Applying Outer Glow Reduces Image DPI/PPI

Question

Hi There,I am designing packaging artwork and part of the brand style-guide requires me to apply a very large (40mm) outer glow to the product image. Since this artwork needs to be print ready, the recommended DPI is 300.Prior to applying an outer glow, the image has a DPI of 365. However after applying the effect, the DPI drops below 300 to 212x226 which will trigger the printing company with a warning that the image may not print at high quality. I assume the actual print quality would be fine if we proceeded but i'd prefer to have this image showing as 300 or higher to be safe.I have my raster settings set at 300dpi and have tried increasing this at 400 and 1200, and also switching on anti-alias but nothing changed. I also cannot replicate the outer glow of this size using photoshop since the size limit is 250px.Would someone be able to explain why this is happening and let me know if there is a solution to correcting this?Kind Regards,Shaun

shaunt93879734 · Accepted Answer

Thanks again all. I managed to find a work-around solution, but i'd still love to know the reason if someone knows why this happens.

The work-around is to group the image and then apply the effect to the group.

c.pfaffenbichler: Yes that is the effective resolution

I cannot provide the actual file due to company privacy reasons but i have recreated the issue in the file download here.

I have saved this as a CS6 file in-case someone without cc has a similar issue. PS: don't worry about the mismatched colour modes in the example

https://we.tl/PHzi3Hd1Lc

Monika Gause: I applied the outer glow to a linked TIFF image of a product with a transparent background.

At the top of the screen the effective resolution (PPI) is shown (see image below) and once the glow effect is applied, this value drops.

Your question actually help me find the work-around solution so thanks The issue seems to occur when applying effects directly to a linked file. This is corrected if you either group the image first or embed the image. (our printing company prefers linked files, not embeded so i will just group it)

The link above will allow you to download the example AI file and an image downloaded from google. This example shows you the original on the left, then the outerglow effect applied with issue in the middle and then on the right is the grouped image with effect that is the solution.

Thanks All. If anyone knows the reason for this drop in PPI, i'd still love to know

Monika Gause · Answer

Exactly what did you apply to exactly what?

Did you apply the outer glow effect to some group? Or does it overlay the image? And where do you notice the drop in resolution? Directly in Illustrator? Or after exporting?

And exactly how did you notice that resolution dropped?

Please tell us step by step and show something.

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