Photo vs Photoshop Image Quality

[IAmDarthMole]

I know there have been a lot of discussions on the forum about the export and downsizing quality differences between Affinity Photo and Photoshop. I also experienced this but I wasn't sure if it was related to Photo or just the result of poor choices on my part. I finally came across a direct comparison and would really appreciate some feedback/assistance/clarification on what I found/experienced.

Photoshop Steps:

1. I opened two illustrator files in Adobe Illustrator, got rid of any background layers present, showed the transparency layer, and then saved as an .eps file.
2. I created a new photoshop file of 350 x 50 at 100ppi.
3. I opened the two .eps files in photoshop, letting it pick its default dimensions it wanted to open as, and only forced 100ppi on the settings.
4. I copied and pasted the files over 1 by 1 and resized them.
5. I copied and pasted a large .png file as well and resized that.
6. I exported the image as a png, leaving all the settings.
7. The two .eps files on the exported png look clear but the resized png that was bigger looks like crap.

 

Photo Mac Steps:

1. I opened two illustrator files in Affinity Designer, got rid of any background layers present, turned on transparency, and then saved as .afdesign files.
2. I created a new Photo file of 350 x 50 at 100dpi.
3. I opened the two .afdesign files in Photo, which it just opened up. I had to rasterize the collection of layers before I could copy and paste them.
4. I copied and pasted the files over 1 by 1 and resized them.
5. I copied and pasted a large .png file as well and resized that.
6. I exported the image as a png, leaving all the settings except I changed resample to Lanczos 3 (non-separable) as I read that provides the least about of loss to the quality.
7. The two .afdesign files on the exported png are less clear then the one from photoshop and the downsized png file looks just as bad.

 

Photo iPad Steps

Basically the same steps as the Mac, however, I didn't have to open them in Designer first to turn off the backgrounds/turn on transparency. The png export was the same setup as the Photo Mac as well, however, that quality was even less than the Photo Mac Steps.

 

Photoshop PNG Export: 

Photo Mac PNG Export: 

Photo iPad PNG Export: 

The difference in the wooden arrow sign isn't from the export, it was just the different sizes from when I downsized while making the different images.

 

Can anyone please let me know if I did the steps wrong, if I'm missing a step, if I'm being silly, or if whatever? I really, really, really want to jump into the Affinity camp and have been researching the different steps needed to match what I usually do in Photoshop but basic image quality differences is a hard pill to swallow. 

Thank you very much in advance!

[Dan C]

Hi IAmDarthMole

Could you please provide the EPS files you've been using, so I can test this workflow here?

[IAmDarthMole]

1 hour ago, Dan C said:

Hi IAmDarthMole

Could you please provide the EPS files you've been using, so I can test this workflow here?

Certainly! Please see attached. I'm also including the original .ai files as well as as the .png file. 

Thank you very much for your help!

AdobeStock_219290948 [Converted].eps

AdobeStock_247964470 [Converted].eps

AdobeStock_219290948.ai

AdobeStock_247964470.ai

[IAmDarthMole]

1 hour ago, Dan C said:

Hi IAmDarthMole

Could you please provide the EPS files you've been using, so I can test this workflow here?

Hello,

I also went back and did a different workflow and received the same results. Please see the steps below, I'll bold the changed processes. Thank you!

 

Adjusted Photo Mac Steps:

1. I opened two illustrator files in Affinity Designer, got rid of any background layers present, turned on transparency, and then saved as .afdesign files.
2. I then reopened the .afdesign files and resized them in Designer using the settings under Document Setup.
3. I created a new Photo file of 350 x 50 at 100dpi.
4. I opened the two .afdesign files in Photo, which it just opened up. I had to rasterize the collection of layers before I could copy and paste them.
5. I copied and pasted the files over 1 by 1 and didn't need to resize them.
6. I exported the image as a png, leaving all the settings except I changed resample to Lanczos 3 (non-separable) as I read that provides the least about of loss to the quality.
7. The two .afdesign files on the exported png are less clear then the one from photoshop just like before.
8. Resizing the .afdesign files prior to opening them in Photo and then resizing them didn't seem to make a difference.

 

Changed Photo Mac PNG Export: 

[Dan C]

My sincerest apologies for the delayed response!

I believe the problem is this— Affinity opens the EPS as a vector editable document (in the form of curves) whereas Photoshop doesn't. As a possible side-effect of us doing this, the document is made up of hundreds of curves and it looks like some of these are falling on half pixels which is Affinity doesn't look as sharp. Also when resizing to 350 x 50 @ 100 dpi, because the Affinity document is made up of curves something might be happening there which provides a different output than Photoshop.

I've imported all 3 exports (Photoshop, Designer and Photo) back into Photoshop and I can't see the difference at 100% zoom, please let me know if your exports appear similarly.