How to resize large images without losing quality

[katelynmoore]

Hello I have an image that I am trying to use as an email. Right now it is 2108 pixels. And for an email it should be 600 px. I created this image in illustrator as vectors and type.

Whenever I go into image size and i change it to be 600 pixels it gets extremely blurry. I have also tried converting this to a smart object... doesnt work. How do I resize my large image to be smaller without losing quality???

[Trevor.Dennis]

Kate, I beleive there is an issue where vector images transfered to Photoshop, come in with tiny pixel values.  100 x 100 sort of thing.  So making them 600 pixels wide is going to cause jaggies.  I don't know the proper fix, but I am sure it is an Google.  Or you could just use a screen grab from Illustrator.

I'll look for the fix, but can you tell us what version of Photoshop, and what operating system you are using?

[katelynmoore]

I have search google!! I have found image resizing websites but they make it blurry too. The screen grab doesnt have the best resolution..usually. But I'll try it!

I am using photoshop cc.

I have the creative clous suite, so my illustrator is cc too.

Thank you!!

[katelynmoore]

okay, screen shot didnt work

[Trevor.Dennis]

The problem lies with Illustrator, and not Photoshop.  I suspect that by the time the image gets to Photoshop, it is too late.  The image is too small to resize.

If you are in a hurry, open in Illustrator and zoom to fill the screen

You have not told us your operating system.  If Windows hit the Prt Scr key

Open Photoshop and do

Ctrl n  (new document the size of the clipboard)

Ctrl v (paste image)

Crop to the image you want.

Ctrl Alt i (image resize) and click on Resample, and enter 600px in the relevant size value.

That is quick and dirty, but will get you out of your fix right now.

[katelynmoore]

But my problem is that my file is too big and I want to make it smaller. And I have tried changing the image size in photoshop and it just pixelates my image beyond belief.

[gator soup]

.

you can't just open the .ai document in Photoshop and set the pixel dimensions to the desired width or height???

[katelynmoore]

Right, Thats what I'm trying to explain though. That's exactly what I've been doing and its not working. Changing the width and height makes my image look more pixelated.

[gator soup]

here is an example sceenshot of the opening dialog (.ai opened directly in Photoshop)

your illustrator vector should be rastered sharp at 100% actual Pixels in Photoshop

that is where you want to evaluate sharpness in Photoshop...

then File> Save for Web & Devices (and drag that saved file icon into an open web browser)

still no joy, embed your saved image here using the forum's camera icon...

[gator soup]

.

and you really should attach a screenshot so we can see exactly what you are seeing (pixel for pixel)...

[katelynmoore]

This is at 600 pixels, and this is edited from importing a PDF and inputting 600 px

and this is at full size.

[gator soup]

.

i don't see the problem - it is what i would expect

is the 600 pixel the freshly-rastered image in Photoshop or the Save for Web document reopened

maybe a different font would translate better to that size?

again, remember always evaluate pixels in Photoshop at View> 100% (actual pixels)

[katelynmoore]

What do you mean by rasterize? Do you mean rasterize my image in photoshop before I scale it down?

[gator soup]

pixel images are rastered images, i recall

Photoshop has to raster Illustrator vector data into pixels to do what you are doing

probably better to read up on the subject from a more qualified source...

using my suggested method -- open the .ai directly in Photoshop -- and pick the target raster settings (your pixel width or height) for the sharpest raster -- i avoid resizing those types of raster images because the process can degrade them pretty rapidly

[Herbert2001]

Downsampling subtle type like in the above example will always result in loss of quality - that is the nature of rasterizing a vector graphic or high resolution version to a low resolution version.

The low resolution version merely lacks the physical number of pixels to keep it sharp looking. For this reason it might be a better idea (I am assuming this is for a email newletter?) to design a custom version for the newsletter, and make use of larger fonts or even thicker fonts.

When you scale down this much, you lose resolution - fact of life. Which causes the pixelation/blurriness.

Having said that, the downsample algorithm used can have a definite impact on the overall quality of the smaller version as well. In the resize dialog in Photoshop you can select various resampling methods - try each one, and compare.

[Michael24229003898s]

I don't think this is necessary true, unless you're referring to already pixelated files. Im not an illustrator but  when I open the file folder on my computer my files can appear tiny without pixelation. But when I try to resize to save for email, I can't get it to work. I'm not sure how Apple functions but it doesn't allow me to save it with the same quality. Though I'm assuming you CAN do this in illustrator. Idk.