I am trying to export a large AI file to PNG in Illustrator (Per request) and have been unsuccessful. I believe it's because my file is too large. I'm hoping someone can shed some light on how I can export that large file to PNG?

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    What happens? Do you get any errors or messages? – Miro Feb 12 '16 at 20:51
  • Do you have access to Photoshop? I know this doesn't answer your question directly, but that may be the easiest approach. Open the AI file there and then Save for Web as PNG or do a File> Save As as PNG. – TimesWasting Feb 12 '16 at 20:57
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    "unidentified error" is the message that I get. – Jessica Fox Feb 12 '16 at 21:00
  • I do have Photoshop, I did try to save for web .. however it would not let me in Photoshop either. – Jessica Fox Feb 12 '16 at 21:01
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    A temp solution that might work is save as a PDF with "Preserve Illustrator Editing Capabilities" unchecked, then open the PDF in Photoshop and save for web as a PNG. – AndrewH Feb 12 '16 at 21:40

A quick bypass would be to use inkscape instead. Download it from here: https://inkscape.org/en/

Inkscape can open large .ai files, and also can export them as .png
The only thing that you should do is:

  1. Open your file with inkscape

  2. Go to File > Export as PNG

  3. In the window that pops up, select Page

  4. Then in the same window choose where should the file be saved

  5. And hit export

That's it


You need to define how large is large. And what is the "Per request".

If someone asked for a 10 m wide png at 300 ppi, most likely your computer won't handle it. (If someone asked that kind resolution they do not know what they are talking about)

Try to export a smaller file:

  • Defined pixels: for example a 10,000 px wide (or height). Choose the larger value.

  • Lower resolution. For example a 10 m wide at 25 ppi (wich wil be simmilar to the 10,000 px total width.

There are several posts on the forum regarding big files. Take a look: https://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/search?q=resolution+for+print


It might also be because of illegal file naming. You can't use / © ™ etc… Anyway, that was my problem and how I got to this thread… Maybe it will help you.

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