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Illusiumd11
Participating Frequently
March 1, 2013
Answered

Type looks jagged/pixelated inside Illustrator

  • March 1, 2013
  • 9 replies
  • 59521 views

I'm having a tuff time searching around for solutions on this. Just bought a new Dell U2412M. Maybe I'm nit-picking too much, but my type in Illus looks slightly pixelated on the curves. I have anti-aliasing turned on in the pref and I'm zoomed at 100. Is there a way inside Illus I can fix this? Or is it just the limitations of my monitor?

      Correct answer karlad67517650

      I couldn't figure out why my text was pixelated for the longest time. Finally in the View tab make sure "Overprint Preview" and "Pixel Preview" are not selected.

      9 replies

      H
      HuzzaCreative
      Participating Frequently
      October 1, 2024

      This happened to me when I created a custom complex shape that had a few overlapping shapes. I imagine some of the paths and anchors that I changed and/or deleted must have contributed to the pixellation issues.  I tried almost all of the answers below but none of them worked.

      I think there are two alternatives. Completely recreate the shape/object from scratch, and don't do anything to "mess up the pathing." I didn't try this one because the shape was perfectly fine except for the pixellated stroke.

      The second option, I think this one is easiest.

      1) "Copy" the shape (assuming it is a complex, compound shape you had to make from scratch) into a new project. Note: The copied shape still had pixelation issues when I added a stroke. 2) Export that image to a PNG. Note: You need an image in order to use the Image Trace tool.

      3) Reopen that PNG of the shape in Illustrator. 4) Use the image trace function to isolate and recreate the object. Note: This might require a few steps because you need to isolate the shape from the background, and you might need to readd color.

      5) Copy + paste the new object you made with Image Trace back into your original project. The stroke should be as smooth as you'd expect.

      So I wasn't able to get to the "root cause" of the problem which I believe has to do with creating complicated compound shapes that overlap, and not using the "ideal" way to create a single solid shape from it. But this is a great work around.

      H
      HuzzaCreative
      Participating Frequently
      October 1, 2024

      Edit: I wrote "I tried almost all of the answers below but none of them worked."

      I was referring to "other solutions," not the two I suggested. I assumed other peoples solutions would have appeared below this one.

      B
      Big3303755197rb
      Participant
      October 19, 2023

      Yeah it worked for me too I just hope when I print out the picture in my dtf printer the letters will look the same. Has anyone printed out letters pixelated and then changed this option and they come out fine now. Just asking ?

      Monika Gause
      Community Expert
      Monika GauseCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      October 19, 2023

      Try and print a PDF from Acrobat.

      wekarea
      wekarea
      Participant
      November 7, 2021

      Anyone have an answer to this? I've also tried all the suggestions here and nothing works. My graphics look terrible! 😞 

      E
      Eric26207446928p
      Participant
      October 4, 2022

      Same issue here, nothing suggested worked. I though vectors don't give us this pixelated garbage which is why I used that method. But all I've got now is hot garbage, please help.

      Monika Gause
      Community Expert
      Monika GauseCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      October 4, 2022
      quote

      Same issue here, nothing suggested worked. I though vectors don't give us this pixelated garbage which is why I used that method. But all I've got now is hot garbage, please help.


      By @Eric26207446928p

       

      You are answering a thread from 2013.

      Please create a new one.

      Post information on your system and Illustrator version.

      Also under which circumstances you see what you cann garbage.

      And also: a screenshot.

      K
      karlad67517650Correct answer
      Participant
      December 7, 2018

      I couldn't figure out why my text was pixelated for the longest time. Finally in the View tab make sure "Overprint Preview" and "Pixel Preview" are not selected.

        M
        Mike25981532vbm7
        Participant
        September 6, 2022

        *THIS* was it for me. All the other suggestions I had tried. But unchecking pixel preview is what worked for me.

        M
        marshalletm
        Participant
        September 5, 2018

        Hey, I was having the same issue.

        For me it was specifically the text that was "blurry" at certain zoom percentages. Not quite pixelating but "blurry" or just going wonky.

        I too turned off my GPU settings but this only minorly helped, however, I did notice a difference elsewhere than the fonts issues.

        MY SOLUTION:

        In the character panel with 'show options' selected. Change the character anti-aliasing.

        Mine was set to 'Crisp"

        Changing to 'Sharp' or 'Strong' fixed issue.

        Cheers!

        P
        phxs
        Participant
        November 5, 2017

        Hi there, i've been suffering with the same issue and there's nothing about my laptop that justifies what's happening. This thing is killing me.

        Monika Gause
        Community Expert
        Monika GauseCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        November 5, 2017

        phxs  schrieb

        Hi there, i've been suffering with the same issue and there's nothing about my laptop that justifies what's happening. This thing is killing me.

        Please show.

        It's couple of years later, so likely it's not the same issue.

        P
        phxs
        Participant
        November 5, 2017

        Hi Monika,

        Thanks for the quick response. I apologize if i commented in the wrong topic, but i am having this problem with some triangle shapes in a logo i'm designing with Illustrator CC 2018, but after trying multiple things, i realized that the color is making the shapes look jagged. The 100% black in the CMYK palette and the dark colors on Pantone + Solid Coated seems to be causing this.

        E
        Adobe Employee
        EricaLynneLarson
        Adobe Employee
        March 4, 2013

        You may also try going to Illustrator > Preferences > General and making sure the Anti-aliased artwork box is checked.

        Without the box checked:

        With the box checked:

        I hope this helps!

        I
        Illusiumd11Author
        Participating Frequently
        April 26, 2013

        So back at it. Somtimes I can get by... but I've got to figure this out. Either I need a new monitor or video card... or my eyes are going topot. I do have anti-aliasing turned on.

        Mike_Gondek10189183
        Community Expert
        Mike_Gondek10189183Community Expert
        Community Expert
        April 29, 2013

        What scale is that screenshot 100%? What happens when you zoom in further.

        View >> Pixel Preview (Uncheck)

          E
          Adobe Employee
          EricaLynneLarson
          Adobe Employee
          March 4, 2013

          Hi there, could you possibly post a screen shot of this pixellation?

          Mike_Gondek10189183
          Community Expert
          Mike_Gondek10189183Community Expert
          Community Expert
          March 1, 2013

          Does ti look that way in all apps?

          http://www.microsoft.com/typography/cleartype/tuner/step1.aspx

          View >> Pixel Preview (OFF)

            I
            Illusiumd11Author
            Participating Frequently
            March 4, 2013

            Thanks for the reply. Neither of these options fixes the problem. Then again, maybe it's my monitor? It looks as though the same text/font is much cleaner in photoshop. Much cleaner in InDesign as well.

            This would suck if it were my monitor as I just have a new Dell UltraSharp U2412M. Should have held out for retina I am now thinking to myself.

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