It is not uncommon for a single high resolution graphic file, that is intended for printed output, to be many MB is size. It has to do with how Windows and Windows 95 manage RAM and Virtual Memory and with how Word loads documents to memory . In reality, Windows 95 fails to dynamically manage swap space correctly with any reliability. Adding 48 MB of swap space, we theoretically have room to open the 50 MB file, but our experience shows that actual performance is quite terrible. The bottom line is that this problem doesn't exist if the graphics are not embedded.
Word manages links differently.
Each link adds only 1 KB to the document. Linked files are preserved in their native format. This is important because, during the publishing process, it sometimes becomes evident that certain graphical images are illegible in the final publication or form. Without a suitable separate file of the graphic, the publisher must ask the OPR to provide the file. Often the OPR doesn't know what happened to the original.