.ai vs .jpg (lack of clarity in the jpg)

[barbaraf97259306]

Hi!

I'm using Indesign 2023 and the logo is not as clear as it should be. The .ai is clearer than the .jpg.

I'm not sure why...  I created the logo in Adobe Illustrator and created outlines for the fonts and then saved it as .ai and saved another one as .jpg. I thought jpgs are best to use in print media. But there is a fuzziness to the edges of the font. The .ai is crisp and clear. I'm not sure why this is happening I set it up in Indesign and converted it to a pdf. 

Will printers take an image .ai when going to press?

[kglad]

in the future, to find the best place to post your message, use the list here, https://community.adobe.com/

p.s. i don't think the adobe website, and forums in particular, are easy to navigate, so don't spend a lot of time searching that forum list. do your best and we'll move the post (like this one has already been moved) if it helps you get responses.

<"moved from cc desktop">

[Derek Cross]

The AI logo is a vector image and the JPG is rasterised, so it will pixelated  (especially if you enlarge it in InDesign).

Keep to native AI logos for placing in InDesign documents 

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

@barbaraf97259306

If you have a source as a vector - AI, PDF, SVG - then it's better for print than JPEG / PNG / GIF - a bitmap.

Vectors scale infinitely - bitmaps are build from squares and more you zoom in - the bigger those squares become. 

[Bill Silbert]

This is the basic difference between a vector image (.ai) and a raster image (.jpg). A vector image will maintain the same quality no matter what size it is used as. A raster image is made up of pixels. Upon enlargement the space between the pixels is increased and quality is lost. For print media it is always best to export a logo as .ai (or possibly a High Quality pdf). Using .ai also means that you will be able to edit it if the need arises

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

@Bill Silbert

You mean size of the pixels - not space between them? 

[Bill Silbert]

Yes.

[Willi Adelberger]

Nope. For print is best ai or PDF/X-4, specially when you have to handle with vectors or text. you should never use JPG. JPG is only for image without transparency and without text or vectors.

Why did you convert it to a rasterized image?

[barbaraf97259306]

Thank you all for your help. I appeciate it.  

Would you mind letting me know what would be the best format for a website?

Thank you.

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

@barbaraf97259306

It depends - JPEG, PNG, GIF or SVG. 

[Dave Creamer of IDEAS]

JPEG is the worst format to use for graphics with flat color. It should only be used for images like photographs that have millions of colors.

For print, import the AI file directly. 

For web, export out as PNG. PNG also supports transparency too, so you can avoid the solid background. SVG can also be used and it will stay sharp no matter what size it is viewed at (like an AI file).