# Filesize too big



## pongerts (Jun 28, 2009)

Good day once again to the folks of TPF!

Ei! I've got a questions once again.

Whenever I edit a photo in photoshop and get it read for printing,
I always end up with a huge file! And by huge I mean something around
300MB of a file! And that's only for a picture of around 1.5m x 1.25m and
a resolution of +/- 200dpi. And there was another time when I edited a backdrop for printing, I ended up to around 600MB for a 2.5m x 1.75m/300dpi image.

Is this just right? Does converting a picture (or a layer) into a smart object contribute to this enormous size?

Thanks again! I know we've got a lot of folks here who are very knowledgeable on these kinds of stuff!


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## manaheim (Jun 28, 2009)

What colorspace and bitrate are you working in?  Both of those could affect this and wouldn't surprise me at all if you had a pic that size.  Some of my bigger ones are 200+.


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## musicaleCA (Jun 28, 2009)

Annnd, file format. TIFFs are gigantic, if you keep layers. If you toss the layers and apply some compression, TIFFs are far less scary.


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## pongerts (Jun 28, 2009)

I believe that it's an 8bit image.
and I save them as jpgs.

But is it just normal to have that range of files when sending them out to print?


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## Peano (Jun 28, 2009)

pongerts said:


> I believe that it's an 8bit image.
> and I save them as jpgs.
> 
> But is it just normal to have that range of files when sending them out to print?



I'm not sure I'm understanding you: You end up with *jpegs* that are 300 MB? What are the pixel dimensions (W x H) of these images?


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## Dwig (Jun 28, 2009)

pongerts said:


> ...something around
> 300MB of a file! And that's only for a picture of around 1.5m x 1.25m and
> a resolution of +/- 200dpi....



*ONLY for a 1.5m x 1.25m x 200dpi image!!*

What you are seeing is normal. These are very large images at high resoluiton. (for the math crippled out there, this a 58"x47"image that at 200ppi works out to around 11800 x 9450 pixels). Even at 8bpp that's going to be a large file if saved as a TIFF or PSD. Add to that multiple layers, and the file can get huge.

Any layer with bitmap data, actual image or layer mask, adds a lot of bulk to the file. Adjustment Layers can be compact, but if you add a Layer Mask they aren't. Ond Adjustment Layer with a mask adds about 30-35% to the file size. Adding a full color background leaving two layers can easily double the file size.


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## Error (Jul 6, 2009)

Open your image in adobe photoshop then save as to a 'new filename' but make sure to adjust the image options quality such as Low, Medium, High, & Maximum. By that, your image sizes will reduce to a smaller bytes. Doesn't matter whatever dpi that you have as long as you save it in a smaller quality like this...


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## Big Mike (Jul 6, 2009)

Error said:


> Open your image in adobe photoshop then save as to a 'new filename' but make sure to adjust the image options quality such as Low, Medium, High, & Maximum. By that, your image sizes will reduce to a smaller bytes. Doesn't matter whatever dpi that you have as long as you save it in a smaller quality like this...



But you don't want to use 'low' (or even medium) when sending the files for printing....do you?

I've found that you can drastically reduce the file size by saving at around 90% quality (11 out of 12...one notch down).  I usually prefer to save my files for print at 100%...but for larger files, the difference in file size might be worth it.  

You might consider reducing the resolution.  200 PPI might be more than you need for a print that large.  Remember to take into account the normal viewing distance for something that size.  It's probably something like 5-10m...and at that distance, you probably can't tell the difference between 200 PPI and 150 PPI.


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## Error (Jul 6, 2009)

Yes I play around with 10-12 if the photos will be posted at any website forum but If you need a good photo quality when you print it... make sure that the resolution of your image will set to 300 pixel/inch for 8x10" print size & for 4x6 print size a 100 pixel/inch is enough to get a good quality of your images. I used Genuine Fractals Express plug-in to adjust or resize my photos in able not to destroy the image quality of my work.


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