Problem with pictures when exporting to pdf.

[håkank25959037]

When I export to pdf the pictures get pixelized even though I use the Print quality option. This is a new phenomenon, because the same InDesign file that exported perfectly in December, resulted in pixelized pictures in March. In between there has been at least ione update of InDesign. A new bug? A new export option that i haven't noticed?

[Derek Cross]

Double-check the Effective PPI of the image in the InDesign Layers panel to see if it's around 300PPI just in case it has been inadvertently changed. In addition, check the picture is still Linked to the original image.

Also, export it as a PDF/X-4 preset to see if that makes any difference. 

Make sure you view the PDF in Acrobat.

[Jumpenjax]

Make sure the link is attached to the original InDesign file.

[Rishabh_Tiwari]

Hi @håkank25959037 ,

Sorry to hear about the trouble. In addition to the suggestions shared above you can also try the steps shared here and let us know if this helps or if you need further assistance.

Thanks

Rishabh

[Bill Silbert · Accepted solution]

After every InDesign upgrade the program treats the first save of any old document as if it was a "Save As". It may be the case here that you will need to make sure that the links to the original graphics are still reading in the Links Panel without either the yellow triangle (image has been updated) icon or the red stop sign (image is missing) icon next to the names of any images. Also, as Derek has said the effective ppi must be checked. This means that if the original image is 300 ppi then it must be in InDesign at 100% in order to maintain that resolution. Any enlargement would decrease the resolution and lead to pixelization.

[håkank25959037]

Thanks. Will check this.

[Laubender]

Hi @håkank25959037 ,

did you convert the document from a previous version of InDesign to a newer one, perhaps the latest one which is InDesign 2023 version 18? Then first save the document to a new file, close the document, re-open the document and try again.

FWIW:
Also make sure that your PDF Export settings do not downsample the images to a lower resolution than you expect…

Regards,
Uwe Laubender
( Adobe Community Expert )