AboutScott Valentine Expertise Author, "Real World Compositing with Photoshop CS4 (Peachpit)". Beginning to expert questions for Photoshop CS3 and CS4 Extended, including 3D capabilities. I am also an expert here for Digital Photography. Please - NO questions on Lightroom, Elements, Express or versions earlier than CS2. These questions will be discarded.
Experience Author, "Real World Compositing with Photoshop CS4" (available from Peachpit.com in January, 2009). I have been a professional level user since 1999, and have used Photoshop for photography, fine art, graphic design, web design, and technical image analysis. I have also conducted classes at the college level in both artistic and technical uses. I am currently an Adobe User Group manager.
Organizations National Association of Photoshop Professionals, Los Alamos Multimedia Users Group.
Publications CommunityMX.com, Real World Compositing with Photoshop CS4 (Adobe Press).
Education/Credentials Bachelor's degree, Physics
Awards and Honors Several awards for digital photography.
Question PhotoshopCS3 Extended (v 10.0.1), Windows Vista and Epson 2200 printer
I am trying to print a panoramic picture that is 72 inches x 8.5 inches. Paper size is user defined (76 x 10). Printing starts normally - margins are as set - but printing stops at about 43-44 inches. It is a clean cut-off and the printer ejects the full length of paper as if the printer has been told to print a 44 inch picture on 76 inch paper.
I have printed the same picture to its full 72 inch length using QuadToneRIP Graphical Interface Version 2.6.2.0 so there does not seem to be a problem with printing this size file/image or the capability of the printer to print this size image. (Epson has confirmed that the 2200 will print up to 129 inches and that the problem is with the application).
How do I get CS3 to print these longer images? Images less that 44 inches (Banner length) print fine.
Answer Hi Bob - thanks for your question!
I haven't printed anything of that length from my Epson 2200, so I went hunting. It seems that the combination of Photoshop and some assorted drivers functionally limits your print length. The solution I've found is to use a RIP, as you've tried.
Two products seem to be popular for handling large/long images:
Mirage appears to work directly as a plug-in to Photoshop and InDesign, so may be a more seamless way to work. However, using RIPs typically give you much more control over your print environment. Check both out and see what works for you.
It's unclear why this limitation still exists in Photoshop, but seems to have something to do with the memory addressing method. It's not a limitation on the amount of memory, but like the Y2K bug, is based on engineers presuming that you'd never need more than XXXX length (or that you'd use other software if you needed more).
Also keep in mind that Photoshop has a hard-wired 30K pixel size limit in PSD files, but you can access the PSB format (Photoshop 'Big'), which is what they use for 3D textures and smart object file storage. If you think this might help, look for plug-ins that allow you to access the PSB format directly. Just keep this on in your back pocket for now, as I don't know whether it will help with printing or not - it's really specified for digital content.
I hope this helps, and please ask if you'd like more clarification or have further questions.
