Need advice on making a big banner

[Golden1245]

I'm making a medium sized banner about 77 inches x 25 inches. I'm doing the graphics on lettering and graphics on photoshop. What should I save the file as when I take it to Kinkos or a reprographics store to have the whole thing printed out?

I was thinking about leaving it in .PSD format or even JPEG...should I save it in a higher quality format?

[kameraguy]

Last I heard, Kinkos prefers .PDF files: http://www.sportsshooter.com/message_display.html?tid=21859

However, if you can afford the wait, apparently www.elcocolor.com (http://www.elcocolor.com) is the shizz....

[Golden1245]

Hmm, can't wait, I need it by monday, tuesday at the lastest heh

So how do i save something as a .PDF file from photoshop?

[Renn 208]

I've had good experiences with www.megaprint.com for large format. quick turn, and personal service. Also, PDFs are a must. I can't recall if PS has a "save to PDF" option off the top of my head, otherwise you'll have to find someone with PS and Acrobat Pro.

[Golden1245]

well...i have photoshop and adobe acrobat reader...will that suffice for converting a normal jpeg/psd to pdf format?

what if i leave it as a jpeg, will the quality deteriorate terrible when printed out in a large format?

[redline]

Don't do Jpeg, if anything, do psd or tiff or something that uses looseless compression. I'm pretty sure you can save as a .pdf file, I know you can open a .pdf in photoshop, so it would make sense.

[Renn 208]

Okay, so I unlazied my self, and it CS doesn't appear to have a "save to pdf" function. Like Mark said, .tiff would be your next best bet. In any case, I'd call your printer and ask if they accept psd or tiffs. Or find someone with Acrobat Pro. Reader's not enough...also, since you said you need it by monday...take another look at megaprint. You can upload your file directly tonight. They'll print it out tomorrow, and fedex it to you by monday. As I recall, they don't charge a grip for 1 day turns, so really it's just the shipping...which isn't that much either, as I've done larger 4-color banners than 77x25

[Golden1245]

Thanks for the info Renn, I did end up going to megaprint with a overnight service. The banner they made looked awesome. :)

[Renn 208]

no worries...glad things turned out just fine.