Problem when importing Photoshop image to Indesign

Forum|Forum|2 years ago
June 2, 2023
2 replies
567 views

Hello,

I have a problem when importing image to Indesign.

I created an image on Photoshop : size 1920x1080px / resolution : 300ppi, but when i import this image in Indesign (i of course i created an Indesign document of the same size : 1920x1080px) the image is not imported at 100% !! It appears very small and i have to scale it at 400% to fit in the document although the document size is the same. It doesn't happen when i work with inches or cm, only in pixel and 300ppi.

Please somebody help me i'm really mad because i don't understand !!

Import and export

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Brainiac

Let's look at the actual numbers, to explain why this is happening.

1. Photoshop understands pixels. 1920 x 1080 pixels is the size it makes. The resolution is 300 ppi. So the size in inches is 1920/300 x 1080/300 = 6.4 x 3.6 inches.

2. InDesign understands inches. It does not understand pixels at all. When you type a size in pixels it assumes you mean points (1/72 inch). So if you type 1920 x 1080 pixels, this is treated as 1920 / 72 x 1080 / 72 inches = 26.7 x 15 inches. Very large.

3. You place an image of 6.4 x 3.6 inches into an InDesign document of 26.7 x 15 inches. InDesign places at 100% size in inches. So it is of course very small - about 1/4 of the width and height.

So everything is actually working exactly right. Except, your expectations. The first thing to do is stop using pixel sizes in InDesign, as the good reply said. If you start working in inches (or mm) things will be much better for you.

James Gifford—NitroPress

Brainiac

Good explanation. Just to hammer in the last nail: for 'understands' substitute 'works in.'

Photoshop is a pixel-based tool. It has some vector features, but it fundamentally sees projects as pixels, works in a pixel-by-pixel basis, and converts things like vector shapes and text to pixels as quickly as it can.

InDesign (and Illustrator) are vector-based tools. Everything is a vector or numeric shape. It handles pixels as placed images, but only at a final export step (to JPEG, PNG, etc.) does the content become pixels, at which point they are beyond InDesign's further control.

You can do 80% of layout tasks in any one of these tools, and for years designers did do business cards in PS and brochures in Illo, but — especially as most users now have all the tools, always up to date — it's best to use each one to its strengths, supported by the others, and not force, say, layouts into Photoshop and web banners into InDesign.

BobLevine

Community Expert

InDesign doesn't really understand pixels. It's a fake measurent with a pixel being equal to 1/72 of an inch. The only way to get a one-to-one is by setting the image to 72ppi. Why are you using 300?

G

graphics74Author

New Participant

Yes it works well with 72ppi, but i like to work my lay-out on Indesign and after i export the whole thing in jpg in 150ppi for Internet (Instagram or Twitter posts), i like to keep a good resolution maybe because i'm use to print and not screen...

James Gifford—NitroPress

Brainiac

Despite its many strengths, ID is not really an optimal tool for pixel-image work or export. It can be done, but as Bob notes, it 'does't really understand pixels' and you therefore sort of have to work through workarounds for many steps.

You can do a layout in ID and export to JPEG, then touch it all up in Photoshop, but the reverse doesn't work very well for web/pixel based destinations.

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