How to export to PNG at specific pixel dimensions? (AI 2020)

[whamalamaboom]

I need a png file with pixel dimensions 10000x10000 at 300ppi. For performance, I don't create AI documents that big since it's vector anyway. I use 1000x1000, the smallest native size I might need. 

What I've been doing is exporting as svg and opening it in PS, which allows me to choose the exact size file I want the svg to be in pixels. I choose 10000 then save as png. Easy.

Taking it into PS works perfectly for me since there are sometimes quick little tweaks I want to add that take 1/100th of the time it would take in AI. But I just discovered svg doesn't fully support layer blend modes, so I want to save as png directly from AI. 

File>save as doesn't have png as a choice.

File>export as doesn't let me choose pixel dimensions.

File>export>save for web doesn't let me choose pixel dimensions over 8000.

File>export>export for screens lets me choose pixel dimensions and other sizing options but the resulting png file has a ppi of 1051 instead of the original 300 as if it's resampling.

Is there any way to do what I want directly out of AI or is that last option the best I'm going to get and I should just change the ppi in PS and save it again?

Thanks!

[Jacob Bugge]

whamalaboom,

Everywhere outside Illy (job description Adobe Illustrator), a pixel is not a unit but a square/rectangle with a certain colour/transparency but of any size: you can have a 1  x 1 px image the size of Trafalgar Square, and you can have a 10,000 x 10,000 px image the size of a stamp.

So fundamentally, a PNG has a pixel x pixel size, and that is it. You can choose a size and then you will get the corresponding resolution in PPI, or you can choose a resolution and then you will get the corresponding size in pixels x pixels.

10,000 is a difficult number; everything divisible by 72 is easy; if you could choose a size of 10,080, you could just Export it as 72" at 140 PPI or similar (72 x 140 = 36 x 280 = 18 x 560 = 10,080).

Edit:

You can create the artwork/Artboard at 25" and use a resolution of 400 PPI resulting in 25 x 400 = 10,000 px.

[whamalamaboom]

Thanks!

[Ton Frederiks · Accepted solution]

It is easy with Export for Screens to get the fixed pixel dimensions.

In your example just set it to 10X or the final pixel width or height.

What you cannot do there is set the resolution to 300. In your example it will be a multiple of 72 ppi.

easy to fix in Photoshop without resampling.

[whamalamaboom]

Yes, that's what I said at the end of my post. I just wanted to make sure that was the only way. Thanks so much!

[Thamis]

I find that the easiest way to get precise results is to open the Illustrator file in Photoshop. When you open it in Photoshop, you will be asked the precise pixel dimensions you want to open it at. Once open, you can then save it with these dimensions.

Because Illustrator has no understanding of pixels, the Illustrator export will often result is blurry edges or transparent pixels on one side. When opening with Photoshop, you get perfectly sharp edges.

[Bobby Henderson]

Illustrator does understand pixels; some of the live effects in Illustrator are pixel-based. Illustrator just isn't a pixel-based editing application; its focus is on vector-based objects.

It is possible to get precise "pixel perfect" edges on certain kinds of objects when exporting the artwork as a pixel-based image directly from Illustrator. The artwork has to be designed for a specific pixel grid in mind. Vector object edges have to line up with that imaginary grid. Otherwise edges will be blurry. It won't make any difference if the artwork is opened in Photoshop, other than it's possible to zoom in and erase certain blurry details. BTW, anything with curves or diagonals is going to have anti-aliased edges.

I'll sometimes copy Illustrator paths to the clipboard and paste them into a new Photoshop document. The paths can be scaled and snapped precisely to the edges of the Photoshop document. The paths would be visible in Photoshop's paths palette. The paths can be used to create precise selections to be filled or do other things. This was one method I used a long time ago when Photoshop was a far more primitive application, before it even had layer capability. AICB paths could help generate complex graphical artwork much faster than using a bunch of separate alpha channel style files.

The original poster spoke of creating 10,000 wide pixel images. But the notion of getting "pixel perfect" details right matters more on lower resolution images. It makes a big difference when creating graphics for LED-based electronic variable message signs. Those displays are often pretty limited in resolution.

[Monika Gause]

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@Thamis  schrieb:

Because Illustrator has no understanding of pixels, 

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Most of the time these issues happen because users have not been educated well about pixels.

[Bobby Henderson]

Considering how many applications are either cheap or freely available now compared to decades in the past, it's either amazing or kind of sad how so many people still do not understand the difference between pixel-based and vector-based artwork.