't technically accurate for a couple of small reasons, but it will due to explain the core logic.) Say I have a file that is 1 pixel in size. That pixel is the color orange. Now I want to print it. If the PPI and the DPI were the same, how am I going to print this orange color? I need multiple dots of ink from the printer, not just one. I need both Magenta and Yellow, to create the orange color. In fact I might need more than just one of each, because there are different tones of orange. So it would make sense that generally, the DPI of a printer should be higher than the PPI of your file. This isn't always the case, but you get the picture I'm trying to paint here.

So you've got size (the real world dimensions) and you've got resolution (pixels per inch) of your file. We try to design anywhere from 72ppi - 150ppi when creating a file for print. It would be quite a task to even locate a raster graphic/photo that is (in its original raw format) at a greater resolution that 150ppi at the types of sizes used in wide format print. Again, some people are confused because they think: "Well my printer can PRINT in 720 DPI, so shouldn't I design my files in that?" No! Your computer would have a fit, even with 4 or more GB of RAM. At these banner sizes anyway.

So often times we'll tell someone who is getting a banner and is doing the design themselves: "Please just design to actual size at 150ppi". That means if they are ordering a 16'x2' banner (72ppi would probably be enough, but we'll use 150 since it's a rounder number) they would setup the document to be: 192 inches wide by 24 inches tall at 150 pixels per inch. Now sometimes people will design in... say... half the size but double the resolution. IE: 96 inches wide by 12 inches tall at 300 PPI. I have no idea why people do this. Technically, the file is the EXACT SAME SIZE. If you look at the actual pixels in the file, in both cases the file would be 28800 pixels wide by 3600 pixels high. So the digital data there, the quality of the file, is precisely the same. Often times people try and do this... half the size, quarter the size, or some other fraction, and then try to make up the difference by cranking up the "resolution". I'm not sure these people understand that fundamentally they aren't changing anything. (I think there's something in their mind about making that "resolution" number go up farther and thinking their print quality will increase.) So why not save yourself the trouble and set it to the actual dimensions. This might help a lot more down the road, when you're trying to figure out an exact position for a logo that needs to be so many inches away from the edge, or when a client asks you to change the text to be at least a foot high. Man it is so much easier to do these sorts of things when you're looking at a document with rulers that are showing actual inches so you don't have to do some sort of crazy conversion in your head.

So we try and design in 150ppi, but once the banners get larger (10 feet or longer) we usually switch over to 72ppi. There are two reasons for this. 1) Once your files get that large, at 150ppi it starts to really take a toll on your computer system resources. 2) Banners that are that big are usually not hung somewhere where people will be getting really close to them, so the resolution doesn't need to be quite so sharp. You'd be suprised how clearly 72ppi prints out anyway.

Now, we

[Booper 2]

^^^^^ Great write-up! Thanks Neron!

[XLII-Guy 8]

@neron

I concede to your knowledge of wide format printing. Like you said, (and I did too) most large format prints are viewed from a distance.

However, if you are having brochures, postcards, flyers, etc... printed by a professional print shop, your PPI should be 300. Have a look at some of the stock image sites (iStockPhoto, ShutterStock, etc...) and you will see that all of their raster images are set to a resolution of 300PPI. Granted, wide format is not my bread & butter and I believe you have a better handle on the industry standards than I, but when it comes to printing on paper, the standard is 300PPI.

[godstrong1 2]

SO BACK TO MY ORIGINAL QUESTION. DO I PRINT MY 3'X8' BANNER FILE IN 150 DPI OR PPI. OR  300 DPI? I TAKE IT FROM READING THE PREVIOUS POSTS THAT FOR LARGE COMMERCIAL PRINTS THE DPI IS LOWER, AND WHEN PRINTING SMALL PRINTS IT IS HIGHER. IS THIS CORRECT? THANKS

[neron15210 10]

I was just answering question from OP.

I still have a lot to learn.

[Rodger 527]

Neron , I thought you answered the OP ( Godstrong ) also . I'm not sure what all the caps are about

[neron15210 10]

@ godstrong1

I do not have intentions to be inpolite but,have you even read Any Of the responses above?

You've Asked questions And received answers, just read it And you will find answer.

[stetson5331 80]

SO BACK TO MY ORIGINAL QUESTION. DO I PRINT MY 3'X8' BANNER FILE IN 150 DPI OR PPI. OR  300 DPI? I TAKE IT FROM READING THE PREVIOUS POSTS THAT FOR LARGE COMMERCIAL PRINTS THE DPI IS LOWER, AND WHEN PRINTING SMALL PRINTS IT IS HIGHER. IS THIS CORRECT? THANKS

I print larger banners at 300 DPI to keep the text from pixalating...If you go to 72 it will look print may look jagged..

I am one that like a banner to look good up close or from a distance just my personal preference...

I design all my banners in Photo Shop so I set my stock DPI at 300...

Hope it helps

stetson5331

[godstrong1 2]

thanks! i think i got it! i was just a little confused. with the responses.

[bayshorecreations 30]

Heres a simple way to look at it.

The higher the DPI is the sharper and clearer the image will look!

I personally will NOT print anything lower than 120 DPI.