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A
ACBeemer
Participant
December 22, 2017
Answered

Placing Vectors from Illustrator into Photoshop

  • December 22, 2017
  • 4 replies
  • 1951 views

I'm having the exact same problem placing vectors into Photoshop, except that I'm trying to save my final image as a .PNG. the vector looks fuzzy as soon as I place it, copy it, out open it in Photoshop. It is terribly frustrating, and I am using the same resolution and I have anti-aliasing checked. I've watched tutorials, and they do not seem to run into this problem. Did you ever come across a solution?

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer Monika Gause

    When you zoom into an Illustrator file that contains vector elements and/or type, then every time your artwork will be rasterized at the highest possible resolution for display on the (pixelbased) monitor.  So even when you're zoomed in at 60000% the edges will be crisp.

    It Photoshop your artwork gets rasterized at the file's resolution. There is no dynamic rasterization. So when you zoom in, all that happens is: the pixels get bigger. Smart objects might still have higher resolution or be vector based content. But they only get resampled when you scale them. After scaling they are rasterized according to the document's resolution.

    An Illustrator file does not have a resolution. Some of its contents may be raster elements and those have a resolution, but not the file itself.

    When you export a JPEG or PNG you set the resolution on export and it's fixed then. It won't ever look as crisp as the live rendering inside Illustrator.

    4 replies

    Ton Frederiks
    Community Expert
    Ton FrederiksCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    December 23, 2017

    If you zoom in at 400% you will always see pixels.

    Photoshop rasterizes the vector content.

    What do you see if you create a vector element in the Photoshop file and compare the edges to the placed smart object?

    A
    ACBeemerAuthor
    Participant
    December 23, 2017

    Here is the original vector as created in Illustrator. You can see that I am zoomed in at 400%. Everything looks perfectly clear, as you would expect with a vector.

    Below, you can see the Photoshop as I copy and paste the vector as a smart object. You can see that I have checked "Anti-alias." This looks pixelated because I haven't completed the paste.

    And here is the text once I have pasted it as a "Smart Object." The letters are blurry, with some of the smaller words almost difficult to read (such as Rest, Whole, Mindfulness, Schedule. I'm only zoomed in at 200% here.

    At 400% (the same zoom as the original vector), you can very clearly see the blurry/pixelated edges.

    The document is set at 300ppi, as is the vector file. Nothing I do (copy/paste text, copy/paste outlines, place smart object, place as path, or as "Shape Layer," which is almost unreadable.) I do not understand why this is happening. Any advice is greatly appreciated!!!

    A
    ACBeemerAuthor
    Participant
    December 23, 2017

    Sorry, here is the 400% image in Photoshop (I didn't paste it correctly above). It is very blurry and looks unprofessional. I would love help!

    Monika Gause
    Community Expert
    Monika GauseCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    December 23, 2017

    When you zoom into an Illustrator file that contains vector elements and/or type, then every time your artwork will be rasterized at the highest possible resolution for display on the (pixelbased) monitor.  So even when you're zoomed in at 60000% the edges will be crisp.

    It Photoshop your artwork gets rasterized at the file's resolution. There is no dynamic rasterization. So when you zoom in, all that happens is: the pixels get bigger. Smart objects might still have higher resolution or be vector based content. But they only get resampled when you scale them. After scaling they are rasterized according to the document's resolution.

    An Illustrator file does not have a resolution. Some of its contents may be raster elements and those have a resolution, but not the file itself.

    When you export a JPEG or PNG you set the resolution on export and it's fixed then. It won't ever look as crisp as the live rendering inside Illustrator.

    jane-e
    Community Expert
    jane-eCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    December 22, 2017

    @ACBeamer,

    You don't have to start a new thread, as I have branched this into a new thread for you.

    A
    ACBeemerAuthor
    Participant
    December 23, 2017

    Thank you very much! I'll look at that now. For what it's worth, none of the suggestions in this thread helped me, even though they are the "right" answers.

      Monika Gause
      Community Expert
      Monika GauseCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      December 22, 2017

      ACBeemer  schrieb

      I'm having the exact same problem placing vectors into Photoshop, except that I'm trying to save my final image as a .PNG. the vector looks fuzzy as soon as I place it, copy it, out open it in Photoshop. It is terribly frustrating, and I am using the same resolution and I have anti-aliasing checked. I've watched tutorials, and they do not seem to run into this problem. Did you ever come across a solution?

      Please show.

      And please create a new thread. Because your question won't help the others, who havent' even cared to come back here and marked this solved. The correct answers have been posted in this thread over and over again.

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