Re: [Gimp-user] How can I create huge billboard sized files in super high dpi?

[Steve Kinney <admin pilobilus net>]

On 04/24/2012 09:44 PM, Tara Gover wrote:
> Hi guys,
>
> I am printing super high res images onto fabric.  My print guy has
> instructed me to create my images in 1440 dpi and my fabric is 58
> inches wide and about 80 yards long.  I need to create ONE image so
> they can just print it continuously along the whoe piece of fabric. 
> So I need to create a REALLY BIG image.  They have recommended Adobe
> Creative Suite, but of course I want to do it with GIMP. 
>
> Just today, I installed the latest GIMP, and it doesn't seem to be
> letting me create even a 58x72 inch image in 1440 dpi.  Is there an
> add on or a way that I can create huge tiff files in GIMP?.....or do
> I have to shell out the cash and get Creative Suite?

Hi Tara,

This is a strange one.

1440 dpi is indeed high resolution - digital images for use in
glossy magazine art, ads, etc. are usually specified as 600 dpi.
Any resolution over 100 dpi or so is completely wasted when printing
on cloth, no matter what the thread count.  "High resolution on
fabric" is a contradiction in terms.

A 58x72 inch image at 1440 dpi is not just big - it is big enough to
be impossible to process on a desktop computer due to memory, bus
speed and drive speed constraints.  We're talking 8.66 x 10^9 a.k.a.
8.66 gigapixels.  By contrast, a fairly decent digital SLR camera
photo has 18 megapixels, about 1/400 the requirement your printer
specified for a 58x72 image file.

It seems likely that what you want for a REALLY BIG image is a
vector format like SVG.  The "canonical" Free editor for that is
Inkscape.  Vector images can scale to any size from the head of a
pin to the side of a large building, with no loss of resolution.
Vector files do not store pixel values, they store mathematical
descriptions of shapes, colors, and gradients that are
"reconstructed" as images when viewed or printed.

You might want to double check with the printer about that
specification - unless I am missing something really basic here, it
has to be an error.

:o/

Steve