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When I resize an image in Affinity, it becomes less crisp. Ive tested on several photos, same resizing, and the issue still happens. I've even made a higher resolution in Affinity and it still is less crisp than resizing in Preview on MacBook or Photoshop. The pendant image: Affinity on left - less crisp. Azurite image: Affinity on right. Both images resized from same original images. All resizing the same - reducing from 3120 x 3120 at 72ppi to 720 x 720 at 72ppi. Screen_Shot_2021-03-07_at_2_56.11_PM.thumb.png.9c4ad14156521704b0d75e1b7142b817.pngScreen_Shot_2021-03-07_at_2_12.45_PM.thumb.png.075cac5727909247c92cba96780f8aea.pngScreen_Shot_2021-03-07_at_2_12.45_PM.thumb.png.075cac5727909247c92cba96780f8aea.png

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Hi @cosmospacemonkey welcome to the forums.

Presumably you're using Document > Resize Document…  Which setting are you using for resampling?  Others can explain this better than I can, but if you're just using the Bilinear default, you should try using one of the option from lower down the menu.  Try Bicubic first and if that doesn't add sufficient sharpness for your taste, then try the Lanczos 3 options.

2021-03-07_23-12-25.png.5eee1b266cb8091fc82ca47640db2022.png

It's all about giving you control - the different resampling algorithms are suited to different images types: photos, digital paintings, drawings, etc.

—— Gary ——

Photo/Designer/Publisher: Affinity Store, v2.1.1 release

Mac mini (M1, 2020), 16GB/2TB, macOS Ventura 13.4.1(c) • MacBook Pro (Intel), macOS Ventura • Windows 10 via VMware Fusion • iOS: current release

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H @cosmospacemonkey, and welome to the forums.

Your images here are named ScreenShot... what magnification were these on screen? To compare images you should always be using 100%.

For us to assess your images, it is always better to post the original images (rather than screenshots) so that they appear 100% on screen. You can crop them first to reduce the pixel dimensions if necessary.

I suggest this because I cannot see much difference in the images posted here.

John

Windows 10, Affinity Photo 1.10.5 Designer 1.10.5 and Publisher 1.10.5 (mainly Photo), now ex-Adobe CC

CPU: AMD A6-3670. RAM: 16 GB DDR3 @ 666MHz, Graphics: 2047MB NVIDIA GeForce GT 630

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks for responding (I included both relevant screenshots and originals this time) - I am still having serious issues with my images looking good when I resize them AND just exporting same size to jpg. 1) I dont have any of these issues with any other apps I use such as Photoshop, Camerabag Photo, and even the simple Preview app on my mac to resize. I spent an hour trying different setting and different scenarios but no solutions. 2) I understand what you're trying to get across on the screen shot but the screenshot is neither here nor there - the screen shot is an example of what I am actually seeing at any size. The issue is occurs at 100% view. I'm taking a 40" x 40" 72dpi image and reducing it to 10"x10" 72 dpi (appx 500-800 kb)and it turns it to mush at any size. Once again, this does not occur with any other images under the same circumstances when using other apps  The first screen shot is to illustrate the 800 kb 10x10  72dpi image and dropping it into the 10x10" 72 dpi AF Photo file enlarged on my screen. The smaller screen image is at 100% - as you can see (especially looking at the "8") the jpg is still really pixy - and this does not happen in other apps I use. The original files are included as well - they are both the same size but when I export to jpg - really degrades quite noticeably. Thanks

Screen_Shot_2021-03-21_at_11_46.00_AM.png

Screen Shot 2021-03-21 at 11.58.52 AM.png

Delta8Gummies.jpg

Delta8Gummies.afphoto

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Just exporting your .afphoto file gives me this. Where I can see no degradation in quality

What export settings are you using?

Can you upload a screenshot of your export screen just prior to exporting the file?

 

Delta8Gummies2.jpg

To save time I am currently using an automated AI to reply to some posts on this forum. If any of "my" posts are wrong or appear to be total b*ll*cks they are the ones generated by the AI. If correct they were probably mine. I apologise for any mistakes made by my AI - I'm sure it will improve with time.

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Sure. I tried all types od jpg exports but they all do something to the file. the changes are not as drastic anymore (which is weird - im doing the same test) but I can still see a slight differnce between the two files. Ive never had this issue with any other application. I found another really old feed where people were having the same issue with exporting. And I read the entire 3 pages of and there didn't seem to be a real answer. 

Screen Shot 2021-03-24 at 9.24.02 PM.png

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Downloaded and opened your file and noticed this

1969179231_ScreenShot2021-03-25at8_42_37AM.png.a210d23760597b34062f4c9f2387ab16.png

That is where the Camera info is. Also the file is just sRGB, not the sRGB IEC6.... etc (this screenshot is after it is converted automatically).

Mac Pro (Late 2013) Mac OS 12.7.2 
Affinity Designer 2.3.1 | Affinity Photo 2.3.1 | Affinity Publisher 2.3.1 | Beta versions as they appear.

I have never mastered color management, period, so I cannot help with that.

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Well, I can see the difference. Especially the text elements and the sharp edges are pixelated. Have you tried "Resample": "Bicubic" or the "Lanczos 3" modes? "Bilinear" is only for graphical images like drawings or diagrams. Bicubic is better. The Lanczos-Resampling-modes are often even a little bit better. This could be the reason for this results.

As an explanation: The Resampling-modes are made for different qualities of the so called "Interpolation". That means the way how the pixels will be computed if you resize an image (or transform it in any way). Bicubic and Lanczos are more complex algorithms than Bilinear. They work with a wider range of neighbour-pixels. The result will be less sharp, but not pixelated. To scale images always causes a loss of quality. But you can compensate a slight loss of sharpness by resharpening the image afterwards (for example with Unsharp masking).

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So this might help. First, thx iconoclast for the great explanation.

Maybe this will help figure out the problem:  If I just resize the dimensions first and export as jpg, then open that file, reduce to 72dpi, everything looks OK. BUT if I resize document and reduce to 72dpi at the same time, then when I export to jpg, its all mangled. So BOTH are the same dimension and both are 72 dpi. But the more pixelated image had both dpi and dimensions reduced at the same time before exporting. Weird

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It is not clear to me what you exactly want to do. You have to know, that the size of bitmaps (pixel-based images) is always defined by the quantity of pixels horizontal x vertical. That is the real size of the digital image. The third value in Dots per Inch (dpi) or better pixels per Inch (ppi) - dots are actually the dots of a halftone-raster in print - is only important for the analog output - for example printing or plotting - because pixels don't have fixed sizes. So you have to tell how big the pixels shall be for the output. The standard-value for printing is 300 ppi/dpi. This value is just a rule or convention in form of an added information. It will not really change anything in your image. It only tells how many pixels shall be assigned to an Inch. But on screen, only the quantity in pixels horizontal x pixels vertical counts.

To judge the look of your image, especially the sharpness and how pixelated it is, you should always watch it in the zoom-factor 100%, because this is the only zoom-factor the pixels of your image fit to the pixels of your display. The ppi/dpi-value is not important for images that only shall appear on displays.

If you scale an image, the quantity of the pixels of the image will change. So, in case of upscaling, there must be added new pixels to the image. And because every pixel only contains one colour, the colours of all pixels must be computed new. For this process the Resampling-modes are. Depending on which one you choose, the new pixels will be computed with different sensitivities to the surrounding pixels, which results in differnet qualities. It's verry important to know, that scaling images always leads to less sharpness.

In opposite to that, you can assign another ppi/dpi-value to your image - without changing the quantity of pixels of the image. You can do that by using the "Resize Document"-dialogue by unchecking he checkbox "Resample". In that case, you can define another ppi/dpi-value, and the quantity of pixels will not change. So normally, if you are planing to print an image, you should create it with a sufficient quantity of pixels right from the start to get an image with the best possible quality.

By the way: Sorry for my bad english. It's not my mothers tungue, and I'm a little bit outoff practice.

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1 hour ago, iconoclast said:

zoom-factor 100%, because this is the only zoom-factor the pixels of your image fit to the pixels of your display.

I agree with all you wrote (especially the DPI vs PPI part which is something that Serif got totally wrong from the start, duh), but here I have to chime in:

Zoom factor "100 %" in Affinity is always relative to the ruler units. E.g. when using metric units, Affinity will calculate the 100 % value based on the display size and display resolution. At least on my MacBook Pro, that is: 15.4" 1680×1050 px. An object that is set to be 10 cm wide will be shown on my display at its "real world" size as 10 cm wide at 100 % zoom. View > Zoom > Actual Size does the same.
Don't know if it works as reliably on Windows or on 3rd party external displays though, haven't tested it yet.

So, to view pixels at 100 % as defined by the display resolution, select View > Zoom > Pixel Size

MacBookAir 15": MacOS Ventura > Affinity v1, v2, v2 beta // MacBookPro 15" mid-2012: MacOS El Capitan > Affinity v1 / MacOS Catalina > Affinity v1, v2, v2 beta // iPad 8th: iPadOS 16 > Affinity v2

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8 minutes ago, loukash said:

I agree with all you wrote (especially the DPI vs PPI part which is something that Serif got totally wrong from the start, duh)...

It's not only Affinity/Serif. Also f.e. my Epson Scanner denotes it as "DPI", as many other hard- and softwares like Inkscape and, as far as I remember, IrfanView do. It is a verry wide spread misunderstanding. Of course a pixel is somehow some kind of dot, but I think it is a little too ambiguous and confusing to name it so.

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Thanks for the in-depth explanations.I learned most all that info form design school.  Basically, I have never had issues taking a 20”x20” 72ppi down to a 10x10 72 ppi. Most of my job work is online social media images so I’m mostly dealing with 72ppi images. With affinity, when I change the dimensions of an image and export it to a jpg, then it gets mangled. I’ve figure a work around but something is definitely not acting like I usually expect when in other programs. This issue has been brought up in other feeds. Thanks for all your responses.

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21 minutes ago, cosmospacemonkey said:

when I change the dimensions of an image and export it to a jpg, then it gets mangled

Compressing algorithm of JPEG is one thing. The resampling algorithm is another.

If you want to compare apples with apples, resample using the same method in all apps you want to compare and export losslessly to TIFF.

MacBookAir 15": MacOS Ventura > Affinity v1, v2, v2 beta // MacBookPro 15" mid-2012: MacOS El Capitan > Affinity v1 / MacOS Catalina > Affinity v1, v2, v2 beta // iPad 8th: iPadOS 16 > Affinity v2

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