JPGs appearing pixilated in InDesign

[bartonlew]

I don't know whether it's apparent in the screen shot below, but I'm importing images into InDesign and they appear pixilated.  I'm sizing them at 300 DPI and they're 6" wide in a 9" x 9" document, one image per page.  If I view the image at 100% pixilation is apparent if not terrible.  Why can't I get a perfectly crisp image on screen?  I'm sharing these images with an editor.  I'm not sure if she's going to print out the book mock up but if so I wanted to print at 300 DPI.  I also want her to see them sharply on screen.  Thanks.  

[Willi Adelberger · Accepted solution]

1. Is the problem in InDesign or in PDF?
2. Do you use high quality preview?

[bartonlew]

Thank you!  This happened to me once before and the answer was high quality preview (in InDesign I find Display Performance>High Quality Display).  Now it looks great on screen (I had not printed to PDF).  I must remember this.

[rob day]

I'm sizing them at 300 DPI and they're 6" wide in a 9" x 9" document

Hi @bartonlew , Are you scaling the 6" wide JPEG up to the document’s 9" width? If that’s the case the Effective Resolution (the output resolution) would be 200ppi not the actual 300ppi. Also all placed images are previewed with a low res proxy so try Exporting a PDF to the default PDF/X-4 preset and see if the problem is with the proxy preview.

[bartonlew]

Thanks Rob I had not yet printed to PDF and was viewing on screen where I was seeing the problem.  When I opened the jpgs on their own they looked fine.  That should have been a tip off.  As previously posted the issue was the low quality preview that the system seems to default to.  Rather unfortunate for people with short memory like me but easily corrected.  They look great viewed high quality. 

[rob day]

Thanks Rob I had not yet printed to PDF and was viewing on screen where I was seeing the problem.

Just to be clear I meant Exporting (not Print) to PDF/X-4—there would be no proxy involved when you view in Acrobat.

Also, in general there is no reason to place JPEG. Not sure if you would see a proxy difference, but the PSD format has a number of advantages and none of the downsides of JPEG.

[bartonlew]

Thanks, Rob.  These terms are new to me.  What does "proxy" mean in this context?  Since I just want to see my images at high quality on screen as I work with them, why is exporting preferable, or even desirable?  Just seems like an extra step.  I am unfamiliar with PDF/X4 files - I Googled it and got that "PDF/X-4 files are regular PDF 1.6 files."  What is their significance for purposes of exporting?   Finally, you say "there is no reason to place JPEG."  By that do you mean I should not be using the JPEG format for importing images into my InDesign document?  Why not?  What's the alternative?  Sorry so many questions.  Still learning here.   Thank you.  

[rob day]

Proxies are used for better performance. InDesign’s purpose is pagelayout not image editing, so images are typically linked with a low res proxy for an approximate preview—when you Print or Export, the full res version is sent to the output device or PDF. I can place multi-gigabytes of linked images, and the InDesign document will only weigh a few megabytes.

I could place flattened and compressed JPEG files, but they would usually originate from layered Photoshop files, so it doesn’t make much sense to make a JPEG copy when I can directly place the original high res PSD, which wouldn’t affect the size and performance of the pagelayout. There will usually be some kind of compression on an Export so placed JPEGs would get a double compression and the associated compression artifacts.

PDF/X-4 is a Export preset designed for highend offset printing

[bartonlew]

Thanks, Rob, this is good to know.  My PSD/PSB files are very large, as they are composited files whose end use is as large print photographs (e.g. 4. ft. x 5 ft. @ 300 DPI).  In InDesign, would I just import that file (and InDesign "knows" to make it a lo-res proxy), without taking any other intermediate step?  Many thanks. 

[rob day]

Right there’s no reason to make a flattened copy. Here’s an example of a placed PSD with 15 layers at an output resolution of 922ppi. A feature of the .PSD format is you can turn its layers visibility on or off from within InDesign via Object Layer Options

The saved InDesign file is 4.7MB:

[bartonlew]

Great!  I dragged my PSB file in and it took a while to place but it looks great.  But where are you going to find the saved InDesign file you show in the screen shot above with a size of 4.7MB?  My PSB file is 5 GB and I'm curious to see how big it is in InDesign but I don't know where InDesign "saves" these files.  Thanks.  

[rob day]

You decide where to save from the initial File>Save. Also pay attention when to the Effective Resolution PPI number. Your selected image is at 3030ppi which is 10X more than what you need if you are printing at 100%

[bartonlew]

I thought we were literally going to the location of the PSD or PSB, and dragging that file into InDesign.  Earlier you said "I can directly place the original high res PSD" - and there was no intermediate step.  So what do you mean by "the initial File>Save."  Do I need to resize/resave the document at the size it will appear in the book, or approximately 18", and at 300 DPI, which will address the other problem of too many PPI?  But that file will still be bigger than that that is being placed, right?  And so my question is again, where is that file being stored (the one that is only 4./7 MB in your example)?  

[rob day]

The InDesign file is only 4MB because the PSB is linked not embedded. If you Print or Export the InDesign file the linked image will be output not the low res proxy.

If your 18" page is output at 100% then 3000ppi is way too much res--you don't need the .PSB format

[bartonlew]

So is dragging the image in from Bridge "embedding" the file?  And if so, what are the steps to "linking" it instead?

And when you say I "don't need the .PSB format" for my image for purposes of the book, are you saying resize/resave as a PSD?  

[rob day]

Dragging and dropping is the same as using Place, the file is linked. You have to use PSB when the file size is over 2GB.

Is there a reason for the 54,500 pixel width? Do you plan on printing a 15 foot wide poster sometime in the future?

[bartonlew]

Thank you. Yes, the ideal output for my file would be as a printed 15 ft. poster.
For purposes of making a book, though, I think I understand the workflow finally: Make a version of the file that is size appropriate for the book: 18” @ 300 DPI. Drag and drop (embed) that file into InDesign. (Presumably this will be a PSD not PSB.) Now I have an embedded file that when printed will be high quality as well as a lo-res proxy that will look good onscreen.
My remaining questions are:
1. Where/how do I see the file size of the lo-res proxy (like your screen shot of the 4.7MB file)? Is that accessed somehow from the Links tab?
2. How much PPI is too much? Your screen shot of a “placed PSD with 15 layers at an output resolution of 922ppi” suggests that 922ppi was not “too much” but my 3030ppi was. What’s the cutoff? How does too much ppi affect image quality?
3. You said “A feature of the .PSD format is you can turn its layers visibility on or off from within InDesign via Object Layer Options.” Why would you want to do this? Because it makes the file lighter? You would only do this for layers that are not part of your visible image, though, correct?
Thanks. This has been a real education.

[rob day]

Where/how do I see the file size of the lo-res proxy

The file size of the InDesign file would include placed proxies, but you can’t find the size of the preview proxy for an individual image, but it doesn’t matter the preview doesn’t print unless the link is missing—see the Link Info Status.

How much PPI is too much?

The rule of thumb is 300ppi is adequate for typical offset printing, which works for most images. An image with fine, high contrast details like hair on a light background could benefit from more, but the resolution has to be captured by the camera or scanner—sampling up in Photoshop has no quality benefit. So if you got to the 54,500 pixel width via a sample or scale up in Photoshop, all you’ve done is created a larger file with no better quality. 

For large format posters and billboards you would need less because the viewer is going to be some distance from the art and won’t be close enough to discern the details.

A feature of the .PSD format is you can turn its layers visibility on or off Why would you want to do this

You could create different versions or Layer Comps of the image without editing and resaving the original.

[bartonlew]

Thank you!

[rob day]

Also, if you are having trouble Placing the .PSB format try dragging and dropping from the Finder or Bridge (with CC2021 on OSX .PSBs are grayed out from the Place dialog)