Any Help for a beginner?

[eliasbo]

Well i was on the photoshop forum looking for some help and after some days i have been told that i have to look for a better help in here.

In fact i don't know about illustrator, i'm more familiar with photoshop, so i appreciate if i can find anyone that can give me the help in what i need first and also give me more info about illustrator and when i should use it instead of photoshop (i have the version CS1 illust. and CS2 photoshop) on my pc.

My project was to make an advertisement or board. the print size will be 120cm (width) x 40cm (high), and i have been told on the phot. forum to use 120cm x 40cm at a resolution of 300 dpi for the new file that i want to make.

Anyway this i can do but after sending the files i have to the persons that they were helping me i got this answer:

"Having looked at the images, I'd say you have two choices:

Start a new image in Photoshop, set to 120cmx40cm@300ppi and redo the image

from scratch, or:

Go to the Illustrator forum on this website and ask if anyone can convert the image

to a vector graphic, enlarge it, and resave in Photoshop format.

The original image you sent me is 5cm x 4 cm. trying to enlarge anything that much

in Photoshop would produce catastrophic results. Vector graphics are much easier

to enlarge, and your images are of the type that would make good vector graphics.

I have only a very basic knowledge of Illustrator, and I'm sure that you could find

someone in the other forum that would do a much better job."

I hope there is someone in here ready to look to these images. if so give me an email or desired site (like http://files-upload.com) so i can upload or send you the files i have

ok looking to hear some good news and you can also take a look on the photoshop forum to see my thread and how the discussion went.

Thanks a lot in advance,

[jayluebs]

I'm not sure exactly what you're asking here, but maybe this will be helpful: When working in Photoshop, you should always create the image at the final size you want it to be. Always. To save file size, your dpi can go down to 266. I work with printing companies and 266 dpi is what we always use - it's the lowest dpi you can go while still keeping the final print at full print quality. I'm not sure why the other person was saying to have your 5cmx4cm vectorized so you can enlarge it - depending on the actual design this may or may not work. You should just re-do the design at the larger size.

As far as whether to use illustrator or photoshop - I personally think that Illustrator is always the first choice - unless you are going to be doing a lot of work with photos. If your image is mainly graphics, you should always use Illustrator. That way it can be enlarged easily. Illustrator is also MUCH easier and faster to use with large designs. File sizes are also much smaller. If you need to integrate photos into your design, you can always work on them in Photoshop and then bring them into Illustrator. However, a colleague of mine always uses Photoshop for their designs, because that's what they've always done and they don't like Illustrator. So it can be a matter of personal preference, and what works best for you - but when it comes to file size, convenience and compatibility, Illustrator is the best choice.

Hope that helps.

[jayluebs]

If you still need help with something and want me to look at your images, send them to jay@mustangmapping.com.