diff --git a/library/components/poster/PosterDialog.vue b/library/components/poster/PosterDialog.vue
index 9bfa798e0..b4b8d63a8 100644
--- a/library/components/poster/PosterDialog.vue
+++ b/library/components/poster/PosterDialog.vue
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@
 
             <label class="ctl">
               <span>{{ T('poster.subtitle', 'Subtitle') }}</span>
-              <input v-model="subtitleText" type="text" placeholder="(optional)" />
+              <input v-model="subtitleText" type="text" :placeholder="T('poster.optional', '(optional)')" />
             </label>
 
             <fieldset class="ctl ctl--check">
@@ -80,17 +80,26 @@
               <label class="muted"><input type="checkbox" checked disabled /> {{ T('poster.footer_attribution', 'Footer (attribution required)') }}</label>
             </fieldset>
 
-            <div class="render-status" v-if="poster.isRendering.value">
-              <strong>{{ poster.progress.value.phase }}</strong>
-              <progress :max="poster.progress.value.total || 1" :value="poster.progress.value.completed" />
-              <small>{{ poster.progress.value.message }}</small>
-              <button class="btn btn--ghost" type="button" @click="poster.cancel">{{ T('poster.cancel', 'Cancel') }}</button>
+            <!-- ★ A LONG RENDER SAYS SO. Large or high-dpi posters take from under a minute to several
+                 (rega's timings: A4 300 dpi ~42 s, 24x36 in 150 dpi 90-135 s, 24x36 in 300 dpi ~4 min), and this
+                 used to show an internal phase name and a bar that restarted with every phase. Now: the overall
+                 percent (the composable's monotonic fraction), the time elapsed, the tile count while stitching,
+                 an honest expectation for the chosen size, and a message if it fails. -->
+            <div class="render-status" v-if="poster.isRendering.value || renderError" role="status" aria-live="polite">
+              <template v-if="poster.isRendering.value">
+                <strong>{{ T('poster.rendering', 'Rendering…') }}</strong>
+                <progress max="100" :value="poster.progress.value.percent || 0" />
+                <small>{{ progressDetail }}</small>
+                <small v-if="sizeHint" class="render-hint">{{ sizeHint }}</small>
+                <button class="btn btn--ghost" type="button" @click="poster.cancel">{{ T('poster.cancel', 'Cancel') }}</button>
+              </template>
+              <p v-else class="render-error" role="alert">{{ renderError }}</p>
             </div>
 
             <div class="actions">
               <button class="btn btn--ghost" type="button" @click="onClose">{{ T('buttons.close', 'Close') }}</button>
               <button class="btn btn--primary" type="button" :disabled="poster.isRendering.value" @click="onRender">
-                {{ poster.isRendering.value ? 'Rendering…' : `Render ${format.toUpperCase()}` }}
+                {{ poster.isRendering.value ? T('poster.rendering', 'Rendering…') : fillIn(T('poster.render_format', 'Render {format}'), { format: format.toUpperCase() }) }}
               </button>
             </div>
           </aside>
@@ -110,9 +119,9 @@
 </template>
 
 <script setup>
-import { computed, ref, watch } from 'vue';
+import { computed, ref, watch, onBeforeUnmount } from 'vue';
 import PosterPreview from './PosterPreview.vue';
-import { useMapPoster } from '../../composables/poster/useMapPoster.js';
+import { useMapPoster, posterPixels } from '../../composables/poster/useMapPoster.js';
 import { listPosterSizes, getPosterSize, DEFAULT_POSTER_ID } from '../../constants/posterSizes.js';
 import { defaultPosterSpec, posterDefaults } from '../../constants/posterDefaults.js';
 // Backdrop geometry — a fixed;inset:0 backdrop covers only the content pane inside the cap-5
@@ -205,7 +214,51 @@ const spec = computed(() => {
 
 const poster = useMapPoster(props.getMap);
 
+// {name} interpolation for the T() strings below.
+const fillIn = (str, params) => String(str).replace(/\{(\w+)\}/g, (m, k) => (params[k] != null ? String(params[k]) : m));
+
+// The time elapsed, ticking once a second while a render runs.
+const elapsed = ref(0);
+let elapsedTimer = null;
+watch(() => poster.isRendering.value, (on) => {
+  clearInterval(elapsedTimer);
+  if (!on) return;
+  const t0 = Date.now();
+  elapsed.value = 0;
+  elapsedTimer = setInterval(() => { elapsed.value = Math.round((Date.now() - t0) / 1000); }, 1000);
+});
+onBeforeUnmount(() => clearInterval(elapsedTimer));
+const clock = (sec) => `${Math.floor(sec / 60)}:${String(sec % 60).padStart(2, '0')}`;
+const progressDetail = computed(() => {
+  const p = poster.progress.value;
+  const parts = [`${p.percent || 0}%`, fillIn(T('poster.progress_elapsed', '{time} elapsed'), { time: clock(elapsed.value) })];
+  if (p.phase === 'stitch' && p.total) parts.push(fillIn(T('poster.progress_tiles', 'tile {n} of {total}'), { n: p.completed, total: p.total }));
+  return parts.join(' · ');
+});
+// An honest expectation from the size chosen, before and during the render. Thresholds from rega's timings
+// under load: 8.7 MP (A4 300 dpi) ~42 s; 19.4 MP (24x36 in 150 dpi) 90-135 s; 77.8 MP (24x36 in 300 dpi) ~4 min.
+const sizeHint = computed(() => {
+  let mp = 0;
+  try { const px = posterPixels(spec.value); mp = (px.width * px.height) / 1e6; } catch { return ''; }
+  if (mp >= 15) return T('poster.hint_few_minutes', 'Large posters can take a few minutes to render.');
+  if (mp >= 5) return T('poster.hint_up_to_minute', 'This size can take up to a minute to render.');
+  return '';
+});
+// A failed render used to vanish: the status block disappeared and only the console knew. The reader now
+// gets a sentence, specific when the device ran out of memory (the large-format failure: an oversized canvas
+// the browser cannot allocate or encode), and nothing when they cancelled it themselves.
+const renderError = ref('');
+const OUT_OF_MEMORY = /out of memory|allocation failed|array buffer|invalid array length|context lost|toBlob failed|too large|exceeds/i;
+function renderFailureText(err) {
+  if (err?.name === 'AbortError') return '';
+  if (err?.name === 'RangeError' || OUT_OF_MEMORY.test(String(err?.message || err))) {
+    return T('poster.error_too_large', "This poster is too large for this device's memory. Choose a smaller size or a lower resolution.");
+  }
+  return T('poster.error_failed', 'The poster could not be rendered. Try again, or choose a smaller size.');
+}
+
 async function onRender() {
+  renderError.value = '';
   try {
     const blob = await poster.render(spec.value, format.value);
     const ext  = (format.value === 'pdf') ? 'pdf' : 'png';
@@ -225,6 +278,7 @@ async function onRender() {
   } catch (err) {
     // eslint-disable-next-line no-console
     console.error('[PosterDialog] render failed', err);
+    renderError.value = renderFailureText(err);
     emit('error', err);
   }
 }
@@ -295,6 +349,8 @@ function _download(blob, filename) {
 .btn--ghost { background: transparent; }
 .render-status { display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: 6px; padding: 8px; background: #fff; border: 1px solid #eee; border-radius: 4px; font-size: 12px; }
 .render-status progress { width: 100%; }
+.render-hint { opacity: .75; }
+.render-error { margin: 0; color: #b42318; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4; }
 .poster-dlg-enter-active, .poster-dlg-leave-active { transition: opacity 0.15s ease; }
 .poster-dlg-enter-from, .poster-dlg-leave-to { opacity: 0; }
 /* Reduced motion: this component's styles do not go through useShadowStyles, so it carries its own guard
diff --git a/library/i18n/locales/ar/poster.json b/library/i18n/locales/ar/poster.json
index 4b8feb413..30d4972dc 100644
--- a/library/i18n/locales/ar/poster.json
+++ b/library/i18n/locales/ar/poster.json
@@ -29,5 +29,14 @@
   "region_americas": "الأمريكتان",
   "region_europe": "أوروبا",
   "region_deaf": "الصمّ",
-  "zone_deaf": "مجموعات الصمّ"
+  "zone_deaf": "مجموعات الصمّ",
+  "rendering": "جارٍ الإنشاء…",
+  "render_format": "إنشاء {format}",
+  "progress_elapsed": "مضى {time}",
+  "progress_tiles": "المربع {n} من {total}",
+  "hint_up_to_minute": "قد يستغرق هذا الحجم ما يصل إلى دقيقة.",
+  "hint_few_minutes": "قد تستغرق الملصقات الكبيرة بضع دقائق.",
+  "error_too_large": "هذا الملصق أكبر من ذاكرة هذا الجهاز. اختر حجمًا أصغر أو دقة أقل.",
+  "error_failed": "تعذّر إنشاء الملصق. حاول مرة أخرى أو اختر حجمًا أصغر.",
+  "optional": "(اختياري)"
 }
diff --git a/library/i18n/locales/de/poster.json b/library/i18n/locales/de/poster.json
index 7df6db212..dc5c3e375 100644
--- a/library/i18n/locales/de/poster.json
+++ b/library/i18n/locales/de/poster.json
@@ -29,5 +29,14 @@
   "region_americas": "Amerika",
   "region_europe": "Europa",
   "region_deaf": "Gehörlose",
-  "zone_deaf": "Gruppen gehörloser Menschen"
+  "zone_deaf": "Gruppen gehörloser Menschen",
+  "rendering": "Wird erstellt…",
+  "render_format": "{format} erstellen",
+  "progress_elapsed": "{time} vergangen",
+  "progress_tiles": "Kachel {n} von {total}",
+  "hint_up_to_minute": "Diese Größe kann bis zu einer Minute dauern.",
+  "hint_few_minutes": "Große Poster können einige Minuten dauern.",
+  "error_too_large": "Dieses Poster ist zu groß für den Speicher dieses Geräts. Wählen Sie eine kleinere Größe oder eine niedrigere Auflösung.",
+  "error_failed": "Das Poster konnte nicht erstellt werden. Versuchen Sie es erneut oder wählen Sie eine kleinere Größe.",
+  "optional": "(optional)"
 }
diff --git a/library/i18n/locales/en/poster.json b/library/i18n/locales/en/poster.json
index 3cad7a4fd..4bd08f840 100644
--- a/library/i18n/locales/en/poster.json
+++ b/library/i18n/locales/en/poster.json
@@ -29,5 +29,14 @@
   "region_americas": "Americas",
   "region_europe": "Europe",
   "region_deaf": "Deaf",
-  "zone_deaf": "Deaf people groups"
+  "zone_deaf": "Deaf people groups",
+  "rendering": "Rendering…",
+  "render_format": "Render {format}",
+  "progress_elapsed": "{time} elapsed",
+  "progress_tiles": "tile {n} of {total}",
+  "hint_up_to_minute": "This size can take up to a minute to render.",
+  "hint_few_minutes": "Large posters can take a few minutes to render.",
+  "error_too_large": "This poster is too large for this device's memory. Choose a smaller size or a lower resolution.",
+  "error_failed": "The poster could not be rendered. Try again, or choose a smaller size.",
+  "optional": "(optional)"
 }
diff --git a/library/i18n/locales/es/poster.json b/library/i18n/locales/es/poster.json
index 8277ea2ef..82830fc0a 100644
--- a/library/i18n/locales/es/poster.json
+++ b/library/i18n/locales/es/poster.json
@@ -29,5 +29,14 @@
   "region_americas": "América",
   "region_europe": "Europa",
   "region_deaf": "Sordos",
-  "zone_deaf": "Grupos de personas sordas"
+  "zone_deaf": "Grupos de personas sordas",
+  "rendering": "Generando…",
+  "render_format": "Generar {format}",
+  "progress_elapsed": "{time} transcurridos",
+  "progress_tiles": "mosaico {n} de {total}",
+  "hint_up_to_minute": "Este tamaño puede tardar hasta un minuto en generarse.",
+  "hint_few_minutes": "Los pósteres grandes pueden tardar unos minutos en generarse.",
+  "error_too_large": "Este póster es demasiado grande para la memoria de este dispositivo. Elige un tamaño menor o una resolución más baja.",
+  "error_failed": "No se pudo generar el póster. Inténtalo de nuevo o elige un tamaño menor.",
+  "optional": "(opcional)"
 }
diff --git a/library/i18n/locales/fr/poster.json b/library/i18n/locales/fr/poster.json
index c118900b7..fcd83857e 100644
--- a/library/i18n/locales/fr/poster.json
+++ b/library/i18n/locales/fr/poster.json
@@ -29,5 +29,14 @@
   "region_americas": "Amériques",
   "region_europe": "Europe",
   "region_deaf": "Sourds",
-  "zone_deaf": "Groupes de personnes sourdes"
+  "zone_deaf": "Groupes de personnes sourdes",
+  "rendering": "Génération…",
+  "render_format": "Générer en {format}",
+  "progress_elapsed": "{time} écoulées",
+  "progress_tiles": "tuile {n} sur {total}",
+  "hint_up_to_minute": "Ce format peut prendre jusqu’à une minute.",
+  "hint_few_minutes": "Les grandes affiches peuvent prendre quelques minutes.",
+  "error_too_large": "Cette affiche est trop grande pour la mémoire de cet appareil. Choisissez un format plus petit ou une résolution plus basse.",
+  "error_failed": "L’affiche n’a pas pu être générée. Réessayez ou choisissez un format plus petit.",
+  "optional": "(facultatif)"
 }
diff --git a/library/i18n/locales/hi/poster.json b/library/i18n/locales/hi/poster.json
index a5512ceff..4d0f9aaa5 100644
--- a/library/i18n/locales/hi/poster.json
+++ b/library/i18n/locales/hi/poster.json
@@ -29,5 +29,14 @@
   "region_americas": "अमेरिका महाद्वीप",
   "region_europe": "यूरोप",
   "region_deaf": "बधिर",
-  "zone_deaf": "बधिर लोगों के समूह"
+  "zone_deaf": "बधिर लोगों के समूह",
+  "rendering": "बनाया जा रहा है…",
+  "render_format": "{format} बनाएँ",
+  "progress_elapsed": "{time} बीत गए",
+  "progress_tiles": "टाइल {n} / {total}",
+  "hint_up_to_minute": "इस आकार में एक मिनट तक लग सकता है।",
+  "hint_few_minutes": "बड़े पोस्टर बनने में कुछ मिनट लग सकते हैं।",
+  "error_too_large": "यह पोस्टर इस डिवाइस की मेमोरी के लिए बहुत बड़ा है। छोटा आकार या कम रिज़ॉल्यूशन चुनें।",
+  "error_failed": "पोस्टर नहीं बन सका। फिर से कोशिश करें या छोटा आकार चुनें।",
+  "optional": "(वैकल्पिक)"
 }
diff --git a/library/i18n/locales/it/poster.json b/library/i18n/locales/it/poster.json
index a914ded7d..ffb76632e 100644
--- a/library/i18n/locales/it/poster.json
+++ b/library/i18n/locales/it/poster.json
@@ -29,5 +29,14 @@
   "region_americas": "Americhe",
   "region_europe": "Europa",
   "region_deaf": "Sordi",
-  "zone_deaf": "Gruppi di persone sorde"
+  "zone_deaf": "Gruppi di persone sorde",
+  "rendering": "Generazione…",
+  "render_format": "Genera {format}",
+  "progress_elapsed": "{time} trascorsi",
+  "progress_tiles": "riquadro {n} di {total}",
+  "hint_up_to_minute": "Questo formato può richiedere fino a un minuto.",
+  "hint_few_minutes": "I poster grandi possono richiedere alcuni minuti.",
+  "error_too_large": "Questo poster è troppo grande per la memoria di questo dispositivo. Scegli un formato più piccolo o una risoluzione più bassa.",
+  "error_failed": "Impossibile generare il poster. Riprova o scegli un formato più piccolo.",
+  "optional": "(facoltativo)"
 }
diff --git a/library/i18n/locales/pt/poster.json b/library/i18n/locales/pt/poster.json
index 38d5444f5..976dcf685 100644
--- a/library/i18n/locales/pt/poster.json
+++ b/library/i18n/locales/pt/poster.json
@@ -29,5 +29,14 @@
   "region_americas": "Américas",
   "region_europe": "Europa",
   "region_deaf": "Surdos",
-  "zone_deaf": "Grupos de pessoas surdas"
+  "zone_deaf": "Grupos de pessoas surdas",
+  "rendering": "Gerando…",
+  "render_format": "Gerar {format}",
+  "progress_elapsed": "{time} decorridos",
+  "progress_tiles": "bloco {n} de {total}",
+  "hint_up_to_minute": "Este tamanho pode levar até um minuto para ser gerado.",
+  "hint_few_minutes": "Pôsteres grandes podem levar alguns minutos para serem gerados.",
+  "error_too_large": "Este pôster é grande demais para a memória deste dispositivo. Escolha um tamanho menor ou uma resolução mais baixa.",
+  "error_failed": "Não foi possível gerar o pôster. Tente novamente ou escolha um tamanho menor.",
+  "optional": "(opcional)"
 }
diff --git a/library/i18n/locales/ro/poster.json b/library/i18n/locales/ro/poster.json
index f3eeae6cc..4919c5b3f 100644
--- a/library/i18n/locales/ro/poster.json
+++ b/library/i18n/locales/ro/poster.json
@@ -29,5 +29,14 @@
   "region_americas": "Americi",
   "region_europe": "Europa",
   "region_deaf": "Surzi",
-  "zone_deaf": "Grupuri de persoane surde"
+  "zone_deaf": "Grupuri de persoane surde",
+  "rendering": "Se generează…",
+  "render_format": "Generează {format}",
+  "progress_elapsed": "{time} scurse",
+  "progress_tiles": "dala {n} din {total}",
+  "hint_up_to_minute": "Această dimensiune poate dura până la un minut.",
+  "hint_few_minutes": "Posterele mari pot dura câteva minute.",
+  "error_too_large": "Acest poster este prea mare pentru memoria acestui dispozitiv. Alegeți o dimensiune mai mică sau o rezoluție mai mică.",
+  "error_failed": "Posterul nu a putut fi generat. Încercați din nou sau alegeți o dimensiune mai mică.",
+  "optional": "(opțional)"
 }
diff --git a/library/i18n/locales/ru/poster.json b/library/i18n/locales/ru/poster.json
index 1cd121c55..9f83a8b91 100644
--- a/library/i18n/locales/ru/poster.json
+++ b/library/i18n/locales/ru/poster.json
@@ -29,5 +29,14 @@
   "region_americas": "Америка",
   "region_europe": "Европа",
   "region_deaf": "Глухие",
-  "zone_deaf": "Группы глухих людей"
+  "zone_deaf": "Группы глухих людей",
+  "rendering": "Создание…",
+  "render_format": "Создать {format}",
+  "progress_elapsed": "прошло {time}",
+  "progress_tiles": "фрагмент {n} из {total}",
+  "hint_up_to_minute": "Для этого размера может потребоваться до минуты.",
+  "hint_few_minutes": "Создание больших плакатов может занять несколько минут.",
+  "error_too_large": "Этот плакат слишком велик для памяти устройства. Выберите меньший размер или более низкое разрешение.",
+  "error_failed": "Не удалось создать плакат. Попробуйте ещё раз или выберите меньший размер.",
+  "optional": "(необязательно)"
 }
diff --git a/library/i18n/locales/zh/poster.json b/library/i18n/locales/zh/poster.json
index 2e7c59769..731f9c841 100644
--- a/library/i18n/locales/zh/poster.json
+++ b/library/i18n/locales/zh/poster.json
@@ -29,5 +29,14 @@
   "region_americas": "美洲",
   "region_europe": "欧洲",
   "region_deaf": "聋人",
-  "zone_deaf": "聋人群体"
+  "zone_deaf": "聋人群体",
+  "rendering": "正在生成…",
+  "render_format": "生成 {format}",
+  "progress_elapsed": "已用时 {time}",
+  "progress_tiles": "第 {n}/{total} 块",
+  "hint_up_to_minute": "此尺寸最多可能需要一分钟。",
+  "hint_few_minutes": "大尺寸海报可能需要几分钟。",
+  "error_too_large": "此海报超出了本设备的内存。请选择较小的尺寸或较低的分辨率。",
+  "error_failed": "无法生成海报。请重试或选择较小的尺寸。",
+  "optional": "（可选）"
 }