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mary_n_fingerlakes
mary_n_fingerlakes
Known Participant
April 21, 2026
Answered

Pixelated PNG and TIF images After Export in Adobe InDesign 21.3

  • April 21, 2026
  • 2 replies
  • 40 views

Hi -- This morning I upgraded to Adobe InDesign 21.3.  

But now when I export my INDD file to PDF, I’m finding that the PNG and TIF images on my cover page, which is a linked file from Adobe Illustrator, are coming in pixelated:

 

 

Here’s a closeup:
 

 

When I’m in the Preview mode, those two images are crisp and render perfectly--it’s only when exported to PDF that the images look bad.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks!

 

 

    Correct answer leo.r

    Try to export to normal PDF (not Interactive), will it make a difference? 

    2 replies

    Mike Witherell
    Community Expert
    Mike WitherellCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    April 21, 2026

    Hi Mary,

    What exactly are your export settings when you export to PDF?

    You also should update Illustrator to v30.3. And then, possibly, open the linked Illustrator file in Illustrator and do a Save As and update that link in InDesign. It will probably work.

    Mike Witherell
    mary_n_fingerlakes
    mary_n_fingerlakesAuthor
    Known Participant
    April 21, 2026

    Hi ​@Mike Witherell --

     

    Thank you for your response.

     

    Here are my export settings (minus Security).

    General:

     

     

    Compression:

     

    Advanced:

    I did upgrade to Illustrator 30.3, opened the cover file in 30.3, performed a “Save As” to the appropriate folder, and then went back to InDesign where I re-linked the cover file. I am still getting the same result. 

    I know have two versions of Illustrator installed on my machine; will that cause issues?

    Thank you!

    leo.r
    Community Expert
    leo.rCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    April 21, 2026

    Try to export to normal PDF (not Interactive), will it make a difference? 

    leo.r
    Community Expert
    leo.rCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    April 21, 2026

    This morning I upgraded to Adobe InDesign 21.3. 

     

    What version did you upgrade from (InDesign 2025 or InDesign 21.2)?

     

    Does the problem happen when you export from the previous version? If it’s 21.2, you can revert to it from CC app > InDesign > Other Versions menu for the test. InDesign 2025 can also be reinstalled from there if needed.

     

    mary_n_fingerlakes
    mary_n_fingerlakesAuthor
    Known Participant
    April 21, 2026

    Hi ​@leo.r  - Thank you for the response. 

    I hate to admit it, but I don’t know what my previous version was. I just open the INDD files on my network and didn’t pay attention to the version.

    I took over this position about nine months ago, and I believe the last update was done in April 2025. 

    Right now, it looks like I have two versions of InDesign when I look at the apps listed in the Adobe Creative Cloud Suite: 

     

     

    I opened the file in InDesign 20.5.3, but the pixelation was still there. 
     

    I never access the apps from the Adobe Creative Cloud, but while I was in there, I did see that there were updates for Adobe Illustrator. I was wondering if that could be an issue since the PNG and TIF are associated with an Illustrator file?

    I did re-link the PNG and TIF images in Illustrator, re-link the cover in InDesign (which is where the PNG and TIF are embedded), but I got the same result. 

    Thank you.

     

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