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candy_92
Participating Frequently
April 16, 2012
Question

Blurry images when PDF is exported

  • April 16, 2012
  • 8 replies
  • 108180 views

I'm making a style guide and my images were drawn in Flash CS5.
When I export them to png they're 72 dpi and when I import them into InDesign, the images are fine and clear until I export it as a PDF.

I have other images that were collected from the internet and they're fine and also the images I scanned in are fine and clear as well.

The pdf is only for screen use.

How do I fix this?

(I'm using a Mac btw)
Thanks.

This topic has been closed for replies.

8 replies

L
louisg84146166
Participant
October 10, 2020

I faced a similar issue on Adobe Illustrator 2020.

This is how I fixed it.

    Scott Falkner
    Community Expert
    Scott FalknerCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    July 26, 2020

    What is the effective resolution of the image once placed and scaled in InDesign? If you have Acrobat Pro use the preflight tools and check the resolution of the image in the PDF. Also, since the image will be re-processed in the PDF export the initial format of the image is irrelevant. So you might want to experiment with other formats. I recommend the original PSD.

    M
    marissan36885045
    Participant
    March 11, 2021

    I feel like I have tried everything, my links are working and my photos are still blurry. I have no idea how to fix this, please help. It is an interactive PDF becuase I have links that need to be clickable. The first photo on the top right of the title page is what I adjusted to psd and to a smart object. Nothing helped. Am I saving it wrong? I have no idea. 

    philt13225950
    philt13225950
    Participant
    July 26, 2020

    I just had the smae issue, and exported the file at 150dpi instead of 72 and it looked sharp.

      E
      elizabethw92966013
      Participant
      November 6, 2019

      This just happened to me. and I FIXED IT...I edited my image in photoshop and made it a smart object. Once it was a smart object, i replaced image in InDesign and saved as a pdf - blurry went away.

       

        F
        felicial38600012
        Participating Frequently
        October 22, 2017

        I fixed this by using a higher resolution setting when exporting to pdf from InDesign. 

        I used the High Print Quality preset for exporting to pdf.  Then I reduced the file size in Adobe Acrobat.  (Yes, I know that there is probably a setting in InDesign that will work, but some times you just need to get stuff done!)  The file size was not as small as the smallest file size setting but it was ok.

        If I still was not satisfied with the result, then I would update the image in the pdf file with the original one using Adobe Acrobat.  (This works because I only had a few images in the document that were coming over blurry but probably not a good approach if there are a lot of images.)

        So, these three workarounds netted me a result of job done without having to deal with blurry (or partially blurry) images in my pdf file.

          A
          ayeshahi61686298
          Participant
          July 4, 2017

          A few years later...I had this issue just today if I understand this thread correctly.

          My issue was that I was saving a pdf from illustrator, but the PDF was showing the vectors blurry.

          The solution for me was in the preferences of Adobe Acrobat itself, not illustrator.

          Acrobat > Preferences > Page Display tab (in the right side options panel) > Check "Smooth Line Art" and "Smooth Images"

          C
          candy_92Author
          Participating Frequently
          April 17, 2012

          Okay, thanks though.

          Does anyone else have any ideas on how to fix this?

          MW Design
          MW Design
          Inspiring
          April 17, 2012

          A sample pub would be nice. Linked images so they can be looked at as well. Zip the sample, put up on yousendit.com or dropbox.com and post a link.

          Take care, Mike

          C
          candy_92Author
          Participating Frequently
          April 17, 2012

          https://rapidshare.com/files/971179670/SBS_files.zip

          I've only included a page so that the file would be smaller.
          There's the ID 5/IDML + PDF + image.

          Thanks.

          Peter Spier
          Community Expert
          Peter SpierCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          April 16, 2012

          Blurry images in the PDF oftern indicate that the link was out of date or missing.

            C
            candy_92Author
            Participating Frequently
            April 16, 2012

            I thought so too, but they're all linked properly, none's missing or out of date.

            And this is the first time it has happened to me, so I'm kinda dumbfounded.

            Peter Spier
            Community Expert
            Peter SpierCommunity Expert
            Community Expert
            April 16, 2012

            PNG can also be adversely affected by jpeg compression. Try exporting with no compression, or zip compression.

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