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i-graphya
Participating Frequently
April 10, 2023
Question

Should I rasterize a layer or flatten an image but keep the quality?

  • April 10, 2023
  • 2 replies
  • 7168 views

Should I rasterize a layer or flatten an image but keep the quality?

I want to save the PSD as a PDF for printing, but I want it to keep its high quality.

I don't know what the difference is between a rasterize layer and a flatten image.

I know preserving Photoshop editing capabilities will make PDF editable, and I don't want them to edit it.

I'm saving my PSD in the cloud, as it's very large.

So how do you save it in pdf but keep high quality?

I was thinking of either rasterizing a layer or flattening an image, but I have no idea what the difference is between them.
I want to save to PDF with high quality for printing.

Any sugestion, What should I do as I want to send the file to another country so they can print it, but I don't want to send the actual original file because I don't want them to edit it because I have no idea who will be doing the printing?

 

Thank You

    2 replies

    Bojan Živković11378569
    Community Expert
    Bojan Živković11378569Community Expert
    Community Expert
    April 10, 2023

    "So how do you save it in pdf but keep high quality?"

    Save using High Quality Print preset. Do not Rasterize vector shapes and Type layers although rasterizing will prevent editing.

      jane-e
      Community Expert
      jane-eCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      April 10, 2023

      PDFs can be locked to prevent editing using Adobe Acrobat.

       

      Jane

       

       

        jane-e
        Community Expert
        jane-eCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        April 10, 2023

        @i-graphya 

         

        If you have a Type layer (vector) or Shape layer (vector), then rasterizing the layer converts the layer to raster (pixels). Rasterizing a smart object removes it from the smart object and combines whatever layers are inside into one.

         

        Flattening combines all layers into one Background layer.

         

        If you do either, make a copy first in case you need to make edits to the PSD.

         

        Jane

          Leslie Moak Murray
          Community Expert
          Leslie Moak MurrayCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          April 10, 2023

          Came here to say this. Listen to @jane-e! It's always a good idea to save the unflattened version. You never know when you might want to make a change, or sometimes you might notice an error or maybe just something you wish you'd done differently. Save it as a .tif (which is still a large file) if you want to avoid artifacts.

            I
            i-graphyaAuthor
            Participating Frequently
            April 10, 2023

            I always save two copies after I finish my design and never flatten or rasterize my designs so I don't lose the original work.

            That's why I have no more space in my PC.😅😂

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