page size issue

hi guys
i have designed a 10ft x 2ft banner to be printed on a large printer, i can export the background image (which is 10ft x 2ft itself) as a jpeg, but not as a pdf.

am i right in thinking xara only exports what is on the page area only as a pdf? i cant seem to select the background image and export as a pdf.

when trying to create a 10ft x 2ft page size, xara gives me an error saying 9ft is the maximum. so i cant now create the page size to the dimensions required so i can export as a pdf.

is there any way i can get around this? maybe designing it at 5ft x 1ft and then zooming 200% on the pdf before print?

i hope someone understands my ramblings..

Hi,
Go on the layer flyout and slect background layer>properties and see if background is printable? I think the background layer is not printable by default.
JImM

How is the banner being printed Herb?

A PDF file is a scalable document, unless you have bitmap images which do not scale up very well.

Create your PDF document at a size that scales up, such as 10 inches by 2 inches. If your material is vector and not bitmap it should scale up fine. But it depends on how you intend to print the banner.

Please provide more details.

Why need print in pdf when jpeg work? Easier on the printer making the jpeg print?

Use PDF if you can and Gary's advice is good. If you have a bitmap make the res. dependant on your scaling factor so that it ends up around the 150 dpi when scaled. Don't ask what the res. would be a the start as it is too early in the morning here for me to do that!

hi guys
the document is a mixture of vectors and bitmaps (digital photos included), i design at 100% so that i can be sure the end-print will look ok
im sure scaling up wouldnt be a problem

angela, im going to check with the printer if they accept jpegs, im thinking export the jpegs at 300dpi??? thats what my usual pdfs are at.

gary, it will be printed on a 63" UV printer, how do i make sure a jpeg has the correct CMYK colours?

thanks for all help

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gary, it will be printed on a 63" UV printer, how do i make sure a jpeg has the correct CMYK colours?

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You would have to convert the JPEG to CMYK in Photoshop. Xara can export a CMYK TIFF but this is going to produce a very large file.

But I would check the resolution. I seriously doubt the banner will be printed at 300dpi. For a print ad or flyer or brochure, absolutely. But for a banner that sounds like it is way too high.

What I should have said yesterday that if your bitmaps are 600 dpi then you can scale your page size x 4, if your bitmaps are 300 then you can scale your page x 2, to get the scaled version to 150 dpi which would be enough for your banner to print with reasonable quality. No pixelisation if there is such a word so therefore PDF would be the way to go. Don't use Jpegs as they are in RGB unless your printers are willing to process your picture which costs more. If you take your Jpeg into PS then you will need to correct the out of gamut colours if you want to save it in CMYK colour which can take time and practice so watch that area as well.

gary, its actually printing at 1200dpi(!), high quality vinyl to be precise

ive used this printer before, it just seems like xara is incapable of exporting a design (within a document) which is 10ft x 2ft, because 9ft is the maximum page size (file> page options>)

albacore, i always use pdfs, when i select the background image and export as pdf, it just exports the page area only, which is incorrect
when trying to set up the page size as 10' x 2', i get the warning from Xara: 'The page width you have entered is invalid. It must be a positive, non-zero measurement, maximum for page and margins is about 9ft (2.75M), minimum about 0.5inch (1.3cm)'

i think the scaling option is best, but havent tried it yet

Please do. I really don't think you need that res. 1200! Now I have done a few over 12 different very high res A3+ posters on really high quality paper and it was printed, the best ones, at 600 dpi. Yes I have done a few vinyl banners, 3 in total and I did not need that quality. Did the printer tell you that the res. must be 1200? as the local printer in my area who does the vinyl printing and cutting for me hardly knows what 600 dpi looks like and his printer would not cope with anything higher.

albacore, what i mean is my pdfs are usually exported at 300dpi, which are printed at 1200dpi on the UV printer, always came out perfect

i think my best option is to create a page-size 5ft x 1ft and export that as a pdf. then scale up the pdf to 200% on print

wish me luck!

If when exporting your PDF's instead of picking the "Commercial Printing" dialogue you go to "Custom, and the click, Advance Options" under the General Tab untick "Optimise for fast web viewing" then hit the Object tab go straight down to Rasterization Resolution click on "Custom" and there enter your 600 dpi and then check "Limit the Bitmap Resolution to Rasterization Resolution" or something like that just in case you forget to Optimise any bitmaps. If you dont want to pay for any fonts that you have used which are not system the check the box to turn text to shapes. There are a few other tricks that you select if a lot of the page is transparent but it is not that important. The way shows you how to increase your dpi in a PDF.