Pixelated (Mosaic) exports

[szimm]

Hello,

 

I design for print and need tack sharp images. I've been in Illustrator almost 40 years – since 1989 – but loves the new capabilities that AD offers. My issue is that when I export a vector image, it is always pixelated, no matter the export format, persona, ppi settings. When I duplicate the same design in either Illustrator or InDesign, they export crystal clear.

 

These is simple vector art – but I want to take it one step further, which is why I love Designer. However, I'm finding it unusable because the exports are not suitable for print.

 

Am I missing a simple step to crisper exports?

 

Thank you in advance!

[MEB]

Hi szimm,

Welcome to Affinity Forums

The vector objects will be only kept as vectors if you export to a format that supports vectors (PDF, SVG etc). If you are exporting to a raster format like as PNG, TIFF or JPG the whole file will be rasterised (with more of less detail depending on your document dimensions/dpi). In the case you posted above it will be always rasterised because all Layer Effects (FX) in Affinity apps are raster based. They are only displaying sharp inside Affinity because it is rendering them dynamically, adjusting the effect to the zoom level.

Even so this doesn't mean the file isn't suitable for print. It may be a little less sharp than if you have true vector objects but you can still set the document to 300 dpi (or higher) to get a high quality print.

[szimm]

Thanks MEB – I tried exporting in all the vector formats and still get pixelation. Here are pdf and svg exports....

[MEB]

Yes. That's expected. As is said in this particular case it will always be rasterised (even when exporting to formats that support vectors) because all layer effects in Affinity Designer/Photo are raster based (not vector). You are using a 3D Layer Effect to create that look on the text (which is a raster based effect) so when exported it remains as a rasterised effect (image). Go to menu File ▸ Document Setup... and set the document's DPI to 300 or higher. The effects will be rasterised using the dpi set for the document.

[firstdefence]

What about doing 600DPI or even 1200DPI

[toltec]

Export to a higher resolution

 

This was set on an A5 page and output to 300 dpi.

 

 

original Designer file pdfres.afdesign

 

PDF output  300pdf.pdf

 

Just make sure the original image size is big enough before you export it.

 

 

 

 

[szimm]

That's kind of shocking to hear... and unfortunate as well. Maybe it's something AD could look into for a future upgrade.

 

I love AD; it has so many cutting-edge features.... I only wish it was more for print. Guess I'm back to Illustrator for the time being (big sigh)

 

Thanks so much for your help, MEB, it's very much appreciated.

[szimm]

Sorry, didn't see your previous post.

 

600-1200 wouldn't be of much help. I need images that I can enlarge on-the-fly and have it remain tack sharp; anywhere from 12 inches to over 1000 inches.

[gdenby]

Hi, szimm,

 

While I did start using Illustrator about the same date as you, it was only a small part of my job. And, the last time I used it at all was at least 8 years ago. Thus, I'm unfamiliar w. how the 3D effect letters would have been formed in Illustrator. 

 

I  suppose that if you have been doing a 90+ fold resizing, the forms are re-rasterized at printing time to the printer's resolution. A MEB said, the AD screen image is dynamically rendered, and it would indeed be useful if that info could be passed to an output device as needed.

 

As mentioned, the AD 3D fx is a raster depiction from the beginning. There is a way in this case to improve the output, tho' it requires more work. As above, change the document resolution so the dpi equals or exceeds the output device's resolution. When rescaling the text, change the fx parameter  "radius" by the same proportion. IE, a radius of 50 px is changed to 100 when the object is scaled 200%. This keeps the FX shading/modeling effect properly scaled.

 

For single letters, the letter can be duplicated, and the top most vector emptied of any fill. That can be down sized just a bit, maybe .995%. After nesting the layer that will be rasterized into that, the smaller vector outline will clip away the antialiased raster fx at the edges.

 

As far as I can tell, the .pdf export routine compresses the raster render, and makes artifacts, no matter what the resolution. Myself, I don't know how to change the compression parameters.

 

One can export as .tif and have no artifacts, but the file will be on an order of magnitude larger. 

[Wosven]

Interesting technique @gdenby , the result is neat !

[Fixx]

12 hours ago, gdenby said:

For single letters, the letter can be duplicated, and the top most vector emptied of any fill. That can be down sized just a bit, maybe .995%. After nesting the layer that will be rasterized into that, the smaller vector outline will clip away the antialiased raster fx at the edges.

 

You can also do Paste inside to get same effect (bitmap content within vector outline).