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Strokes exported from Illustrator are not showing properly

Community Beginner ,
Feb 10, 2023 Feb 10, 2023

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I am currently facing a challenge with creating strokes using Illustrator. When I export the stroks as PNG or JPG, some parts of the stroke are partially missing and I have to redraw them with Photoshope and it is time consuming..
I have updated Illustrator yesterday, but the issue persists. I even tried exporting the files from another PC, but still faced the same problem. Anyone faced the same issue before and how to fix that?

Please Note that
the stroke thickness is between 0.01 pt - 0.1 pt - 0.2 pt. and I can't go thicker as the design requires this thickniss.
Thank you for helping in advance.

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Bug , Draw and design , Import and export , Performance

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correct answers 1 Correct answer

Community Expert , Feb 10, 2023 Feb 10, 2023

Barbara,

 

In addition to what Ton and Mylenium said, especially your smallest thickness of 0.01pt is extremely small, and the others are also rather small; this applies to both the resolutions mentioned.

 

Measured in pixels:

 

At 72 PPI they are 0.01px - 0.1px - 0.2px, in other words between 1/100 of a pixel and 1/5 of a pixel.

 

At 300 PPI they are 0.042px - 0.42px - 0.83px, in other words between 1/25 of a pixel and 4/5 of a pixel.

 

So especially the 0.01pt parts would be hard to see whethe

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Community Expert ,
Feb 10, 2023 Feb 10, 2023

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At what resolution are you exporting? Exporting to an image means exporting to pixels.

In Illustrator 1 pt equals 1 px at 72 ppi. Fractional pixels do not exist so there may not be enough pixels availlable.

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Community Beginner ,
Feb 10, 2023 Feb 10, 2023

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Thank you for your answer, it is 300 ppi.

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LEGEND ,
Feb 10, 2023 Feb 10, 2023

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That sounds like the old problem of "over-designing" your artwork at a larger scale and then scaling it down, with the interpolation eating up your super thin strokes. The only solution to this is to really design at the actual pixel output size and use 72 DPI document resolution or you'll always run into these issues. Also check things like overprint and all that. This affects this stuff as well.

 

Mylenium

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Community Beginner ,
Feb 10, 2023 Feb 10, 2023

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Thank you for your answer, I will try that.

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Community Beginner ,
Feb 10, 2023 Feb 10, 2023

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I tried that and it's not working.
I started from scratch and I checked the used DPI, it is the default screen 72 DPI.

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Community Beginner ,
Feb 10, 2023 Feb 10, 2023

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I tried that and it's not working.
I started from scratch and I checked the used DPI, it is the default screen 72 DPI.

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Community Expert ,
Feb 10, 2023 Feb 10, 2023

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0.01 pt strokes don't make a lot of sense to me when you export pixels (at least not with resolution smaller than 1200 ppi)

 

That said: Please show us screenshots and/or the exported files and an AI demo file.

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Community Expert ,
Feb 10, 2023 Feb 10, 2023

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Barbara,

 

In addition to what Ton and Mylenium said, especially your smallest thickness of 0.01pt is extremely small, and the others are also rather small; this applies to both the resolutions mentioned.

 

Measured in pixels:

 

At 72 PPI they are 0.01px - 0.1px - 0.2px, in other words between 1/100 of a pixel and 1/5 of a pixel.

 

At 300 PPI they are 0.042px - 0.42px - 0.83px, in other words between 1/25 of a pixel and 4/5 of a pixel.

 

So especially the 0.01pt parts would be hard to see whether missing or not.

 

Is it an option to use SVG instead of a raster format, or to use a PDF (everyone staying away from enhancement of thin lines), or otherwise stay in vector artwork?

 

Or to increase the resolution much more?

 

In any case, PNG is a better format for things like linework than JPEG (JPG).

 

 

Edit: And what Monika said while I was away before finishing and posting.

 

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Mentor ,
Feb 10, 2023 Feb 10, 2023

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What's the end purpose of exporting anything at 0.01pt? Who's going to see it? Whose going to see 0.2pt?

What are you trying to create?

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Community Beginner ,
Feb 11, 2023 Feb 11, 2023

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I am designing some recources for AI, and I need to get the finest designs for that purpose.

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Community Expert ,
Feb 11, 2023 Feb 11, 2023

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Where are these JPEG and/or PNG images going to be displayed? On a web page maybe?

If you are designing graphics that will ultimately be rasterized into pixel form you have to do two things. 1: decide what specific size the pixel-based image will be in terms of absolute pixel numbers. For instance a HDTV display has 1920 X 1080 pixels. 2: tailor the artwork's size or aspect ratio and its details to fit the parameters of those pixel dimensions.
 

Really, the dots per inch stuff means nothing unless you're actually printing something. I'm typing this on a notebook with a 120Hz 17" 3840x2160 pixel display. I don't care what the DPI of my screen may turn out to be (which is a lot) because it's irrelevant in terms of the layout where the pixel based image is going. All I care about is the pixel numbers of the "foot print" where that image is going to be placed.

In order for a 0.01 point stroke to be clearly visible in a pixel based image that image will probably require a heck of a lot of pixels.

I deal with this same sort of thing helping people understand how to create graphics for LED-based "jumbotron" signs. They think the LED display is equivalent to a TV screen, but it isn't. Most of these units have a pretty low pixel count compared to even an old standard definition TV. But they try to treat it like a TV screen anyway. If their display has a pixel count of 60 X 200 pixels it's not going to have enough pixels to resolve something like a group photograph of several people. There is no way to squeeze in extra detail between the pixels that are physically available on the display.

One thing I would suggest doing is use Photoshop in conjuction with Illustrator to create your JPEG or PNG images. Create a document in Photoshop with the pixel size your target image needs to be. Then copy/paste your Illustrator artwork into it. If certain details are being lost, not resolving, etc then the artwork has to be adjusted. I'll create a lot of graphics intended for jumbotron displays within Illustrator or even After Effects. But I create the graphics with the pixel dimensions of the target display in mind.

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Community Beginner ,
Feb 28, 2023 Feb 28, 2023

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Thank you for your detailed answer, so helpful.
What you've mentioned above is exactly what I am doing now, I am using photoshop combined with illustrator to get the promised results, However, this issue seemed to be more dominant when I updated illustrator, that says, there might be some problem with the updated version, i also was wondering if it could be affected by the machine I am using or the windows version.
What do you think about that?

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Community Expert ,
Mar 01, 2023 Mar 01, 2023

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Can you please give us some specifications?

What are the pixel dimensions of the device you are designing for?

And how does your design look like?

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Community Beginner ,
Mar 01, 2023 Mar 01, 2023

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Pic 1 - This is what does the design look like in illustrator,
Pic 2 - This is what does it look like after exporting.
There are just some missed strokes not all of them, especially the horizental ones.
1.PNG2.PNG

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Community Expert ,
Mar 02, 2023 Mar 02, 2023

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Barbara,

 

Thiank you very much for your sharing the artwork.

 

What happens if you switch off optimizing/anti aliasing as compared to on?

 

And how is it with a higher image size/resolution?

 

And what happens if you switch to black on white?

 

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Community Beginner ,
Mar 02, 2023 Mar 02, 2023

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Thanks for the tips, here is my feedback:

  • switch off optimizing/anti aliasing as compared to on : Nothing has changed.
  • higher image size/resolution : I exported it in 20x this worked, however as the results need to be in a particular size and dimensions I edited that by photoshop and it got all blurry, the fine lines are not showing properly.
  •  switch to black on white : Nothing has changed.

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Community Expert ,
Mar 02, 2023 Mar 02, 2023

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quote

Thanks for the tips, here is my feedback:

  • higher image size/resolution : I exported it in 20x this worked, however as the results need to be in a particular size and dimensions I edited that by photoshop and it got all blurry, the fine lines are not showing properly.

By @barbarai60814358

 

Plain and simple: you have to create the design in a way that it works within the specifications. You have the pixel dimesnions. So set up your Ai file in these dimensions. Then turn on the pixel preview and you see what you will get when exporting. If something does not work, you cannot do it and must change the design. It's that easy.

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Community Expert ,
Mar 02, 2023 Mar 02, 2023

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The "Pic 1" image from Adobe Illustrator is like that of a HD image from a Blu-ray disc. The "Pic 2" image from Photoshop is like that of a SD image from a DVD or VHS tape. A lot fewer native pixels in the image.

The Illustrator document has to be set up from the outset with the limited number of pixels of the target image in mind. Adobe Illustrator is (mostly) a vector-based graphics application. Vector-based objects are resolution independent. Raster/pixel layouts in Photoshop have a fixed number of pixels. Only so much detail can be shown by the fixed grid of pixels in that layout. If the layout needs to show more detail then more pixels are needed -sort of like jumping from standard definition TV to HD. More pixels have to be added to the document's canvas. In some cases (such as print) that can work just fine. If you're having to design within a fixed pixel foot print, such as a web page banner, you have to adjust the design so it works with the limited number of pixels in that fixed size.

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Community Expert ,
Mar 01, 2023 Mar 01, 2023

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Updates to Adobe Illustrator shouldn't have any effect. I think the bigger problem is clashing units of measure.

Setting outline strokes in values based on points, with very tiny values like .01 points, probably won't work when the "canvas" is an electronic display based on pixels. Those outline strokes need to translate into values at least 1 whole pixel wide or greater. The effects of anti-aliasing work only to a limited degree. An outline stroke that translates into only a small fraction of a pixel wide isn't going to resolve (or be adequately visible) on that pixel-based display.

I see these kinds of issues frequently with outdoor LED-based variable message signs. Line work, lettering and other elements require a minimum number of pixels to be recognizable at all. Otherwise it's just a clump of electronic visual mud. It's considerably easier creating pixel-based graphics to display on a phone screen, HDTV monitor or web page layout because far more pixels are available. But it's still pixels, not print.

In order to get the most predictable results within Illustrator and Photoshop the Illustrator document's units of measure should be set up in pixels, with the page being the same number of pixels tall and wide as the target display. It's possible to work in other units of measure, such as inches; but that requires thinking of those units in equivalents to pixels -like one tenth of an inch being equal to a whole pixel. Overall it's probably easier to just work in pixels.

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Community Expert ,
Mar 02, 2023 Mar 02, 2023

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Barbara,

 

"Please Note that the stroke thickness is between 0.01 pt - 0.1 pt - 0.2 pt. and I can't go thicker as the design requires this thickniss."

 

I believe it is worth seeing this design requirement in a way that is different to the seemingly obvious, based on this:

 

Pic 1 - This is what does the design look like in illustrator,
Pic 2 - This is what does it look like after exporting.

 

It seems clear that you are satisfied with the vector artwork in Pic 1, whereas the raster representation in Pic 2 is wrong.

 

I believe the requirement could be that "the stroke thickness is between 0.01 pt - 0.1 pt - 0.2 pt" to get the right appearance of the vector artwork, AND the raster artwork must be made to have the same appearance.

 

It seems clear from you screenshots that the raster artwork is fainter than the vector artwork, increasingly so with thinner stroke weights, so you can keep the original vector artwork and work on a copy by increasing the stroke weights to get the raster artwork as close to the original as possible, which you can see by direct comparison as in your screenshots; obvioulsy, the copy will appear coarser as vector artwork.

 

Maybe you can increase all the stroke weights by the same amount. which might be something like 0.01 pt or 0.02 pt.

 

One of our scripting friends may have a script that does just that. Anyone?

 

Or, especially if you have a limited number of different stroke weights, you can use the Select>Same>Stroke Weight for each of them and increase it the desired amount.

 

Or you can select all the stroked paths and outline the stroke to get filled paths, then add a stroke with the desired amount of increase; this will also make the paths a wee bit longer, but only by the added stroke weight.

 

Undo would undoubtedly be your friend, or you could go back to the original and start over.

 

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Community Expert ,
Mar 02, 2023 Mar 02, 2023

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Barbara,

 

By the way, you say "When I export the stroks as PNG or JPG,"

 

Among those I would suggest your using PNG for a few reasons, one being its losslessness.

 

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