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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
  • 7233 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

          I
          i-graphyaAuthor
          Participating Frequently
          April 10, 2023

          So flattening is better than rasterizing to keep the design in better quality.

          I was thinking of saving to PDF without checking to preserve Photoshop editing capabilities, so it can't be edited.

          But should I use bicubic downsampling in pdf or use do not downsample?

          My PSD resolution is 300 dpi

          R
          Romi329781737g9p
          Participant
          October 17, 2023

          Rasterize any jpgs, pngs, any actual photos...Select ALL, create outlines to turn any type into objects...then after that, select all and flatten (ONLY FLATTEN A COPY AND NOT ORIGINAL) to compress your file for print/digital media. Then, save a PDF of the file. DONT FORGET TO KEEP THE ORIGINAL FILE AS IT IS AND ONLY FLATTEN AND CREATE OUTLINES RASTERIZE A COPIED FILE IN CASE YOU NEED TO EDIT THE ORIGINAL FILE. ONCE FLATTENED AND SAVED, THERE'S NO TURNING BACK... 🙂

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