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vividdesigngirl
Participating Frequently
May 27, 2012
Answered

Exported images are pixelated

  • May 27, 2012
  • 17 replies
  • 185684 views

I am having trouble with ALL of my exported images.  The only one I can say that have come out better have been a high quality print PDF.  JPG, GIF, EPS - all have turned out to be pixelated.  I know what I am doing and this has never happened to me before.  I asked in two other forums and the people acted like I was stupid!  I have been working with these programs for years!  I just may not be wording my problem correctly, so bare with me. 

I created a logo in illustrator and it looks great on the screen, but when I export it as say a JPG and bring it back in to illustator it looks horribly pixelated.  I am exporting at the highest level possible.  Is there another setting that would cause it to be pixelated? 

I have tried so many different things now I am not sure what else to do.  Could this be cause by a lacking update?  A bad set of fonts with a virus, maybe? I don't know anymore - any help will be GREATLY appreciated!

This all just started I was working on it just fine a couple of days ago with no problems and now everything has been different. 

TYIA

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer Scott Falkner

    Why are you importing a .jpg file into Illustrator when you already have illustrator artwork? What resolution are you exporting? Are you scaling the artwork after importing it into Illustrator?

    This is probably just a result of the limitations of the file format you exported and the resolution of your export. There is no reason to export to a raster format such as .jpg only to reimport into Illustrator. Tell us what you are trying to accomplish. Tell us more about the steps yo are taking and why.

    17 replies

    Show previous replies
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    nicolek77547172
    Participating Frequently
    March 9, 2015

    I'm having the same issues with poor quality save for web exports.

    • It doesn't matter whether i'm exporting from Ai or Ps or whether it's CS6 or CC.
    • I have changed the raster settings in Ai and i've also tried all optimization options with all different export file types (jpg, png, gif) at all different quality settings.
    • It doesn't matter if I start with an ai, eps, pdf, png... the export result is always poor quality.

    I have tried many forums and can't seem to find a fix to this issue and am at my wits end. Any suggestions are much appreciated... Thanks in advance!

    L
    litterbugx
    Participant
    March 9, 2015

    Hi Nicole.

    I’ve received great advice from many of the other forum members, but they keep pounding on the standard "save as”, "create outlines” or "export as” rules which don’t actually have anything to do with the issue at hand.

    The problem isn’t how you are saving or exporting. It has to do with the image compression on the website you are uploading to. Facebook and many other websites discard non-essential pixel and other information to help with load times etc. I found that for Facebook saving and uploading logos as a PNG eliminated this issue and with other websites that distorted the PNG file exporting as a GIF was the solution and vice-versa.

    Is this issue occurring after uploading to a specific website?

    Mike

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    nicolek77547172
    Participating Frequently
    March 10, 2015

    Thanks for the response Mike but that's not the issue. Im not uploading to any site. The quality issue is directly from the Adobe program. I'm saving for web from a vector that I've created (converted all text to outlines) or any image in Ps and have the same poor quality export issue.

    W
    Wendy W B
    Participant
    February 4, 2015

    I had the same problem. In CS6 this is what worked for me.

    InDesign to Illustrator

    1. In InDesign, convert all type to outlines. Type>Create Outlines
    2. Select all (command A) to select the whole image (all layers)
    3. Copy (command C)
    4. Open Illustrator
    5. Create a new file - File>new
    6. In the new file set up box
      1. Profile: Choose either Web or Print for your end use
      2. Units: Choose Pixels for Web, Inches for Print
      3. Enter the width and height you want the logo or image
      4. Color Mode: Choose RGB for web, CMYK for print
      5. Raster Effects: choose 300ppi
      6. Click OK
    7. You’ll see the artboard. Paste the whole image that you copied from InDesign into the artboard in Illustrator.
    8. You should see that all of the layers are there individually, and can be edited within Illustrator.
    9. Save the file. File>Save As and choose the format
      1. Format: Adobe Illustrator (ai)
      2. map the file to the folder you want and click Save

    Anther way to go is to copy each element separately and place them individually into Illustrator, then adjust spacing. That's practically rebuilding it, but it's faster than creating it from scratch in Illustrator. This way allows complete editing freedom in Illustrator.

    Hope that helps!

    L
    litterbugx
    Participant
    January 31, 2015

    Did anyone find a solution to this? I’ve been a designer for nearly 10 years and I can’t figure out if this is a bug in CC or if it’s a web conversion thing.

    I’ve created company logos in Illustrator for a long time. Use them for all forms of printing etc. If I ever need to make a web or jpeg image I create a file in Photoshop, place the vector within the new image and save as jpeg. I’ve also created the images and used the export as command for many years without a problem. Recently every jpeg I create from exporting in InDesign or Illustrator have these crazy muddy waves through them. The solid colored objects have swirls around anything that was previously an AI or EPS file.

    Any Ideas?

    Monika Gause
    Community Expert
    Monika GauseCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    January 31, 2015

    Please show.

    L
    litterbugx
    Participant
    January 31, 2015

    I took a few screen shots of the progression from AI file, to placing in a Photoshop file and saving as a JPEG. Then what it looks like as a 160x160 Facebook Icon. There is no reason I can think of that it should look so terrible when converted and reduced in size. This is happening when using the export as or save as jpeg function in Illustrator and InDesign with every file that has text or and AI/EPS file placed into it.

    E
    ElDiablo73
    Participant
    January 29, 2015

    Hi Tyia,

    i am having the same problem with Adobe creative cloud... any picture I export as JPG upscaled for big prints or Photoshop panoramas (no matter the size) I get in preview mode using the Finder app a huge pixelated image (around 0.5 inch squares). Apple support (specially Christina) has been very helpful with this. If I restart my computer in safe mode I can preview the pictures normally. They are working on my case right now. I will let you know if we manage a solution

    Z
    zooraves
    Participant
    May 31, 2013

    I was having the same trouble and was wondering if you ever figured out what was wrong?  I did some more looking after reading this fourm and found my answer and hope it might helps someone else that comes along.  In my Save For Web dialog I had somehow unselected the Type Optimized from the drop down box at the bottom of the Image Size tab in the window.  That fixed it for me.  Source of answer here: http://www.creativepro.com/article/illustrator-s-save-web-command

    V
    vividdesigngirlAuthor
    Participating Frequently
    May 31, 2013

    zooraves,

    No, I really hadn't figured it out.  I went on several chat boards trying to figure it out.  I have had to step away from my designing for a bit, but I will return and hope this will solve my problem.  Thank you soooo much for sending this to me.  I was very frustrated by many people thinking I was crazy and that I didn't know what I was talking about.  You are very kind thank you!

    A
    Anonymous
    August 26, 2013

    Hi guys.

    I've got the same problem.

    I'm an advanced user of all the CS6 suite, so don't tell me to check the resolution of the exporting

    I'm using indesign cs6 and i'm working with high-quality pictures.

    When I put the picture in inDesign everything seems perfectly working, but when I export the high-quality pdf for printing (I use the PDF X-1a:2001 preset) the quality of some images goes incredibly down. I don't know why this happens. It never happened to me before but now there's no way to have good quality images in my pdf file.

    Here is the comparison between the view in InDesign where the quality is good and the result of the pdf.

    The logo in the middle is vectorial so don't care about that.

    the picture webhost did a downgrade of the quality, but that's minimal compared to the problem.

    http://s21.postimg.org/ym7gxz8lj/comparison.jpg

    Does anyone have an idea of how to solve this shit?

    I work as a professional designer and that's a big deal for me.

    Thanks in advance guys.

    V.

    Silkrooster
    Silkrooster
    Legend
    May 27, 2012

    I am assuming you were using the save for web and devices.

    Just below the presets are some tabs. the middle tab is Image size. What is the size listed for width and height in pixels.

    If you use export then choose jpg, you can not see what the pixel size will be.

    If you are doing the latter and not the former, then let us know what size in pixels your artboard is set to.

    File>Document Setup to change units to pixels, then click the edit artboard button.

    Right hand corner of top tool bar will display the size of the art board in pixels.

    V
    vividdesigngirlAuthor
    Participating Frequently
    May 27, 2012

    Silkrooster - Thank you for replying!

    Actually I did try save for web and devices and that gave the same result.  Mainly I am just going to file>export>jpg. 

    2 different files I have worked with that are both acting the same - Book cover is 360px by 576 px.   My logo doc is 717 x 308.

    My main project when this started was the 3D book image that has given me so much trouble. But after working on projects after that I continue to being in different files with the pixelated look.  I am just confused why, regardless of what I am working on, a vector image I created completely in illustator would look bad when brought back in to illustrator.  Thus the reason I am eluding to a setting issue that I am unaware has changed. 

    Thank you for your help! Please let me know if I have answered all your questions.

    Silkrooster
    Silkrooster
    Legend
    May 28, 2012

    I guess it depends on what you mean by book cover and the media it will be displayed on.

    For print when exporting to a raster format like jpg, png, tiff, etc. Keep the following formula in mind:

    inches x ppi = pixels

    or

    pixels / ppi = inches

    ex.

    4" x 5" @ 300ppi = 1200 x 1500px

    4 x 300 = 1200px

    5 x 300 = 1500px

    Scott Falkner
    Community Expert
    Scott FalknerCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    May 27, 2012

    Why are you importing a .jpg file into Illustrator when you already have illustrator artwork? What resolution are you exporting? Are you scaling the artwork after importing it into Illustrator?

    This is probably just a result of the limitations of the file format you exported and the resolution of your export. There is no reason to export to a raster format such as .jpg only to reimport into Illustrator. Tell us what you are trying to accomplish. Tell us more about the steps yo are taking and why.

    V
    vividdesigngirlAuthor
    Participating Frequently
    May 27, 2012

    Scott Falkner - Thank you for replying!  This all started as I was designing a book cover.  I export as a .jpg and bring it back in to illustrator to create a 3D image to look like a book.  If there is another way to create a 3D image without using a .jpg or other format, please let me know.  I have tried with my artwork in illustator, but it views all pieces individually and look distorted or even drops some parts when I apply.

    My customer always ask for all files to be .jpg, .png, and PDF.  I was having so much trouble with the image going 3D or even coming back in to illustrator with pixelation I decided to move on to something else and I found that all my images regardless of vector or not are coming in looking pixelated.  I have worked with the logo I created 2 weeks ago and it did not look like this when I brought it back in after exporting it.  I am exporting at the highest level possible - is there a setting that I may have accidently been changed that would create this pixelation in all exports?  Maybe set everything back to default?  I am not scaling the artwork after bringing it in.  The artwork just automatically comes in looking horrible. Hopefully I have answered all your questions to help assist me further, if not, please ask again. Sorry!  Thanks so much!

    P
    pooette
    Participant
    July 26, 2017

    How are the PDF's? I find when I save as a pdf, I can open it again in AI (or PS) and save as AI doc. I'm kinda partial to pdf's and making sure my images for export are minimally 600x800, else they pixelate....  and did you say why you were saving compositions like logos as jpg? I think that throws them into picture protocols because they pixelate the image and lose the vector qualities. Save vector work as vector work/ I have no idea if there are other systems that use and follow vector protocols, open source vector apps?, my vocab is not... well just not. I am new to the GD field, unsure about much. There are two or three things I know. If the pixel image resolution is too low, there is nothing you can do to make it clear. LOL.  Oh, it is okay to save a vector image as a pixel file for the purpose of protecting it from copy.

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