TIFF file size for printing.

[Simon Wantling]

Hi all, I could really do with some advice. I'm starting to doing some photography for clients. I'm processing the images in LR4 and photoshop cc. After the photoshop work I'm flattening the images, however the resulting file sizes are massive and often to big to upload to my website or send for printing. Most images are in excess of 100mb.

can you possibly tell me how you guys save files for printing when processed in photoshop and can I limit the file size without compression and losing quality. When printing for a client I want to produce the best image possible.

thanks
Simon

[Don Lacy]

For your website you will need to down sample the image for the web here is a quick tutorial on how to save an image for the web http://www.birdphotographers.net/for...-for-Web-in-PS.
For printing I have not had any issues sending large files to my print lab using their ROES software it might take awhile depending on your internet speed but they should be able to handle the files now my print lab only takes jpegs which reduces my 100mb files down to about 50mb . Who do you use for printing and how do they want the files.

[Simon Wantling]

Thanks Don. I should have been more explicit. I always down size my images for the web. It was a problem when saving tiff files for printing and sending to a lab. The last file I tried was 125mb which they didnt accept. My issue is though that I've been saving as 16bit tiff files . When I drop it to 8bit then the file size is much more manageable. I assume there shouldn't be much image loss visible on a 16 x 12 print at 8 bit. There are no smooth gradients in this particular image.

[Diane Miller]

Keep your master file as a layered 16 bit and save a flat 8-bit copy to send to the printer. First flatten and THEN convert to 8 bit or you have lost the advantage of working in 16 bits.

[Don Lacy]

The bit depth is really only important during image manipulation once you have the file right and a master copy saved without any sharpening you should produce a print file of the image one were it is sized and sharpen for the print at this stage you can change the image from 16 to 8 bits and it will have no effect on image quality.

[John Chardine]

I will add that you would be hard-pressed to see the difference between a high-quality jpg (saved at 8 or higher) and a tif in the final print, but the jpg file would of course be much smaller.

[Diane Miller]

The bit depth is really only important during image manipulation once you have the file right and a master copy saved without any sharpening you should produce a print file of the image one were it is sized and sharpen for the print at this stage you can change the image from 16 to 8 bits and it will have no effect on image quality.

But, to clarify in which order the flattening should occur, the 16-bit depth has made tonal transitions smoother (less posterization) as you did adjustment layers. That layered file should be your master file. When you create your print file, if you convert to 8 bits before you flatten those layers, you only have the tonal range of an 8 bit file in any tonal manipulations. You loose the 16-bit advantage. Flatten, then convert to 8 bits.

I'm sure you know this, but it's a point that is often not specified clearly.

[DickLudwig]

Simon to answer your original question see if your printer uses Dropbox www.dropbox.com. If he does it is an easy and free way to send large files via the internet.