PDF size for downloading?

[KeithBVaughn]

To the Group,

My game Planets of Peril is close to done except for the artwork. As I plan on selling in PDF format first from online outlets, I need a target size for a good download file without being too cumbersome.

With just text the book is 185 standard sized pages 8 1/2 x 11 inches. this is before artwork. With artwork I know the file size will balloon so I have two questions:

1. What is a comfortable file size for downloading?
2. What DPE can I get away with for pictures that will look presentable for the purchaser?

Thanks in Advance,
Keith B. Vaughn

[Justin D. Jacobson]

1. Comfortable size for file downloading - There's no hard-and-fast rules on this obviously. I just released Helios Rising, which is around 55 MBs, and I haven't heard anyone so much as peep at the size. I think this was more of an issue initially. As pdfs generally become better accepted (and download rates increase), this becomes less and less of an issue.

2. Image DPE - I assume you mean dpi, i.e., dots per inch. For pdf releases 150 dpi is a reasonable size. Anything below that and you're doing a real disservice to the image. Anything above that is gratuitous.

As an adjunct to #2, always get your illustrator to send you two versions of each image: one at 150 dpi for the pdf version and one at 300 dpi for a print version (or higher if you feel it's necessary for your printing parameters). Even if you don't plan on doing a print version now, it's easier to get both version on delivery.

[Josh Roby]

Consider how the pdf is going to be displayed and printed.  Screens are 72 dpi (and nice ones are 96 dpi).  Printers range all the hell over the place.  I print my pdfs at work (sssssh) where I have a 600 dpi laser printer.  My printer at home is 150 dpi, I think.

[MatrixGamer]

About DPI - consider if you are blowing up or shrinking the image. 150 dpi will make an okay image but if you make it bigger you are defacto dropping the dpi. If you're planning on doing that do the math of proportion. If you double the size then double the dpi count when you scan.

When I scan pictures I look at how many Kb it is. I find that 300 Kb makes a decent size picture that can be blown up a little. A 500 Kb to 700 Kb manipulates and prints much better. Beyond 1 Mb is generally overkill on most pictures.

As my InDesign teacher told us - "Scan gray scale at 300dpi and line art at 1200dpi." (look at the memory used and you'll see they are comparable.)

Chris Engle
Hamster Press = Engle Matrix Games
Booth 122 at Gen Con!!!

[Adam]

As an adjunct to #2, always get your illustrator to send you two versions of each image: one at 150 dpi for the pdf version and one at 300 dpi for a print version (or higher if you feel it's necessary for your printing parameters). Even if you don't plan on doing a print version now, it's easier to get both version on delivery.

With most [all?] layout software, it's trivial to downsample and compress the artwork when exporting to PDF, without having to change the actual files and maintain two different versions of the document and artwork.

I don't see the need to ask the illustrator to send you two different versions of the file; if they send you the 300DPI version, you can easily create any number of resized/resamapled images on your own. Let them worry about the art, and let your designer worry about the design/production. Bear in mind that in most cases, along with the DPI, you also choose the "quality" of the image, depending on the amount of JPG compression applied.

As for filesize, I think DriveThruRPG offering so many scanned titles that clock in at over 50MB helped to break the "size barrier" for PDFs, and that most buyers aren't overly concerned with file size, although they do want larger files to be bookmarked and well-organized. If you do some searches, I'm sure you'll find some older threads that discuss breaking larger books down into smaller sub-sections, even if they're sold as one product.

[MatrixGamer]

Bear in mind that in most cases, along with the DPI, you also choose the "quality" of the image, depending on the amount of JPG compression applied.

This is a big difference between PDFs and the print world. I never use JPEGs I always use TIF. They print better.

Chris Engle
Hamster Press

[Adam]

I'm not talking about the type of source image, but the type of compression that is applied to images within a PDF file, when exporting, distilling from postscriopt, or optimizing them after the fact within Acrobat.

[KeithBVaughn]

Thanks so far, I'm using line art as Planets of Peril is trying to emulate Planetary Romance as typified by the Martian Tales of Edgar Rice Burroughs (Don't worry I have been very careful not to challenge the IP with my game.)

Any more technicalsuggestions or solutions and questions are welcome.

Keith

[timfire]

With the advent of readily available DSL and cable internet connections, (especially among the computer-literate people likely to buy PDFs) large download sizes aren't really an issue anymore. Don't worry about file size, unless you're talking close to 100(+) MBs.

[timfire]

One other quick note---This is just my personal  opinion, but given the above, I would include 300+dpi art in PDF. Those with good home printers will appreciate it. (My home laser printer can print 600dpi.)