Resize images (make smaller) but keep same quality.

[eugenec1540696]

i am trying to use free transform tool to shrink an image to a much smaller size.  when i do this, it gets pixelated when zooming on the small size.  when you make this image back to the original large size, the pixelation remains due to PS removing some pixels.  

i have tried converting the image to a smart object.  when i do this, the smaller image still seems poor quality compared to the original, but when i make it larger, the quality comes back.

so what i want is to reduce the size of an image and keep the exact same pixelation (meaning if i zoom in, it looks the exact same as the original image, just smaller).  can i achieve this?  

im running version CC 2015.  

[D Fosse]

The pixels are the image, it's not some kind of filter you're viewing the "true" image through. If it looks pixelated, it's because it is.

The reason you get this magic with smart objects, is that a copy of the full original is embedded in the file. This copy always remains undamaged whatever you do, so you can go back to it.

You cannot reduce pixel size and have the same quality. That has nothing to do with Photoshop; that's just how a pixel-based image is constructed. It's pixels, nothing more.

[eugenec1540696]

hmmm...so lets say original image is 1500 pixels x 1500 pixels.  if i shrink the smart object down 50%, is it not still 1500x 1500 pixels?

[JJMack]

The smart object is not changed  its pixels can not be changed by  photoshop tools. However the pixel use for the layer will be change by tools like transform  and smart filters so the layers image quality will lose some image quality if you transform the layers size.

[Conrad_C]

If you shrink the Smart Object 50%, both of the following are true:

• The Smart Object contents are still 1500 x 1500 pixels.
• The visible pixel dimensions of the Smart Object are constrained by the document containing the Smart Object, so the level of detail you see when you magnify the view is limited by the document resolution, regardless of the Smart Object resolution.

Example:

1. You start out with a 1500 x 1500 pixel document and it contains the 1500 x 1500 pixel Smart Object, so the Smart Object and the document are the same pixel dimensions, 1500 x 1500 pixels.
2. You shrink the Smart Object by 50%. It still contains 1500 x 1500 pixels, however…
3. In the containing document, the Smart Object now appears to be 750 x 750 px, so it looks half as detailed as it was. Because regardless of the pixel density of the shrunken Smart Object, in the end, how it displays must be forced onto the pixel grid of the containing document. So at 50%, the Smart Object appears to be 750 x 750 px. Because it’s a Smart Object, restoring its original dimensions will also restore its visible resolution of 1500 x 1500 px.

If you want to see 1500 x 1500 px of detail when the Smart Object is 50% of its original size, you must double the pixel dimensions of the containing document — the document in our example must become a 3000 x 3000 px document. You would do that by choosing Image > Image Size and resizing it to 3000 x 3000 px (or 200 percent) with Resample Image enabled.

[JJMack]

You can change the print ppi to a higher regulation without resample. The current image  pixels will be printed with smaller size pixels.  The image will print smaller and be sharper.

[davescm]

Hi

If you shrink a 1500px x 1500px (2.25Mpx)  image by 50% you now have a 750 x 750 px (0.562MPx)  image. So 75% of the original image information is missing. You cannot have an image value smaller than a pixel.

The reason that your smart object returned to normal when you increased the size again is that the smart object is a container. It presents it's contents as a raster layer at the document pixel size. The content though remains unchanged. So when you reduced the document pixel size, the smart object used less pixels to present its content. When you sized back up again it used the original pixel size to display its content.

Dave