Importing images at different scales

[yoav31388766owxg]

This is a video of me demostrating the bug. Any help would be really appriciated!

[D Fosse]

Describe the problem with full resolution screenshots that make it possible to read the Photoshop interface. I can't tell what's going on here.

Just describe the steps and commands you're calling.

If I had to make an educated guess, I'd say you have placed smart objects at very different ppi values. That's the usual reason.

[yoav31388766owxg]

This site embeds the videos at a lower quality to increase optimization. Simply click on the Settings icon of the player, and rechoose the 1080p option. Or just watch it on YouTube here

[jane-e · Accepted solution]

@yoav31388766owxg 

Here are the sizes in Windows Properties:

Image 1 is 165 x 200

Image 2 is 190 x 123

Here are the sizes when you bring them into Photoshop.

Image 2 is 792 x 512

Image 1 is 12 x 13

Neither image matches the Properties in Windows. You are bringing them into an existing file that is 1920 x 1080 with 300ppi.

How are you bringing the files in? We can't see.

New Window for Image 1 is 165 x 200

This image is 4329 ppi, which is a bizarrely huge ppi! This may well be your issue.

What is the ppi for Image 2 when you choose File > Open?

Jane

[jane-e]

If I had to make an educated guess, I'd say you have placed smart objects at very different ppi values.

Let's go with your educated guess, @D Fosse . I went through the video multiple times taking screen shots before finding one with a ppi of 4329 and we still don't know the other.

Jane

[yoav31388766owxg · Accepted solution]

So from my undrestanding the problem lies with the resoloution. I had no idea that this paramater even existed. Both imgs were downloaded from an external website so that may be where the problem lies. Thank you for you explanation!

For anyone in the future trying to understand how I fixed it:

1. Import the image into Photoshop

2. Click 'Image' and then 'Image Size...'

3. There you want to modify the Resolution to a normal amount if its very high (I set mine to 72 from 4329)

4. Change the Width and Height to the original Width and Height of the image.

[yoav31388766owxg]

Also another helpful tool I made for converting a lot of files into the same PPI.

(I had like 400 img files and could not be botherd to do it by hand)

Code below is a JS code:

https://pastebin.com/nvtTSTea

[D Fosse · Accepted solution]

First of all, there's no need to change width and height. Just uncheck resample and set the new value. No pixels are changed or need to change - it's just metadata.

Second, in explanation to the first: The real underlying issue here isn't the resolution as such. It's that you are Placing as Smart Object. Smart objects are a special construction with special rules.

If you just went with a normal copy/paste, instead of making smart objects - as I would - then it's just the pixels, and the ppi number doesn't even come into it. This is the true, native behavior of Photoshop and pixel images.

Smart objects were designed to fulfil certain criteria. One of the most important was compatibility with vector applications like Illustrator. Illustrator doesn't know what a pixel is. So then they had to find a way to make Photoshop behave in the same way as Illustrator/vector apps.

The only practical way to do that is to use the ppi number. This translates from pixels, that Photoshop understands, to physical measures, that Illustrator understands. So now they had a common language and could talk to each other.

The net effect of this is that a Photoshop smart object honors the physical measurement, not the pixel size. And the physical size is a direct consequence of the ppi number. Pixels per inch!  This is all a bit counter-intuitive to long time Photoshop users, but we just had to accept it and adapt to it. Those are the rules.

It follows from this that if you make sure all ppi numbers are the same - doesn't matter what the number is, as long as they're the same - then this translation is 1:1, and everything retains the same pixel ratio. If one number is different, however, then it will scale accordingly.

Bottom line - if this confuses you, just watch the ppi numbers and forget the rest. Or don't use smart objects. Just copy/paste.