How to Set Up a Billboard Resolution Patch

You can create images for billboards.

Billboard resolution in Adobe Photoshop must be set up correctly from the start of the billboard design, or it will have poor resolution. Adobe Photoshop does not offer a downloadable patch that will allow you to increase the resolution. However, there are some other methods that may correct the picture resolution when you need to increase it to the size of a billboard.

Things You'll Need

• Adobe Acrobat software

Instructions

Set Up Billboard Design

1. Start your design for a billboard in Adobe Photoshop using 300 to 400 dpi/ppi in CYMA color space at "1" -- 1"."

2. Make your final print one-inch larger in height and width than the final print size.

3. Download the template with the closest available size to get accurate bleed specifications for the billboard you are creating.

4. Save the file as a Photoshop PDF file by clicking "File" from the menu bar then clicking "Save As..." from the drop-down list. Select "Graphic Layout.pdf." The pop-up window warning will appear that says, "Some of the documents data will not be saved using the chosen format and option." This simply means that the layered data will be merged to flatten the image, so do not worry; it will not change the picture.

5. Check the final image in Adobe Acrobat after you save your Press Optimized PDF file. This will allow you to see what the final image quality looks like, since Adobe Acrobat has the What You See Is What You Get format. If you find any errors, fix them before you upload the image.

Increase Billboard Pixels

1. Open the Image Size pop-up window.

2. Make sure the Resample Image box is checked.

3. Choose the Bicubic Smoother from the pop-up menu on the right.

4. Change the document dimension to "Percent," then put in a percent between 105 percent to 110 percent and click "OK." Continue increasing the percent by increments of 5 to 10 percent until you find the resolution you like.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are using large areas of black, you may want to create a customized Rich Black color consisting of 40 percent Cyan, 40 percent Magenta, 20 percent Yellow and 100 percent Black. Do not use this Rich Black color for text or thin lines because of blurring.

• Do not use hairlines.

• Do not fill picture boxes with "none" unless you are using vector art from an illustration program.

References

• Hot to Prepare Billboard Artwork in Adobe Photoshop
• "Layers"; The Reality of Resizing Images in Photoshop; Lesa Snider; September 2006