[generationfourt]

http://www.design.iastate.edu/LABS/t...lltut0001.html

Ok this tutuorial is basically explaining how to change and resize the linked images so the total .ai document file size is significantly smaller. I'm putting together a portfolio on illustrator (would rather do it on indesign but i dont have it) and putting 2-3 .eps files in makes the file size unnecessarily big. it would be nice to have 8-9 mb files rather than 20+mb's.

I read through it once and thought it was pretty simple but after a few run throughs im now completely confused . I probably re-read it a good 30 times last night and now im more confused on the steps.

this is what I'm getting from it:
1. open eps, resave it under a diff name (ie:"smaller") and I'm guessing as an .eps
2. select the whole image and scale it down to the appropiate size, then save file
3. (this is where I get confused). it says to open the files "you'd like to resize" in photoshop and scale them down to the same %'s. Do I open the "smaller".eps and resize it? or the normal sized .eps?
4. then back to illustrator, open "smaller" file and then link it to the file you just resized
5. then copy it into the page

I tried quite a few times and everytime I ended up with a file size bigger than what I started with When I resize it in photoshop and save it as an .eps the file seems to "grow"...

[Thorzdad]

For one, there is no reason for the images to be .eps files. Tiff will do just fine. Jpeg if the file is strictly for onscreen viewing.
Which version of Illustrator are you using? If CS, when the Save dialog appears, make sure "Create PDF compatable file" is unchecked. That will save some file size.

I'm not sure what trick the tutorial is trying to pull. Resizing an image in Illustrator doesn't affect the actual size of the image. It merely changes the display of the image.
open the image in Photoshop and re-size it to the size you want. Then save it as a .tif. File size is largely determined by image resolution. How will the final piece be reproduced? Offset printing? Then make the image 300dpi. PDF for on-screen viewing? 72 dpi will be okay...and if it's for onscreen viewing only, make the image a jpeg, to make the filesize even smaller.

After that, place the new image into your Illustrator file. It should now appear at its smaller size. As a general rule (if you are sending the file out for offset printing) you should not re-scale an image in Illustrator as this does not accomplish the necessary re-sampling that Photoshop accomplishes. This will result in obvious pixelization and other artifacts, depending on how severe the scaling is. And do not embed the images. That will really drive-up the Illustrator file size.

Hope this helps some.

[generationfourt]

wow thanks thorzdad thats helping a lot. mainly because this is the first time i've ever put something together. ill have to resave them and uncheck create pdf compatable file. I don't know why but I completely forgot about tiff and for some reason felt that eps would be the right pick.

I was going to try and desktop print it myself on some heavier paper but I think I will have to go somewhere else and have it offset printed. is there any special way I need to arrange the .ai for offset printing?

[Thorzdad]

IF you take the file to a printer, and you haven't converted any type to paths, you will need to include the fonts on the disk. Usually, if it's just a couple of headlines or something, I convert to paths. Long body texts, I leave as is and include the fonts.

You actually might be able to get away with doing some desktop printing, depending on your printer. Some cheap inkjets are capable of some really nice output. Just depends on what this is for. Unless what you are doing is for a well-paying commercial job, I don't think I'd bother going to a commercial printer...at least not for offset work. $$$

General rules for setting up an illustrator file IF you are sending it to a printer:
-Include all fonts on the disc
-Include all placed images on the disc
-Make sure your crops are set correctly. And, no, setting the artboard to the size of the paper doesn't count. Set some crop marks. And remember to bleed any images that you want to print to the edge of the page.
-Delete any empty layers. Unlock ALL layers.
-If you are using spot colors (like Pantone colors) try to put them on their own layer. If you used Pantone colors just because it's a nice color (that is, you don't actually need that exact color for a logo or something) convert the color to CMYK. Otherwise, the printer will assume you mean the spot color to print as a 5th color. $$$$
-Search and destroy any stray points
-Going to a commercial printer? Your file needs to be CMYK...preferably with an assigned color profile. Photoshop 5 CMYK will work fine as a generic profile. Make sure any placed images have been converted to the same color profile. Wackiness can happen if they are not.
-Go easy on the transparency effects. A lot of printers still have some problems handling some of these.
-If you have black text, convert it to grayscale 100% black. This should ensure there are no mistakes and your text is built in CMYK. I've seen it happen. Nasty. Oh, and, if you've set black text, and then added a transparency effect (like a drop shadow) the text WILL be built in CMYK when seperated. That's just what happens. There ARE workarounds, though.

There's a whole lot more low-level stuff that you can do to ensure you give the printer a good clean file. Too much to go into here. If you decide to go to a printer, talk to them and ask them how they prefer to get the file. Some will be fine with a stock .ai file. Some will prefer you save it as an Illustrator eps file (different from a Photoshop eps file) Just depends.

[th3ph17]

i think that tutorial is basically trying to show you how to determine what size your linked images need to be in order to avoid placing a 300ppi 8x10 photo in a document and then scaling it down to 3" wide.

this is important because resizing in illustrator isn't as clean as in photoshop--for a raster image--and you end up with huge files.

simpler way is to work on your layout a bit first and determine what sizes your images need to be...then use photoshop to resize and save those images before placing.