Quality of 'Export for Screens' JPG?

[blackberryd1991]

Is it me or is the quality of images, when creating a web document in Illustrator, noticeable bad when exported as a JPG 100 and viewed at 100% in PS?

Especially small images. I can certainly see the difference between a JPG and PNG. I'm sure exporting as a JPG used to be fine!

Anyone here get this too?

[John Mensinger]

blackberryd1991  wrote

I'm sure exporting as a JPG used to be fine!

I never thought it was, to the extent that I never do it. When I need raster-format output of Illustrator content, I set up an appropriately-sized Photoshop canvas and copy/paste.* From there I can save in any desired raster format with greater control and better results than any of Illustrator's export functions offer.

*In cases where the Illustrator content includes masks, meshes, or live effects which might not make the clipboard round-trip well, I save as PDF and open that in Photoshop, rasterizing at an appropriate density for the output intent.

[blackberryd1991]

Why offer exporting as a JPG within 'Export for Screens' if it isn't something you should do though?

I understand your method but it just seems like extra steps?

[John Mensinger]

blackberryd1991  wrote

Why offer exporting as a JPG within 'Export for Screens' if it isn't something you should do though?

Well I didn't really say  "it isn't something you should do." I only expressed my own dissatisfaction with the feature, and offered my method(s) for working around it to a more satisfactory (to my eye) result. To be fair, that piece of (my) workflow was decided and devised quite some time ago, and thus I might not even be aware of improvements that may have come about in the meantime. Frankly, I don't do enough raster output from vector origins to make this an impactful issue at my desk.

When software offers the possibility of multiple methods for achieving a given result, you must in all cases decide for yourself what conveniences or additional efforts work best for the economy/outcome balance in your workflow. If, unlike mine, your workflow requires frequent raster output from your vector editing application, only you can decide how to strike that balance, but I would advise you to evaluate whether your workflow actually does require that, or if the methods you're using are just a continuation of historical habit. One of the reasons my workflow doesn't require that is because it (the workflow) is simply styled that way; when raster output is the objective, I just don't make whole compositions in a vector editing environment with the end target being export. Rather, even when some or all of the elements are better or more easily drawn in vectors, I still prefer to better predict and control the output from the beginning by assembling the composition in a raster editing application.

Sorry for rambling...

[blackberryd1991]

Not at all, thank you for the in-depth reply!

I'll certainly give you method a go. Exporting as a PNG maintains the quality anyway, so my question was more about seeing if other users experience the same issue [if it even is an issue]. I'm generally happy to use PS or AI to create web graphics, for instance, but slightly lean towards AI as I find it faster to lay content out.

[Monika Gause]

Can we please see an example?

[blackberryd1991]

I'll see what I can do Monika. As mentioned, it's not a major thing but I'm sure something has 'changed'!

[Monika Gause]

There are different export engines working in Illustrator for the different export commands. Photoshop uses another different engine. So if quality really makes a difference, you might need to test out which one works best for your content.

[Guest]

This is driving me nuts. The export quality of the legacy Save For Web continues to be superior to the quality of the new Export for Screens function. My images and text are coming out super pixelated and weird using Export for Screens, every time. I want to abandon the function altogether!

[Doug A Roberts]

Can you share your settings in each mode and the output? Perhaps we can test and see if we get the same results.