FM 12 - Imported images fuzzy but OK in PDF output

[2015jlg]

Does anyone know how to make the images inside my FM files look better?  The images are 150 dpi and look perfectly fine when I output to PDF.  I would like to have a better viewing experience inside FM.  Can I change any computer settings, etc. to fix this? Thanks, in advance, for advice.

[Arnis Gubins]

What format are your images files? What resolution in FM (dpi setting) are you using? How big (pixel dimensions) is the typical image?

[2015jlg]

Thank you for the reply...

I have tons of images, and they are jpg at 150 dpi.

The typical image size in pixel dimensiions is 904 pixels x 585 pixels

(total 1.5M). Image here is out of Photoshop. When in FrameMaker, I

usually scale down to 55-60%.

Thanks for taking the time to answer me.

Best regards.

[Arnis Gubins · Accepted solution]

Photographic images at those settings should render reasonably well in FM. However, if these are screen captures where you have straight lines and text, then you're using the wrong format. JPG compression is lossy and will introduce artifacts (ringing/shadows/fuzzies) around text and straight line or high-contrast borders. You should use PNG for screen captures.

[2015jlg]

Thanks for the info. I usually hate JPG files and now I know why. I'll

use PNG

[Bob_Niland]

> You should use PNG for screen captures.

Or any graphics file format that offers either no compression, or a repeat-count compression (e.g. RLE, LZW, ZIP). These formats do not damage the image. I commonly use EPS or TIF.

Formats using curve-matching compression, like the DCT used in JPG, always introduce the artifacts that Arnis mentions, and can increase final file size, because curve-matching is really poor on sharp edges.

Another tip is to not resize by resampling when editing screenshots. Set the defined dpi to 72, or 100 (which is more typical for current screens), but adjust the size on the page by setting the scaling in FM. This generally passes in through the rendering unscathed by down-sampling settings that often apply a curve-matching compression.