Creating a poster size image in Painter

[This_Jen]

I'm brand new to Painter (just purchased Painter X) and this forum.
I've been searching (without success) on how to create an image in Painter that can be printed to poster size (18x24) without losing image quality.

I've used mostly Illustrator for creating printed graphics using CMYK colors and 300ppi. (Files sent to professional printer.)

Any advice on how I set the resolution for creating an image of this size in Painter?
Or do I have to pull the Painter image into Photoshop or something else to ready for printing?

I hope this isn't way too beginner of a question to be posing. Thanks in advance.

[Doug]

Check out the Painter HELP. The section that you want is probably : 'Printer', then subsection 'quality' :

"Resolution and Print Quality
The resolution of output devices (printers) is measured in dots per inch, and in the case of halftones, lines per inch (lpi). Output device resolutions vary, depending on the type of press and paper used. In general, a photograph is output at a crisp 150 lpi if printed on glossy magazine stock, and at 85 lpi if printed on newspaper stock.

If you are using a personal laser or inkjet printer, set your document size in inches, centimeters, points, or picas at the dots-per-inch setting specific to your printer. Most printers produce excellent output from images set at 300 ppi. Increasing the file’s pixels-per-inch setting does not necessarily improve the output and may create a large, unwieldy file.

If you are using a commercial printer or a more sophisticated output device, the dimensions of the image should always be set to the actual size that you want the image to appear in the printed piece. A good rule of thumb is to set the number of pixels per inch to twice the desired lines per inch. So, at 150 lpi, the setting should be twice that, or 300 ppi; at 85 lpi, the setting should be 170 ppi. It’s a good idea to check with your service bureau if you have questions about output device resolution. "

Hope that helps.

Cheers

[Jinny Brown]

Hi This Jen,

This JIN here.

A Painter Canvas is not set up in dots per inch.

The Painter Canvas Resolution is set in pixels per inch (PPI) just as you said when mentioning having used 300 ppi.

To be sure to get the appropriate and accurate information, contact your print shop expert and ask them for the Resolution (PPI, or pixels per inch) to use when setting up your image, that will work best with their print machines.

You may not need as high a Resolution as 300 ppi, depending on the kind of image it is (i.e. sharp edges and/or text or soft watercolor), whether or not it will be enlarged when printed, at what distance it will be viewed, the surface it will be printed on, and the print machine on which it will be printed.

As to CMYK and Corel Painter:

Painter only works in RGB though there are two file formats we can use when saving files from Painter that, when saving, give us the option to save in either RGB or CMYK:

• PSD
• TIFF

Most artists who have both Corel Painter and Photoshop take the finished Painter art into Photoshop to make final color adjustments before printing, if any are needed.

Be aware that even though there are some things the two programs have in common (i.e. Layers), saving to PSD will cause Painter-specific information to be lost so if you think there's a chance you'll want to work on the image later, always save in RIFF format before saving in PSD format.

I always save in RIFF format because there's so much that's kept and controlled only by Painter that it's not worth taking the chance of losing anything. Also, I often decide to work on an image again many months, or even years later. Clearly, I wouldn't always know that far in advance if I'd need to work on the RIFF file again.

Better safe than sorry, so RIFF first, even if I need to also save the file in PSD format.


Jin

[This_Jen]

Thanks so much for all of the helpful info!