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photoshop help

dortonracing

New Member
Im new with photoshop, so here it goes. How come when i take my vector flame to photoshop it get jagged lines and not nice flowing ones like the vector had? how do i take it to photoshop and not get them?
 

luggnut

New Member
how are you taking them to photoshop? and from what program ...illustrator?

whatever you are using/doing is making a low resolution file if you are getting a lot of jagged pixels.

if i open an AI file in photoshop it ask to specify a size and resolution... choose the something appropriate for what you are doing...biz cards 300dpi, 4x8 sign 100dpi, large trailer wrap 72dpi ... thats the common sizes i use.
 

acothran

New Member
i take my vector flame to photoshop

As Luggnut mentioned, how are you transferring the vector? I use CS4 and normally I just highlight the vector item in AI, Copy, bring up the Photoshop document (already open), and Paste as a Smart Object.

If the Smart Object is really small you will not want to greatly enlarge it in Photoshop. Instead go back it AI to enlarge, or for reference on size, open a new AI document that is the same size as the Photoshop file, paste the vector item there, enlarge, copy again, and paste the new bigger vector back in Photoshop as a Smart Object. If you save the item as an AI file and "Place" in the Photoshop document, you should get the same results.

The only thing I can think of is that your vector is small when you put it in Photoshop (i.e. - vector is coming from a 2"x2" artboard and being placed into a 24"x18" Photoshop document). I'm pretty sure once you place that vector in Photoshop, it becomes (or behaves) as a bitmap so that is one reason it is jagged.

Allen
 

speedmedia

New Member
If you are exporting as a Photoshop file to open in photoshop make sure you check the box for anti-alias. This will clear that up.

Thanks,
Kurt
 

Idea Design

New Member
...if i open an AI file in photoshop it ask to specify a size and resolution... choose the something appropriate for what you are doing...biz cards 300dpi, 4x8 sign 100dpi, large trailer wrap 72dpi ... thats the common sizes i use.

If an "at-size" raster is what you are after, this is the best way, IMO, to accomplish what you are asking about.

When you try to open a vector-based file inside photoshop, it recognizes that it's a vector file and wants you to specify size and resolution, so the "native" file you start with in photoshop is the highest quality raster you can achieve. You set the limits.
 

dortonracing

New Member
I have it saved as a eps and open it up, i figured out i had to set it at 300 resolution. but is there a way to just copy and paste it? What im doing is graphic kits in photoshop so any tips would be great thanks Also whats the best way to take it back to flexi to print or what do i need to do to print it. I was just saving it and reopening it with flexi, is there a better way to do that.
 

graphics guru

New Member
alot of time i will set the vector image i want in flexi at a larger size and export as eps file to my docutments. then when place in photoshop, make sure resolution is at at least 100. place it then work on it. it will reproduce fine and is imported with transparent background from the get go.
 

sjm

New Member
how are you taking them to photoshop? and from what program ...illustrator?

whatever you are using/doing is making a low resolution file if you are getting a lot of jagged pixels.

if i open an AI file in photoshop it ask to specify a size and resolution... choose the something appropriate for what you are doing...biz cards 300dpi, 4x8 sign 100dpi, large trailer wrap 72dpi ... thats the common sizes i use.

Good rule of thumb.

At size I use printer output resolution / # of colours

for example if my printer is 1200 dpi and 6 colour = 1200/6 = 200 dpi
 

sjm

New Member
If an "at-size" raster is what you are after, this is the best way, IMO, to accomplish what you are asking about.

When you try to open a vector-based file inside photoshop, it recognizes that it's a vector file and wants you to specify size and resolution, so the "native" file you start with in photoshop is the highest quality raster you can achieve. You set the limits.

Yes, but a PhotoShop file doesn't really have a resolution. It has x pixels and y pixels.

For example a 300 ppi image in both x and y in PhotoShop can be output to a 300 dpi printer to a maximum of about 3 inches and on a 600 dpi printer to a maximum of about a 1/2 inch.

Think of it this way you would need about a 3 megapixel camera to produce optimum quality at 300 dpi at a size of 24" x 12".
 

iSign

New Member
output to a 300 dpi printer to a maximum of about 3 inches and on a 600 dpi printer to a maximum of about a 1/2 inch.

interesting way to look at it... over my head... almost, but trying to follow..

so did you mean to say "output to a 300 dpi printer to a maximum of about 1 inch" ?
 

sjm

New Member
interesting way to look at it... over my head... almost, but trying to follow..

so did you mean to say "output to a 300 dpi printer to a maximum of about 1 inch" ?

My formula is, printer output resolution / # of output colours = optimum image quality

For example if 600 dpi is the output resolution / 6 colours my printer capabilities, ie. CMYKLcLm = 100ppi

To produce at size a 1" x 1" optimum quality graphic would require 100ppi x 100ppi on a 600dpi, 6 colour digital printer

If it was a 3' x 4' , 3600ppi x 4800ppi image would require (3600ppi x 4800ppi) or about 17 megapixels.

Cameras, digital photography, photoshop and signmaking all work on the same principle when it comes to image reproduction.

edited as I said 2 megapixels when it's about 17
 
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sjm

New Member
...so that was a typo then.

No typo can you take a 300dpi image to a maximum of more than 3" on a 300dpi printer?

If you want to argue optimum quality then no you can not.

Though I will agree I should have said have said 1 1/2" instead of a 1/2" that's where I made a typo.
 

iSign

New Member
No typo can you take a 300dpi image to a maximum of more than 3" on a 300dpi printer?

If you want to argue optimum quality then no you can not.

Though I will agree I should have said have said 1 1/2" instead of a 1/2" that's where I made a typo.


thanks for clarification, I couldn't understand why the relationship between the 2 would not be 2 to 1.. I just picked the wrong one to be wrong, or is that the right one to be ... oh, never mind :smile:
 

sjm

New Member
thanks for clarification, I couldn't understand why the relationship between the 2 would not be 2 to 1.. I just picked the wrong one to be wrong, or is that the right one to be ... oh, never mind :smile:

It's all good friend, we all learn I think new things from exchanging ideas with people.

At the end of the day, learning from others mistakes makes things move forward.
 

Mike Jackson

New Member
I believe you are trying to sneak into Photoshop from a bad direction. If you simply OPEN an Illustrator AI or EPS file, you get this dialog box. In that box, you can change the size of the vector graphic to any size you want, and you can change the resolution to any you want. Of course, the practical size of the file will depend on the power of your computer and the amount of RAM you can access. As you can see in this example, a relatively small graphic at 300 dpi is just shy of 52 megs when it opens and can swell tremendously as you add more layers and effects while in Photoshop. If you managed to make a file at 500-600(+) megs, your system could slow down as it starts attempting to write to your scratch disk.

And, to be maybe more accurate, you need to find out the optimum LPI output your printer can handle. Then, on average, your DPI should end up at twice that amount at full size. Many glossy magazines are printed at 133 LPI, so the DPI for any image on the pages should be 266. A Gerber Edge, for example, works fine at roughly 75 LPI, so 150 DPI images print well at full size. Due to the distance many signs are actually viewed, they can actually be more pixelated and still look okay. Get close, and they can be quite rough.

Copying and pasting images from other applications into and out of Photoshop won't give you the same options as using the OPEN and SAVE commands.

Good luck,
Mike Jackson
www.goldenstudios.com
 

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Mike Jackson

New Member
Here's a screen grab of the Open dialog box for a 48" x 96" image at 150 dpi. The file is almost 400 megs.

Mike Jackson
 

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