Sometimes rasterizing a layer blurs it

[Alex_M]

Hi,

I've noticed that sometimes rasterizing a layer blurs it. Anybody noticed this? Why does this happen and how can I avoid it?

[Pšenda]

Position and size exactly to pixels?

[Alex_M]

Yes, the dimensions of the Image layer are exactly the same as the document and it is positioned such as it touches all 4 borders of the document. I use the Alignment tools in the upper right corner to make sure it is perfectly centered and then I rasterize the Image layer.

[Pšenda]

I would definitely check it in the Transform panel (of course, after increasing the number of decimal places to display pixels).

[Alex_M]

Ok, so I increased the decimal places for pixel values from 0 to 2 in Preferences and then after rasterizing I saw that the dimensions of the layer increased by 1 pixel and the position of the layer changed from 0;0 px for X;Y coordinates to -0.43;-043 px. A bug? This has become really frustrating problem for me since I often have to rasterize image layers. 

[Pšenda]

4 hours ago, Alex_M said:

decimal places for pixel values from 0 to 2

Try setting the maximum (I think it's 6).

[Alfred]

5 hours ago, Alex_M said:

the position of the layer changed from 0;0 px for X;Y coordinates to -0.43;-043 px

The position didn’t change at all. Only the displayed coordinates of the position changed: the actual position may have been (0.428571, 0.428571) or something similar, in which case it would be rounded up to (0.43, 0.43) when displayed to two decimal places but rounded down to (0, 0) when the number of decimal places is zero. If you aren’t working with integer values for both the position and the dimensions, you’ll get blurring at the edges.

[Alex_M]

Ok, so what's causing this and how can I avoid it? I've noticed that it only happens sometimes, not always. It would be good if a developer could chime in and clarify this problem. In Photoshop I've never had this issue. I still think it's a bug because prior to rasterizing I'm always centering the layer (which has exactly the same pixel dimensions as the document) in the middle of the document so it shouldn't be misaligned.

[Alex_M]

Ok, I found the culprit !!! It happens ONLY when I have an Unsharp Mask filter somewhere in the layer stack.  If I remove all Unsharp Mask filters, The Image layer no longer gets blurred after rasterizing. Should I report this as a bug?

[MEB]

Hi Alex_M,
Do you mind uploading the afphoto file with the unsharp mask filter still there so we can check what's going on? I can provide an upload link if you wish to keep the file private.

[Alex_M]

Sure. I'd like to have the private link since it's client work.

[MEB]

Here's the upload link. Thanks.

[Alex_M]

Sent. Try rasterizing "TEST LAYER" which is an image layer. It should get blurred. Then try the same, but with the Unsharp Mask filter deleted.

[MEB]

Thanks for the file Alex. I'm seeing the same results here with other files as well. Isse logged to be looked at. Thanks for reporting this.

[Alex_M]

Good to hear. BTW, I'm seeing the same behavior with other filters as well such as Gaussian Blur.

[Alex_M]

Hi,

This bug still exists and is present in version 1.8. Again, rasterizing an Image layer makes it blurry if there's an Unsharp Mask live filter above it.

[lepr]

32 minutes ago, Alex_M said:

Hi,

This bug still exists an is present in version 1.8. Again, rasterizing an Image layer makes it blurry if there's an Unsharp Mask live filter above it.

Also happens when a live filter (not just Unsharp Mask) is below an Image or Pixel object being rasterised, and even if that filter has its visibility disabled. Still happens in AP beta 1.8.2.173 for macOS.

[walt.farrell]

I suspect that the movement of the Image/Pixel layer (approximately -.4px in both the x and y directions, for me) during rasterization is responsible.

 

[Daniel Finch]

Hello. I'm still getting this problem. Any update? 

[walt.farrell]

36 minutes ago, Mark Clifford said:

Hello. I'm still getting this problem. Any update? 

Many times "this problem" is a user error involving miss-positioned layers or layers with the wrong DPI, and fixing those resolves the problem.

Have you verified that you are actually experiencing one of the bugs, and not one of the user errors?

[Daniel Finch]

36 minutes ago, walt.farrell said:

Many times "this problem" is a user error involving miss-positioned layers or layers with the wrong DPI, and fixing those resolves the problem.

Have you verified that you are actually experiencing one of the bugs, and not one of the user errors?

Thanks for your reply. After playing around I discovered Layer > Geometry > Merge Curves  which solved my problem. I was wanting to merge several map layers together and rasterise quality was awful.  

[dr_who]

Any updates on this issue? Ran into it a while ago, the same ordeal: rasterizing a group yields blurry results if there's an instance of the Unsharp Mask filter on the layer stack. While it's perfectly avoidable once you're aware of it, it can be a bit of a trap to an unsuspecting eye. Not fun discovering the issue further down the line with a project, when it's already too late.

[MEB]

Hi @dr_who,
This is already logged with the development to be looked at. I've bumped/updated the report to bring it up to devs attention again. If you use an integer value for the Radius of the filter it shouldn't blur the output when you rasterise the layer/group. Thanks for your feedback.

[RachelPerez12]

Is there any way around this issue? Has it been fixed yet? I am currently trying to rasterize something with a Gaussian blur live filter and it's coming out extremely blurry.

[MEB]

Hi @RachelPerez12,
Welcome to Affinity Forums
Sorry the delay getting back to you. The original issue reported in this thread is fixed in the current release version (2.0.4). Do you mind uploading the file that becomes blurry after you rasterise a layer please? Maybe you are dealing with something a bit different than what was reported here. Here's an upload link you can use to send it to us. Thank you.