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Nicholas Rumbelow
Participant
February 17, 2025
Answered

Still no 16-bit image support and smooth gradients

  • February 17, 2025
  • 4 replies
  • 977 views

Will Adobe ever enable Illustrator to import 16-bit images without downsampling them to 8-bit, and give us the gradients we need and deserve?

 

My work involves painting a huge, very high-quality 400dpi PSB canvas in glorious 16-bit, then working the intricate, sharp detail as gradient vectors in Illustrator, where it's essential that I can match the colour values created in the PSB, but Illustrator's poor 8-bit interpretation means loss of quality, and the subtle changes in tone I carefully created are destroyed by hideous gradient-banding, and I am not able to create the art that I need.

 

This is a problem that has been raised on this forums for many years, but while Adobe brings Illustrator into the 20th century by introducing more AI tools which I'll never use, they still fail to integrate the two important tools that should have been seamless a long time ago, and I don't understand why.

I'm not asking for much, just for my files to be compatible so that I can create high-quality art without needing convoluted workarounds.

 

Adobe used to be my heroes and I post with great reluctance to complain, and maybe I'm missing something, but at the moment Illustrator is not fit for the purpose I pay SO much money for each month.

    Correct answer Anubhav M

    Hello @Nicholas Rumbelow,

    I understand that this functionality is important to you, and I apologize for its unavailability at this time. Would you mind upvoting the UserVoice for this feature request (https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657-illustrator-desktop-feature-requests/suggestions/32235478-16-bit-mode-for-illustrator) and adding your comments there? Doing this will help us prioritize this request, and you will be notified of any updates.

     

    Feel free to reach out if you have more questions or need assistance. We'd be happy to help.

     

    Anubhav

    4 replies

    B
    Community Expert
    Bobby HendersonCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    October 4, 2025

    In regard to visible banding in gradients: this can be caused by other factors aside from Illustrator's capability or lack thereof to import images with 16-bit color channels. The computer monitor and computer's graphics board can be a culprit. Generally GPU-based Preview will look better than CPU-based Preview.

     

    In print output, it makes a big difference for the printer or large format RIP application to have an Adobe certified PDF Print Engine. I see very little if any banding at all in gradients output by our large format printers. Our office has a large and fairly expensive office laser printer/copier; its print output of Illustrator AI and PDF files isn't very good because the printer lacks that Adobe PDF print engine. Gradient fills may show visible banding and any objects with complex clipping and/or transparency effects may exhibit yucky discolored box syndrome.

    N
    Nicholas RumbelowAuthor
    Participant
    October 4, 2025

    FANTASTIC! 

    Thank you so much for listening, I can now import my 16-bit backgrounds and match the colour values exactly without having to manually measure in Photoshop then paste the values onto every control point in Illustrator.

    The impact this change is already having on my workflow is immense. It means I will complete my projects months ahead of schedule. I only just discovered the update a couple of days ago, and I've been able to achieve what would normally take days in just a few hours, and now I can use the suite as intended.

    I was dreading having to migrate my work to alternative software, I'll never use any generative or assisted tools, a promise that is part of my USP, so some of my detailed work took a year (or three) to complete, but now my productivity has been revolutionised.

    It is a shame it took so long to be able to enjoy full compatibility between PS and AI, and I really didn't think Adobe were listening, but this has restored my faith and I am very happy to be wrong!

    I cannot convey just how joyful this is to me, so thank you.

    Ton Frederiks
    Community Expert
    Ton FrederiksCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    October 4, 2025

    Hi @Nicholas Rumbelow where did you read about 16-bit support in Illustrator?

    I do not get warning messages anymore when embedding, but that does not mean it keeps the 16 bit depth.

    I do get the following warning when the import options are turned on:

    N
    Nicholas RumbelowAuthor
    Participant
    October 4, 2025

    I agree. I'm not sure it's fully 16-bit, but I noticed in the latest update that compatibilty had been improved as per users' requests, which while not directly referring to this issue, I thought I'd check to see if that was included without fanfare.

    Like you I would get the warning about embedding, which doesn't happen anymore but I wasn't convinced. I've just tried with the import options on and didn't get the warning, and haven't been able to generate that message. Not sure if the format matters, but I'm using PSB and TIFFs, maybe that's relevant? I also tested a 16-bit PNG without the warning.

    It's hard to imagine all the different uses needs for each artist, and it's unlikely to be a solution for everyone.'s specific requirements. Maybe it's my perception, but I tried my old method side-by-side with sampling directly on my SpyderPro-callibrated BenQ monitor, and could not tell the difference. I cannot vouch for anyone else's work, I can only comment on the affect on my own, and it appears to be a much-needed solution to my workflow.

    I look forward to reading about others' experiences, the different ways we need colour values to match between the software, and whether it's a solution for the wider community. I hope one day it will fully support 16-bit, but it's definitely moving in the right direction for now.

    Good luck Ton, I hope it works for you, maybe Adobe could clarify the change on this post?

    Anubhav M
    Community Manager
    Anubhav MCommunity ManagerCorrect answer
    Community Manager
    February 25, 2025

    Hello @Nicholas Rumbelow,

    I understand that this functionality is important to you, and I apologize for its unavailability at this time. Would you mind upvoting the UserVoice for this feature request (https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657-illustrator-desktop-feature-requests/suggestions/32235478-16-bit-mode-for-illustrator) and adding your comments there? Doing this will help us prioritize this request, and you will be notified of any updates.

     

    Feel free to reach out if you have more questions or need assistance. We'd be happy to help.

     

    Anubhav

    N
    Nicholas RumbelowAuthor
    Participant
    February 17, 2025

    And no ability to edit previous posts or delete them here? Obviously I meant 21st century...

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