Creating Exhibition Stand Graphics 1

[chazmania]

Hey there,

Does anyone know if using Photoshop is the ideal program to use to create large scale graphics? (exhibiton stands)

There is an exhibiton coming up and I am creating the Promotional graphics. The images are so large that processing a 'move', 'cut' and layer - pretty much anything take forever to happen. It's making the job take longer than it should.

Any suggestions how I can get around this?

 

[TrojanWarBlade]

You need RAM and lots of it!


Trojan.

 

[Dweezel]

Do the graphics need to be bitmaps? If they do then yes, Photoshop is the ideal tool.

If they don't then you could make vector designs in Adobe Illustrator. Vector designs can be scaled to any size without loss of quality.

What sort or computer are you using? (processor, RAM etc).

If you do use Photoshop with large files, make sure your memory settings are optimised. Go to Edit > Preferences > Memory and Image Cache, and set the RAM alocation up to about 95%.

 

[chazmania]

Thanks for your advice and comments Dweezel and Trogan.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Dweezel,

The graphics that I am creating have to be in a .jpg format.
I guess the best thing to use is Adobe Illustrator, I thought I might have to.

Does this mean that in Illustrator I can create the graphics on a small size and the change the image size and the quality will remain?

 

[Dweezel]

In a bitmap graphic all the pixels are defined with a specific colour value, so the bigger the image you're working on, the more pixels will need to be defined and the larger the file size will be.

Vector graphics use mathamatical formulas to define shapes. The shapes can then be scaled to any size without effecting quality or file size.

Here's a good explanation:

http://www.prepressure.com/image/bitmapvector.htm

Another thing to remember is to set your documents to CMYK colour. When you create a new document you'll see the 'colour mode' selection box. You'll need to select CMYK.

The default is usually RGB. Many of the colours that you can set in RGB mode aren't reproducible when printing, as they use a colour gamut that is for computer monitors and not printers. CMYK(cyan,magenta,yellow and black) mode will only allow you to select colours that standard printing methods can reproduce.

 

[Dweezel]

Another link:

http://www.logodesignworks.com/vector-raster-file-types-package.htm

 

[chazmania]

Thanks so much for your advice/guidance.
Its been a real help!