PDF preset giving wrong image resolution

Hello,
I'm using CS3 and for making print-ready PDFs I usually use the PDF/X-1a:2001 setting. But sometimes when I preflight the resulting PDFs in Acrobat I find that the resolution of some images is higher than it should be. (I quite often use higher resolution images than 300dpi in InDesign in the knowledge that they will be downsampled in the PDF; this gives me scope for cropping.)
Any ideas why this might be? Maybe one for the Acrobat forum but thought I'd start here.
Thanks
Stephen

If you're using the default the images will only be downsampled to 300
ppi if they're more than 450 ppi.
Change the 450 to 300 and it should work as you expect.
Bob

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How to prevent PDF presets to alter image quality

In experimenting with various PDF presets, I noticed that with grayscale images in Photoshop, saving as PDFs using different presets, alters image quality, specifically the contrast.
Therefore, it seems like saving an image in the "wrong" PDF preset could undo a lot of prepress work. Is there a better way/format?
To get a crude idea: there is an 8.7% decrease in the percent black between 10% and 50% values (the range) on a step wedge between the original in Photoshop and the HighQuality PDF, which showed the same values, and the PDF/X-1a, which compressed the range by 4 percentage points (approximately a 8.7% decrease).
A visual, and idiosyncratic, assessment of four versions of the same image (Photoshop grayscale, High Qualtiy PDF, PDF/X-1a, and PDF/X-3), which included a step wedge and color ramp, would rank the fidelity to the original from best, HighQuality, to worst, PDF/X-1a.
The same grayscale image in Photoshop CS6 was distilled (File > Print > Adobe PDF) to PDFs using unmodified PDF presets in Acrobat XI distiller.
The following composit screen shot (all four images on the screen, screen print, reorganizing them, then reducing the image to a 120 dpi at 4.2" wide (including text) gives some idea of the differences, but a lot got lost getting it here.
Walton

I do a lot of work with print-on-demand books (design and formatting), and I am active on the CreateSpace (the p-o-d division of Amazon.com). Although CS will accept work in virtually any PDF preset or origin (doPDF, cutePDF, etc.), PDF/X-1a is the recommended format, and for other companies it is the only accepted preset.
Here is the dumb question:
On the monitor (as the screen shot shows) the four images (PS, HQ PDF, PDF/X-1a, PDF/X-4) appear quite different: i.e. my video/monitor system is representing the images differently.
A screen shot of all four images on the screen at the same time, then with the info window open in Photoshop, I assessed their CMYK values in the exact same places on each image (lining the images up, using the measure tool and guidelines, measuring at high magnification); here (the color original followed by the original grayscalse conversion) are the black values (C00 M00 Y00 K1-100):
The images display differently, and those displays measure differently.
When I view the PDF images, they appear differently, but if i measure them (Output Preview set to Dot Gain 20%) the K values are the same.
When the same image is prepared using different PDF presets (a previous set of test using different images and looking for something different) they will print (printed in a black & white book by CreateSpace) differently.
How can one predict how a grayscale image will print? How can one prepare it and safely convert it to PDF?
Walton

Wrong image resolution for TIF file

Under OSX 10.6.2, the image resolution using Preview application is wrong for FAX MultiPages TIFF files.
If I open up a file with this resolution:
Image size: 1728 x 1081 pixels
Image DPI: 204 x 98 pixels/inch
Color Model: Gray.
The image always show up all squeezed vertically which tells me the Preview application is not processing the DPI properly. When using the size menu from tools, it assumes the resolution is the same for vertical and horizontal which is wrong.
I'm unable to use the Preview application to read FAX TIFF files with the standard FAX resolution.
How do I open up a trouble ticket with Apple developers to fix this issue? I believe it's a software design issue assuming that all TIFF files use the same resolution for both horizontal and vertical DPI. The Preview application should be able to handle different DPI for horizontal and vertical resolution.
We're a small business and we are running the whole office with Mac Minis and iMac with a Mac Mini Server of course. We love it, but we have this annoying bug which I don't have any way to fix it.
Thank you,
Stephan Monette
Unlimitel Inc.

Here's a sample of the tif file from our fax machine you can download:
http://www.hmnet.net/warp2/fax-standard.tif
Download the file on your desktop and try opening it. You will see the square at the bottom will look like a rectangle. With the right resolution, it should look like a square, not a rectangle.
If I open the file with Windows picture and fax viewer, the resolution is fine and the square looks like a square. But the same file on Windows with Quicktime fails to open and it complains about a corrupted file.
On my MAC, the file opens with Preview, but the resolution is wrong.
Maybe the FAX server is not formatting the TIFF file properly, but we can't fix that since there's no more support for it. But the Windows app is able to open it up with the right resolution. So maybe it's just some code change to do in the Preview app.
Thanks,
Stephan Monette
Unlimitel Inc.

Finding image resolution in a PDF?

I am currently working to perform some maintenance for an app that formats and resizes documents, usually PDFs. The problem happens when certain files are uploaded with an unusually large image resolution (according to the Preflight Properties, 2222.222/2222.222 pt/in). The documents with this resolution come in with file sizes of 36"x24" and end up formatted to 8.5"x11". This leaves the text and a lot of information unreadable.
I am using Visual Basic with iTextSharp to interact with the PDFs that come in. I'm able to find the width and height in points of the document without issue. Finding the image's width/height pixel count is what is giving me fits.
Is there any way in iTextSharp that I can determine the pixel count for the width/height of a PDF Image, or am I heading down a dead end street here?
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

I hate to reply again, but I'm still stuck. I've been through the SDK and documentation and have had no luck finding anything to help solve this problem. I don't really need to extract the image per se, I just need to find the resolution of it. Could you possibly point me in a definitive direction in the SDK/Documentation that I could use? There are a couple examples that deal with Preflight but none dealing with the image in the PDF or its properties.
Thanks in advance.

What is the image resolution in the PDF file for an "Add Image"?

I am using Acrobat Pro XI. I added a 600 dpi image to my PDF file. When I click on it and copy a chunk of it, then paste it into paint, the image resolution is 96 dpi. How can I tell the resolution is of images in my PDF file? I am trying to keep at least 300 dpi image resolution. Thank you for any help in understand this.

then paste it into paint, the image resolution is 96 dpi
That's the consequence of using the OS's clipboard.
A PDF can have image content of different resolution.
You can look in the application's Preferences - Convert to PDF - [select one of the supported image file formats] to observe settings.
Some are user configurable.
Basically if you insert "x" ppi that's the resolution of that image that is not on the PDF page.
Be well...

PDF Image Resolution

khuon mau
I'm having a difficult time meeting a printers requirements and I thought I'd ask if there was any way to tell what the image resolution is on a PDF file.
The images are 300+ when I create the pdf (from Adobe Illustrator CS3), based on their creation instructions, but when I submit they say the images are not high enough quality.
Thanks in advance for any help.
Micah

With the preflight tool in Acrobat you can check the resolution of the images in the PDF document.

When exporting from .pdf to powerpoint, misinterprets image as table some of the time. Anyway to adjust setting for finer resolution?

When exporting from .pdf to powerpoint, misinterprets image as table some of the time. Anyway to adjust setting for finer resolution?

Hi Jim,
Could you please let me know what version of Acrobat and OS are you using.
Have you tried repairing Acrobat?
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Regards,
Anubha

Export to PDF loses image resolution in CS5

I am creating some artwork in Photoshop CS5 at 72dpi. the work is crystal clear.
I then place the file as a jpeg or as photoshop file and again in InDesign the image looks great.
If I then export to PDF the artwork goes very fuzzy in Adobe Reader.
At the file type I am selecting - PDF (Interactive) rather than (print) and the following options are selected below.
I have tried changing the values but may not have reached the right combination.
The main reason I am confused is that when using illustrator my vector artwork never loses quality in PDF format....
Can a PDF be created without image quality loss???
Many thanks
Max

It won't arise for you now that you've set the Reader to be viewed at 72 ppi.
But if you send that to me it will look very blurry as I have mine set to 110ppi.
You could have saved the images as 96 ppi and it would have looked perfect in Acrobat.
But the whole point is that will look different depending on who's viewing it and what their setting is.
You personally shouldn't have a problem anymore using 72 ppi images, there is no need to save higher res images for yourself. But keep in mind that if you are sending this to someone else their Reader will be set to most likely 96 ppi. So perhaps you should consider using 96 ppi images or 150 ppi images in future.

Preflight panel Info. shows my placed 300 ppi PDFs at much less effective resolution

Ï'm brand new to InDesign (graphic designer who primarily works in Illustrator, some Photoshop, until now). I understand resolution and PPI but not necessarily in-depth knowledge of the related necessary workflow needed within InDesign, if that makes sense. I've spent hours and hours the last couple days trying to learn the finer points of InDesign as I work on an ad magazine for my company, but I can't for the life of me figure this particular issue out, and I'm guessing (hoping!) it's a very simple solution.
I placed several 300 PPI PDF images in the magazine document (vector PDF's I created in Illustrator, saved as editable PDF's).
I created a Preflight Panel in InDesign with a custom Profile, named it Print Ready, and set image resolution to 250 to ensure as I finish up this magazine design that things are press/print ready. It now shows 5 images with Image resolutions lower than the 250 minimum - all of the pdfs I placed. They all show very low PPI, 74, 109, etc. The 300 PPI pdfs were already sized to the exact proportions they needed to be in the InDesign file and for print, so there was very minimal scaling to fit the images into their frames, so I'm assuming scaling couldn't have created this issue and it has something to do with my workflow and the way I'm bringing them in.
I'd like to point out that this magazine document was created by another designer, and I'm picking up where they've left off, adding some final images and copy. The other picture images she had in the file appear fine, no errors in Preflight Panel...even some preview stock photo's with the X's across them that appear to be very low resolution (we haven't purchased them and replaced them yet in this InDesign file), so not sure I understand why those are not showing up in my Image Resolution as errors??
Anyhow, at some point I came across the Document Presets, which is currently set to Default - and when I click Define, I noticed it shows the PPI at 72. Does this mean that files I place are "brought in" at 72 PPI, regardless if their original PPI is higher? And if so, how do I change that?
If not, how do resolve or correct?
Sorry for the very long explanation - just want to give as many details as I can, since I'm not exactly sure which details are important to figuring out the problem. Thanks in advance!!

I've checked the resolution in Photoshop just as a double-check and it shows resolution as 300 PPI. When you say "because they can be mixed" do you mean because elements and graphics with the PDF can be of varying resolutions? I hadn't thought of that, if that's what you meant. I do have some items within my pdf that might be lower resolution.
If these show up in my Preflight Panel as an issue, does this mean they would be flagged also with the Printer? In trying to find a resolution I read several forum discussions about how Printers often run your document through a Preflight process and will send it back when there are low resolution images in the document.
Is there some other way to be sure these images are in the InDesign document as 300 PPI so I can know they will in fact print correctly?
PS - Peter - thanks for the super quick response! And I saw your the highlighted "Exceptional Contributor" on the right sidebar for the InDesign forum - clearly well-deserved! Congrats

How to create small size PDFs with reasonable quality images?

Help me Obiwan Adobe!
There seem to be several utilities around the web that claim to do this, but I figured I'd ask the experts first. There must be some sort of step by step technique outlined somewhere that enables you to create PDFs that have reasonable image quality but don't come with such extreme weight that they can't be emailed.
I have seen suggestions ranging from using the Print to PDF function in InDesign (sometimes that works, sometimes not), to exporting out of InDesign using the PDF/X1a preset (used to work ok, but now does not seem to crunch the files down as much as they used to) to adjusting preferences to a lower screen resolution—not in the export or save as dialog box—then saving as reduced size. I've tried almost every technique I have seen but to no avail.
So I assume there is something I am missing. In builiding an InDesign file that you want to severely compress, is it better to use JPEGs or other PDFs or something else for placed images?
I know it is alot to ask, and clearly native Acrobat functions are not much help, but I have several uses for this. I do a lot of book design and prefer to send drafts to clients that are at least good enough for them to look at without fuzzy images. I also would like to put together a portfolio PDF document that does not require sending through FTP. In fact most places that ask for my portfolio PDF want it smaller than 1.5 MB. That seems to be impossible.
So there you go. Somebody needs to write a book. In fact, if I get some good direction, maybe I'll do it.
Thanks
(Also posted in Acrobat forum.)

If your PDF will be printed to any kind of quality requirement, it's best to stick with Adobe's own PDF tools for creation and slimming, rather than third-party.
Whatever choices you make for processing multiple PDFs, full Acrobat offers batch operations.
Depending on your clients' needs, you could consider providing several file sizes. For example, a small one with marginal graphic quality for email, and links to larger files of better quality. If bandwidth and download time are issues for clients, perhaps create a link from each marginal-quaity graphic in your small PDF to a single better-quality downloadable graphic.
An option for reducing file size instead of lowering resolution or using lossier compression, is to consider creating images with fewer bits-per-pixel. This would affect color more than detail. Just a thought.
HTH
Regards,
Peter
Peter Gold
KnowHow ProServices
skipmc wrote:
Help me Obiwan Adobe!
There seem to be several utilities around the web that claim to do this, but I figured I'd ask the experts first. There must be some sort of step by step technique outlined somewhere that enables you to create PDFs that have reasonable image quality but don't come with such extreme weight that they can't be emailed.
I have seen suggestions ranging from using the Print to PDF function in InDesign (sometimes that works, sometimes not), to exporting out of InDesign using the PDF/X1a preset (used to work ok, but now does not seem to crunch the files down as much as they used to) to adjusting preferences to a lower screen resolution—not in the export or save as dialog box—then saving as reduced size. I've tried almost every technique I have seen but to no avail.
So I assume there is something I am missing. In builiding an InDesign file that you want to severely compress, is it better to use JPEGs or other PDFs or something else for placed images?
I know it is alot to ask, and clearly native Acrobat functions are not much help, but I have several uses for this. I do a lot of book design and prefer to send drafts to clients that are at least good enough for them to look at without fuzzy images. I also would like to put together a portfolio PDF document that does not require sending through FTP. In fact most places that ask for my portfolio PDF want it smaller than 1.5 MB. That seems to be impossible.
So there you go. Somebody needs to write a book. In fact, if I get some good direction, maybe I'll do it.
Thanks
(Also posted in Acrobat forum.)

How to create small PDFs with reasonable quality images?

Help me Obiwan Adobe!
There seem to be several utilities around the web that claim to do this, but I figured I'd ask the experts first. There must be some sort of step by step technique outlined somewhere that enables you to create PDFs that have reasonable image quality but don't come with such extreme weight that they can't be emailed.
I have seen suggestions ranging from using the Print to PDF function in InDesign (sometimes that works, sometimes not), to exporting out of InDesign using the PDF/X1a preset (used to work ok, but now does not seem to crunch the files down as much as they used to) to adjusting preferences to a lower screen resolution—not in the export or save as dialog box—then saving as reduced size. I've tried almost every technique I have seen but to no avail.
So I assume there is something I am missing. In builiding an InDesign file that you want to severely compress, is it better to use JPEGs or other PDFs or something else for placed images?
I know it is alot to ask, and clearly native Acrobat functions are not much help, but I have several uses for this. I do a lot of book design and prefer to send drafts to clients that are at least good enough for them to look at without fuzzy images. I also would like to put together a portfolio PDF document that does not require sending through FTP. In fact most places that ask for my portfolio PDF want it smaller than 1.5 MB. That seems to be impossible.
So there you go. Somebody needs to write a book. In fact, if I get some good direction, maybe I'll do it.
Thanks

A lot depends on the types of images you have and the resolution. You may be best adjusting the resolution first in InDesign and then creating the PDF. For the options in the export, you may have to ask in the ID forum since the export is an ID function. Printing to the Adobe PDF printer is the other that was suggested (I usually hear that the ID export is the best way to go, but I don't have ID to confirm). In printing to the Adobe PDF printer there are several options to consider -- one is the selection of the job settings to use. The default is Std that embeds all but the Adobe fonts and has a slightly lower graphics resolution than Press or Print settings. Also, in the advanced button of the Adobe PDF printer>layout (may vary with Acrobat version), select the Graphic>Print Quality and lower it. I use 300 dpi and several others recommend 600. The default is 1200 that is useless unless you are expecting folks to zoom to see fine details.
If you open the job settings Adobe PDF Settings>Default Settings (select one of the settings files - probably press or print, or try Std if you want) and check the graphic tab to see the resolution that will be used for the graphics. A combination of this resolution setting and the Print Quality should address your issues.

Printing using .pdf presets...

I've created a file in inDesign, exported it using High Quality print (PDF presets) and my Canon ImagePRESS (dropped the .pdf in Creo) is taking forever and a day to print. Should I use the Press Quality option? There are a lot of images and transparency is used a lot as well. But, its never taken this long... I'm printing a book of about 8 pages, it may take 5-7 minutes per book. Should I select another .pdf preset to print my job faster?
Please help!
-Justin

It may print faster if you used : "Smallest File Size" or "Standard" which are more appropriate for your type of output device. But, diverting to "Press Quality" will not make much of a difference in speed. Another option would require a bit more work, but will help getting it through the RIP. That would be creating a low resolution version of the same file. So, create a copy and downsample all of the images to low res, somewhere around 100ppi, instead of the defualt 300ppi. If you've sized the images in InDesign, size them in PS ( Photoshop ) and "Place" them at 100% @ 100ppi. I have a feeling the amount of time equals the amount of effort required to output the file ( memory ). You might also simplify some of the effects applied to elements in the file. But, listen. 5-7 minutes for an 8 page booklet is not a long time ( actually less than a minute per page ).
Message was edited by: John Danek

Lightroom 2.7 exporting the wrong images

Hi. I've been using Lightroom since the first beta, currently running LR2.7 on a MacBook Pro. I installed the new CS5 (Web Premium suite) a little more than a week ago, and I'm suddenly having problems exporting images to JPEG from Lightroom.
Images import and edit correctly, look great, nothing gives me an error message. But when I try to export a single image, the first instance (after I've launched the application) will export correctly. After that, there seems to be about a 70% chance that subsequent attempts will export the wrong image. The file is correctly named, but the image will be a duplicate of the last successful export.
If I try to export a batch of four or five, the first image will usually export correctly, sometimes the last image will export correctly, but anything in between will be a duplicate of either a previous export, or the first image.
I assumed it was a memory issue, shut down the Mac and restarted, then opened Lightroom as the only active application. Same thing happened. I can export correctly in other applications such as Photoshop and Flash, but Lightroom won't. Activity Monitor doesn't show anything out of line for memory usage.
When the problem started happening I was running 2.6; I upgraded to 2.7 to see if that would fix it--it doesn't.
Any ideas? I'd rather not delete and reinstall Lightroom and rebuild my libraries if I can avoid it, especially if that might not solve the problem.
Help!
Thanks--
--cynthia

Hmmmm. I've tried various naming conventions and I'm still looking for consistency in the way the error occurs--could have something to do with naming presets, but it's acting like something gets stuck in the cache. What puzzles me is that I export files daily, haven't changed cameras, cards, file locations, my workflow is the same, and I've never had this problem. The only thing that's changed (that I'm aware of) is the installation of CS5--the error seems to have started when I started using "Edit in Photoshop." (And again, that was never a problem before)
The files all have different names, the ones assigned by the cameras.
This morning I rebooted, didn't launch any of the CS5 apps. Launched Lightroom, chose 7 files at random and exported them with the "filename" preset. They exported correctly. I selected them again, and tried another export, this time giving them a custom name, and they exported correctly with a sequence number attached. Tried them with "Custom Name-Sequence," and they worked again. I exported a single file with the same preset, again it exported correctly.
Then I switched folders, selected 7 different images and exported them with a new "Custom Name-sequence," and this time Lightroom exported EIGHT files. The sixth was the previously-exported single-file, so the exporter had gotten the first 5 right, inserted the old file in the sixth position, and then correctly exported the last two.
Three more tests exported everything correctly, which is far fewer errors than yesterday. I'm kinda stumped.

Export Book to PDF does not honor chosen PDF preset

When I choose "Export Book to PDF" from a book panel in InDesign CS4, and select an Adobe PDF preset, the resulting PDF has downsampled images even though my preset specifies no downsampling for images of 300ppi or more.
No downsampling occurs when I export each book document to PDF through the File menu.
Has anyone else experienced this?
Also, when I print a book, linked Illustrator files with status of OK are rendered like low resolution screen previews if they are not in the first document.

I ran Preflight on both books and found no issues, no missing or modified links. I don't have any copies of the documents in the books, so that's not it.
But you did point me in the right direction. InDesign was not checking the links before exporting or printing books.
If I go to Preferences > File Handling and select "Check Links Before Opening Document" and "Find Missing Links Before Opening Document" InDesign exports/prints the links instead of the previews. Problem solved! Thanks.

How do I change the image resolution of a photo?

Hi..,
     I am the beginner in Photoshop.
     I want to change one image resolution from 72 dpi to 300 dpi.
     So, I search and got one pdf for change the resolution of the image. In that they mention, take the "Printscreen" of the image and paste in the photoshop and change the mode(Index - flatten) and change resolution via the "Image -> image size -> Resolution".
     Like that i did, it changed correctly.
     After that I Open one already saved image file in Photoshop and do that same steps but the resolution was not changed.
So, now how to change that saved image resolution to 300 dpi...??
Regards.,
VISWA

Viswa,
To find the current resolution of your image, follow these steps:
With your image open in Photoshop, Image > Image Size (Like you've already done earlier).
Check the resolution as shown above. If it doesn't show 300, enter 300, hit OK and 'Save' your image.
Open the file and check again. If it still shows 72, post back with more details of the type of file you're trying to open in Photoshop and if possible, a screenshot so we can help.
-ST

PDF preset giving wrong image resolution

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