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swhinck
swhinck
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PSD too large to place?

Oct 19, 2011 8:34 AM

Tags: #illustrator #printing

Hello all,

 

I have created a background image in Photoshop to place in my Illustrator document as its background. The PSD is about 300MB and every time I try to place it my Illustrator just hangs.

I have tried waiting about 15 minutes and it still does not end up placing.

 

I am forced to save the background as a JPEG and then place/open the JPEG in Illustrator.

 

But best practice for the print shop is to place the PSD in the background correct?

 

So how do you handle it when the background image is so heavy?

 

Any help appreciated!

678 Views   8 Replies   Latest reply: swhinck, Oct 19, 2011 1:42 PM
 
Replies
  • steve fairbairn
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    1. steve fairbairn,
    Oct 19, 2011 8:37 AM   in reply to swhinck
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    Are you linking or embedding the image?

    Linking shouldn't normally present any problems.

     
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  • swhinck
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    2. swhinck,
    Oct 19, 2011 8:47 AM   in reply to steve fairbairn
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    Im linking it.

    File > Place

     

    For printing purposes, it is better to link the PSD file than it is to link a JPEG/TIFF right?

    That way I can work in RGB on the PSD, trying to respect printing color limits, then the print shop can do their best to match the results I am after?

     
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  • swhinck
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    3. swhinck,
    Oct 19, 2011 8:52 AM   in reply to swhinck
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    hmm, i merged as many layers together as I could while retaining some editablity and got the PSD down to 182MB.

    I was then able to link it but now it's hanging on trying to save the AI.

     

    The file size had something to do with it but I dont know why?

     
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  • steve fairbairn
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    4. steve fairbairn,
    Oct 19, 2011 9:01 AM   in reply to swhinck
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    File > Place tells me nothing. I suspect your files must be embedded for them to be causing trouble.

     

    If the files are linked they show up with a diagonal cross when you select them and you will see them in the Links palette.

    If they are embedded you won't get the cross and your Illie file will be much heavier and more unwieldy.

    Files can sometimes get accidentally embedded, for example if you have Shift Lock down or if you press Shift while placing or dragging from the Finder.

     

    Do nor embed unless you really need to.

     
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  • swhinck
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    5. swhinck,
    Oct 19, 2011 9:21 AM   in reply to steve fairbairn
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    The PSD is linked, it has the cross.

     

    I may be wrong but when I select "File > Place" it never embeds the image.

    The only way I know how to embed is to use "File > Open".

     

    Anyway the file is definitely linked, I finally got it to save too, just had to wait 3 or 5 minutes for it to finally write the file!

     

    I know it has something to do with file size (at least I am pretty convinced) because in reducing the file size of the linked image, I was able to finally import it and save the AI file.

     

    Hope this isnt a computer issue cause I certainly dont need to spend the money on a new one!!!

     
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  • steve fairbairn
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    6. steve fairbairn,
    Oct 19, 2011 9:35 AM   in reply to swhinck
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    Hmmm, strange.

    Of course for printing purposes it may be o.k. to use LZW TIFF, especially if you need transparency.

     

    JPG  is usually only used for work in RGB, although if you embed a JPG into a CMYK file the colours will be converted to CMYK. O.k. if you like but JPG is never transparent. Remember too that JPG is lossy so it should be used with discretion and peferably never re-saved.

     

    PNG is (or can be) transparent in RGB but if converted to CMYK by embedding it will also loose its transparency.

     

    And then there's the old EPS format which works well in either RGB or CMYK, but it can never be transparent.

     
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  • Larry G. Schneider
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    7. Larry G. Schneider,
    Oct 19, 2011 1:14 PM   in reply to swhinck
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    Were you trying to save the AI file with PDF Compatibility enabled?  If so, then the image is embedded in the PDF portion of the file and can cause problems.

     
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  • swhinck
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    8. swhinck,
    Oct 19, 2011 1:42 PM   in reply to Larry G. Schneider
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    I think you might be onto it here.

    I resaved without PDF compatibility and the AI file size went from 34MB to 299KB!

    It seems to open and save easier now, but I am not sure if this was the problem or not.

     

    I appreciate the help!

     
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