Making a poster in photoshop

[scoob19]

Hi guys, this probably isnt even the proper place to post a question like this, but i like this forum and thought id give it a shot..so here goes.

Im using photoshop to make an "upcoming events" poster for a restaurant that will be mounted on posterboard after printing. The print will be 24" x 36", and i am using a dpi setting of 450.

Will this be a high enough resolution? I can't imagine using any higher of one because my file size is already around 1 GB, i just want to make sure that dpi i am using is a high enough resolution.

If anyone happens to know of a good photoshop or printing forum where this would fit better id appreciate a link Thanks guys!

[MJCfromCT]

just curious, where are you going to go to print that?

[dragflameson]

Originally posted by scoob19
Im using photoshop to make an "upcoming events" poster for a restaurant that will be mounted on posterboard after printing. The print will be 24" x 36", and i am using a dpi setting of 450.

Will this be a high enough resolution?

It should look fine. I'm assuming this isn’t exactly going to be right in front of the people who will be looking at it.. it will probably be hanging up somewhere, right? Because from further away it should look perfect

[urdvurk]

For a poster that size 450dpi is way too much. 450dpi would amount to a document of 10800x16200, which would be plenty for any system sold today.

150dpi would be good, even 72dpi would be acceptable for a poster that size. Even small photo prints are usually only around 300dpi, to give you an idea. Like MJCfromCT said, where are you going to get it printed?

[scoob19]

I also did menus for the restaurant on 8.5" x 14" at 300 dpi and they look really nice, so i thought it might have to be at a higher resolution to get it to look good.

Basically, when you walk in the doors to the restaurant, this will posterboard will be on an easel for people to see what events/live music/etc.. will be coming up soon. So i would say people will be relatively close to it. To get it printed ill be going to a company called Print King ( http://www.printking.net/ ) in PA (about 5 minutes from the restaurant).

[urdvurk]

As the print size gets larger, you can use a lower resolution because people will not be as close to it. For comparison, you can take a look at other posters. If you look at them from really up close, you'll see the resolution is not that high.

On the other hand, if there is a lot of detail or fine print on the poster, a higher resolution might be preferable.

I would have a word with the people from the printing company, they'll be able to tell you more about what they can do and give advice as to what resolution you should use.

[dragflameson]

The bigger the image the more DPI the better it will look.. not less DPI

[scoob19]

As the print size gets larger, you can use a lower resolution because people will not be as close to it.

But if you are looking at it fairly close (from a couple feet away), i dont think i can afford to lower the resolution.

[dragflameson]

Originally posted by scoob19
But if you are looking at it fairly close (from a couple feet away), i dont think i can afford to lower the resolution.

450 DPI will be good... you could probably go a little lower too, if you wanted.. if there was that much of a difference in price

[urdvurk]

Originally posted by dragflameson
The bigger the image the more DPI the better it will look.. not less DPI

Tell you what (scoob19 that is), why don't you go to the printing company and say you want a 24"x36" poster at 450dpi. Then post here what they said to you.

Originally posted by scoob19
But if you are looking at it fairly close (from a couple feet away), i dont think i can afford to lower the resolution.

Do people look at your menus from a couple of feet away?

Like I said before: even photo prints, small ones, are only 300 dpi. So why does a large poster need to have a higher resolution?

[scoob19]

Like I said before: even photo prints, small ones, are only 300 dpi. So why does a large poster need to have a higher resolution?

k fair enough, 300 should be good enough...thanks

[IanMatthew]

One question, why are you using Photoshop?

If your poster contains little if any text, and is more graphic orientated, I can understand to a limitrd extent.

However, I'd have thought something like Illustrator, Coreldraw or Freehand would be better suited. As these are vector applications, you'll find the filesizes generated will be a lot less than 1Gb, which sounds quite frightening.

I myself would use InDesign...but that's me. Each to his / her own.

[urdvurk]

That's a good point. A very good point in fact.

[scoob19]

2 reasons:

1) I dont really know InDesign, although i am learning it right now...ive been using Photoshop fo 5-6 years and just am more comfortable with it and know its features better.

2) There is very little text, only 3 words i think.

Once i make the poster in 300 dpi and flatten layers i dont think the file size will be any bigger than 200 mb.