4 Replies Latest reply: Mar 31, 2008 12:14 PM by Michael Brown12 RSS

    TIFF image problem

    Michael Brown12 Community Member
      I am using an outside contractor to create some computer generated images for me. As is usual--especially for wide, exterior shots like these--the CGI part is placed onto an actual photograph. The two images are pulled into Photoshop and tweaked until they match. When the artist sends the files to me, however, the photographic background is missing. All I see in Photoshop and InDesign is the CGI "half." Curiously, when I place them in an AI file there is a background, but it is fuzzy and indistinct--like a preview file. All the files were saved as TIFF/RGB. I told him to use CMYK, but I was lucky I was getting TIFFs at all. The previous files were JPEGs! One was actually a JPEG that was enlarged in Photoshop to the resolution I wanted and saved as a Tiff.

      One more thing, the renderings were created in Artlantis (a mid-level rendering program) and modified in something called "Paint Shop." All I get are what appear to be single layer TIFF/RGB files, not multi layer files. The artist insists he is sending files complete with the background.

      Before I send him packing, am I missing something? Is it possible the background is there, just invisible to Adobe products? Or is it possible he forgot to link a file or some such thing when saving in "Print Shop"? Any help is very much appreciated.

      MGuilfoile CS3, OS10.4.11, G5/2500
        • 1. Re: TIFF image problem
          Community Member
          >modified in something called "Paint Shop."

          I'd send him packing. I wouldn't trust anyone not using pro software.

          BTW what happens when you open the file in Photoshop?
          • 2. Re: TIFF image problem
            Michael Brown12 Community Member
            In Photoshop I see the computer image rendering. Above that, where the digital aerial photograph should be, is the familiar Pshop checkerboard. It has a single layer (curiously, "layer 0" not "background"), four channels (RGB,R,G,B--no alpha channel). That's it.

            The odd thing is he has done very nice work in the past. Is Paint Shop a real product? Do I infer correctly that you don't think I'm missing anything? (a hard question, I know, without having the files in front of you.) I thought it might be some sort of "bit order" thing when saving TIFFs. Something simple.

            MGuilfoile
            • 3. Re: TIFF image problem
              Michael Witherell CommunityMVP
              Bit order in TIFFs isn't the important thing; not since 16 or more years ago. Paint Shop might or might not be the problem. It depends on the skill of the user. RGB files are 3 channels, not four. JPGs in your workflow can be fine if the user knows what he or she is doing.

              You seem to be on Mac (since this is the Mac forum), whereas the contractor seems to be on PC, since Paint Shop Pro is a Windows software.

              It appears the file is not being sent with complete information--it appears to be missing a layer. Naming a layer as "Layer 0" means that the file is not flattened, and that it has transparency. Tiffs can do this, if using v6. I don't know if the Tiff standard has gone any higher than that.

              Is the contractor zipping up the file before sending it to you? That shouldn't be the problem, but you could easily try it and see if you can rule that problem out.
              • 4. Re: TIFF image problem
                Michael Brown12 Community Member
                Yes, I don't remember bit order ever being a problem either. I was just trying to give my contractor every benefit of the doubt before I cut him loose. I think what he has done is not include a linked file when he makes his TIFF. Just like in Quark, ID, AI or any app that supports file linking. I'm sure it opens fine in his program. Why he does not check it with some image viewer before sending it to me is beyond me.

                This person has produced beautiful work over the years, but I think he simply has gone of the rails somewhere. These are rookie mistakes he's making. The file was not zipped and I've had some associates look at it with the same results. If no one on this forum is aware of some Paint Shop quirk then I have to believe that I'm at a dead end. I'll just ask him to send the photo backgrounds to me separately and I'll create the images myself.

                Thanks for the help!

                MGuilfoile