1
\$\begingroup\$

The company I work for is wants to order this 10ft banner for a trade show:

https://www.postupstand.com/all-products/led-and-digital/lightbox-displays/10-lux-seg-backlit-pop-up-display.html

They want a photo of a plan-o-gram (picture attached) to put on the backdrop. Myself and another person (we are both graphic designers) have tried taking the photo and editing it, but when we send it to the printer, they have told us the photo is pixelated and not usable to go on a 10ft x 8ft banner. We have hired a professional photographer to come in and take the photo hoping that whatever he does and whatever he has will be better. My question is, will his actually be better? I'm sure he has a better camera, and he said he has lighting, but will those things make a difference? Does anyone have any suggestions what would be needed to make this work so that the photo is clear when placed on the 10ft backdrop?planogram that photographer will take photo of

what we want banner to look like but clear at 10ft

Improve this question
\$\endgroup\$

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
2
\$\begingroup\$

In your link of the banner, see its link at right about Printing Specifications.

Says 150 dpi minimum. Says safe printing size is 112 x 83 inches.

So the Minimum image size (to fill the entire full 112x83 inch area with picture) is

(112 inch x 150 dpi) x (83 inch x 150 dpi) = 16800 x 12450 pixels

But probably the image is printed smaller, to leave plenty of room for surrounding text.

So, you definitely need to show your photographer those details, including the required size that you want your image printed. Talk to the banner company if you have questions.

Improve this answer
\$\endgroup\$
2
  • \$\begingroup\$ You would need to find someone with bleeding edge medium format gear to actually get 16800 x 12450 pixels ... this is about five times what the best "full frame" sensors will deliver, and likely also above the capabilities of any 35mm film. \$\endgroup\$
    – rackandboneman
    Commented Aug 31, 2018 at 16:38
  • \$\begingroup\$ At a distance of 2 meters, 50 dpi should be enough to avoid perceiving "pixels". I doubt that advertisement in the subway are printed with 300 dpi :) \$\endgroup\$
    – Olivier
    Commented Aug 31, 2018 at 16:56
1
\$\begingroup\$

I'm not exactly sure what sort of DPI they're expecting to print at - you'd have to ask them. But, just for the sake of argument, let's say it's 72 DPI. That's probably a bit much for the typical viewing distance of a banner like this, but it's a place to start. An 10ft x 8ft banner has a 5:4 aspect ratio, which is closer to square than the typical 3:2 aspect ratio of a DSLR sensor, so the image will have to be cropped. If we align the 8ft edge with the short edge of the sensor, the corresponding long edge would give 12ft. 72 DPI * 8ft * 12in/ft would give a short-edge resolution of 6912, and thus a long edge resolution of 10368. That would mean about a 72MP camera. The Canon EOS 5DS R is about a 50MP camera, which, I think is the highest MP sensor in Canon's current lineup. Nikon probably has something in the same ballpark. But the bottom line is, you may need to take several shots carefully so that you can merge them into a larger image, in order to obtain the resolution you need for this banner.

Improve this answer
\$\endgroup\$
1
  • \$\begingroup\$ Your photographer could rent an 80MP camera from places like lensrentals.com. Or take two (or more) shots using a 40MP camera and combining them in Photoshop to make one image of a much higher resolution. \$\endgroup\$
    – frank
    Commented Aug 28, 2018 at 21:16
0
\$\begingroup\$

I would suggest shooting the image as a mosaic of many photos (roughly 5x5 or 25 photos) then stitching them together to produce the huge file you apparently want.

Leave enough overlap on each shot to edge match. You'll need a healthy size computer to edit it, but it should be within reason.

Improve this answer
\$\endgroup\$

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.