Actual vs Effective PPI

I see in the info when I click on a specific link in the links panel two items I don't know how to tell them apart.  Can anyone give me a good explanation of the difference between actual and effective ppi.  Which one is important and which one you really need to pay attention to and why.  I understand that a picture needs to be at least 240 ppi for print.  I've read several articles and just don't really understand.

Actual resolution is the resolution as you would view it in an image editor like Photoshop.
Effective resolution is the scaled resolution. If you scale the picture smaller in InDesign, you're "squishing" the pixels into a smaller area, increasing the effective resolution. If you scale the picture larger in InDesign, you're spreading the pixels over a larger area, decreasing the effective resolution.

Similar Messages

  • Can "Actual PPI" and "Effective PPI" be extracted from InDesign?

    A script that I may require, needs to reach inside InDesign and extract the Actual PPI and Effective PPI from certain images, and then process the images in Photoshop. Are those variables available to scripts?

    Update: this applies for javascript, i don't actually know if you in Applescript would use the Open Library function, and then selecting Indesign.?
    With Creative Suite comes a program called Adobe ExtendScript Toolkit (in CS3 and CS4 its ESTK 2).
    Open this program and look under (for CS3) "Help" -> "Adobe Indesign CS3 Object Model" this is the Object Model Viewer, or in short OMV.
    In there you will se all the available objects, methods and so on.
    If f.ex. you will like to know how to get a reference of a image:
    app.activeDocument.pages[0].images[0]; // will give you the first image of page 1 of the currently active document
    In ESTK, click application, now you see all available objects for the app (activeDocument is one of them), click this and you will see that Data-Type is document. Click on the blue link document, now you see what objects are available for a document.
    Have fun.

  • PDF Export Compression - Actual or  Effective?

    Hi,
    When I create a PDF Export Preset under compression I can set the downlsampling PPI for images at or over a certain PPI e.g. Bicubic Downsamling to 300 pixels per inch for images above 450 pixels per inch.
    When I place an image in a document I see the Actual PPI of the image and if I scale it or resize it I see an Effective PPI.
    My question is, when I set the compression values does the exporter use the Actual PPI of the image or the Effective PPI once I've placed it and sized it as I want?
    Tony

    If downsamples based on the effective resolution since that is all that really counts in the PDF file.
              - Dov

  • Original and effective ppi

    Hey everyone! I would like to ask for some urgent help on Indesign + PDF print document subject.
    I prepared a document for offset print (business cards 8,5cm width x 5,5cm height) and it turned out that the pictures were very rastered on the Proof. Like, you could see the raster dots on it.
    I checked out my Indesign document again and I found out that the original ppi of the images was 762 and the effective ppi over 1000. I then realised that on Photoshop, I setted by mistake the pictures´s resolution for 300 pixel per cm instead of pixel per inchs!!
    I changed that and they have now:
    300 pixel per inch resolution
    4cm width x 5cm height
    and the pixel dimensions are: 472 px width x 591 pixel (height).
    In the Indesign document, it appears now:
    300 original ppi
    between 300 and 400 effective ppi
    472 px x 591 px dimensions
    My question is, do you guys think I solved the problem that way or should I still change something before I sent it again to print?
    The real dimensions of the pictures on the business card should be about 4cm width x 5cm height, so I decided to have them on Photoshop with that dimensions and 300 pixel per inch resolution, so that I don´t have to scale them much on Indesign. Did I do it right?
    Thank you!

    The original psd file has, more precisely:
    Image size: 14,8 cm width x 21 cm height
    Resolution: 762 px / inch ( = 300px/cm )
    Pixel dimensions: 4440 x 6300
    Then, I changed the Resolution from 762 px / inch to 300 px / inch, and checked in the "resample image" option, which converted the Pixel dimensions into: 1748 x 1418
    (Image size remained the same)
    This file has good detail quality, it looks sharp.
    Then, I drag the layer from this file to a new one, with the image size I need :
    Image size: 4cm x 5cm
    Resolution: 300 px / inch
    Pixel dimensions: 472 x 591
    Which makes me think of another question: Are these Pixel dimensions enough for print? Is this psd file good enough to place in Indesign and for print?

  • Why effective PPI format change?

    Hello there!
    The effective ppi format change to "effective resolution", like 2356x1678px. I want back to real ppi, like 370ppi. How do i get back?

    Since I notice in your screen shot that you have two different images with non-proportional scaling, I might point out that you can use InDesign's Preflight panel to search for such images. In the IMAGES and OBJECTS section of the Preflight Profiles dialog box, check "Non-Proportional Scaling of Placed Object" in your preflight profile.

  • Effective ppi, where did you go?

    Help! Since I upgraded from CS2 all the way to CS5 I'm having trouble finding some of my favourite features. I've spent a lot of time looking for the effective ppi information in the info tab.
    The new info tab shows no resolution at all for eps-images. How can I figure out the effective ppi after I scale the images now???

    You could trigger live preflight for showing the effictive resolution of all images (EPS included!) if you use a very low threshold at max. resolution and even more lower value at min. resolution.
    Downside:
    it will slow down your operations tremendously and you have to single out your selected image you want to check…
    Note 1: first edit the minimum resolution, then the maximum resolution field of your new preflight profile.
    Note 2: don't try to set your minimum resolution values higher than your maximum resolution. Might crash your InDesign. In my case it was InDesign CS5.5 (7.5.2) that showed an alert window with an appropriate message and an ok button that I could not cancel even if I hit ok several times. I switched back to my browser to edit this message here and InDesign crashed in the background; (sometimes I try silly things just out of fun ).
    Uwe

  • Effective ppi

    Hello All,
    My friend and I are working on an art book project being printed on a satin/matt 100lb artpaper.  All images are full bleed 9.75 x 12.5.  Our effective ppi's are ranging from 280 to 400. We were going to downssample them to 300 dpi on export in order to give the printer a document with all the same ppi.  Do I need to upsize the ones that are 285?  Can that be done in InDesign?  I have originals on some of them that are larger if need be.  Would you see the difference?  Is there a reason to give a pdf to a printer with a consistant ppi?  Would they change their lpi within a single job or just print it all at the lower one?
    Thanks!

    Thanks Bob,
    I think it is a pretty high end press.  They do a lot of art books.  Will they reduce the overall lpi for the book because of those few images that aren't 300 ppi?  Or would they still use 150lpi or 200lpi on the whole thing?   Or would they adjust the lpi for each image?

  • Effective ppi in photoshop

    Hi ,
    im using psp cs2.
    when placing images in the composition its easy to get lost and to have your images in a low resolution due to transformation. is there a way to see the effective ppi of a layer content? by effective ppi i mean the resolution of an image in perspective to its size.
    Thanks
    S

    Once in the target image the placed item will have the resolution of that image.
    The secret is to check the resolution of the item before adding it to the image.
    If they are not the same, the item will appear to shrink or expand as it adopts the resolution of the target image

  • Effective PPI in .eps files

    Anyone know how to extract the effective ppi info in .eps files? Photoshop.eps and Illustrator.eps files are different, so whichever you may have info on would be appreciated. I believe Illustrator generated ones are read as .pdf docs, so it may be impossible.
    Thanks,
    Seth

    absqua wrote:
    Why not use the built-in preflight for this? It will get the effective ppi of Illustrator and Photoshop eps's.
    Uh-oh. Egg on face and all of that.
    I didn't get to see the effective ppi, but if I place this EPS image into InDesign
    I get a preflight message 'something is wrong'. If I make the image smaller (and thus increase the ppi), the error disappears.

  • Applescript: Check Effective ppi of document

    Hi
    I'm creating a script to check if I have any lo-res images in my document, using effective ppi (Yes I know about preflight) and just pop up a message. However I'm stuck on checking the results the following is returning…
    [applescript]
    tell application "Adobe InDesign CS6"
              activate
              tell document 1
                        set minimumRes to 100
                        set theEffectiveRes to {}
                        set theLink to every link
                        repeat with x from 1 to count of theLink
                                  set the end of theEffectiveRes to effective ppi of parent of link x
                        end repeat
                        -- Here I need to check theEffectiveRes for any entires below minimumRes and display a message
              end tell
    end tell
    log theEffectiveRes
    [/applescript]
    many thanks
    Shane

    Here's how I do it in JavaScript/ExtendScript:
    effectivePpi = image.effectivePpi[0];     // grab the horizontal effective resolution
    Regards,
    Stephen

  • Is there a way to export link info (scale %, effective ppi, etc.) to a spreadsheet?

    We have several retail pieces that use the same images multiple times. We upsize the image to the largest scale that is used in multiple layouts and then use that same image in the smaller pieces. We'd like to be able to export the link info from several ID layouts to a spreadsheet to compare images and what scale they are needed. This would save time by having to open several files and manually compare scaling, etc.. Any ideas? Thanks!

    Not mine, but I don't know who wrote it originally.
    Add in your own needs... (i'm still learning JS so I haven't advanced this any further, but I want to add both actual dpi or effective (output size) dpi...)
    app.activeDocument.viewPreferences.rulerOrigin = RulerOrigin.PAGE_ORIGIN;
    list = [];
    imgs = app.activeDocument.allGraphics;
    unitname = getCurrentUnit();
    for (i=0; i<imgs.length; i++)
    h = imgs[i].parent.geometricBounds[2] - imgs[i].parent.geometricBounds[0];
    w = imgs[i].parent.geometricBounds[3] - imgs[i].parent.geometricBounds[1];
    left = imgs[i].parent.geometricBounds[1];
    top = imgs[i].parent.geometricBounds[0];
    scale = roundMe(imgs[i].horizontalScale,1);
    // some fair rounding
    switch (unitname)
      case 'in':
       w = roundMe(w, 3);
       h = roundMe(h, 3);
       left = roundMe(left, 3);
       top = roundMe(top, 3);
       break;
      case 'cm':
       w = roundMe(w, 2);
       h = roundMe(h, 2);
       left = roundMe(left, 2);
       top = roundMe(top, 2);
       break;
      default:
       w = roundMe(w, 1);
       h = roundMe(h, 1);
       left = roundMe(left, 1);
       top = roundMe(top, 1);
    list.push (imgs[i].itemLink.name+'\t'+'('+left+','+top+')'+'\t'+w+' x '+h+' '+unitname+'\t'+scale+'%');
    // alert (list.join('\r')); exit();
    defaultFile = new File (Folder.myDocuments+"/"+app.activeDocument.name.replace(/\.indd$/i, '')+".txt");
    if (File.fs == "Windows")
    writeFile = defaultFile.saveDlg( 'Save report', "Plain text file:*.txt;All files:*.*" );
    else
    writeFile = defaultFile.saveDlg( 'Save report');
    if (writeFile != null)
    if (writeFile.open("w"))
      writeFile.encoding = "utf8";
      writeFile.write (list.join("\r")+"\r");
      writeFile.close();
    function roundMe(val,to)
    var t = 1;
    while (to-- > 0) t *= 10;
    return Math.round(val*t)/t;
    function getCurrentUnit ()
    switch (app.activeDocument.viewPreferences.horizontalMeasurementUnits)
      case MeasurementUnits.POINTS: return "pt";
      case MeasurementUnits.PICAS: return "pt";
      case MeasurementUnits.INCHES: return "in";
      case MeasurementUnits.INCHES_DECIMAL: return "in";
      case MeasurementUnits.MILLIMETERS: return "mm";
      case MeasurementUnits.CENTIMETERS: return "cm";
      case MeasurementUnits.CICEROS: return "c";
      case MeasurementUnits.AGATES: return "ag";
      default: alert ("Oh, come on!"); exit(0);

  • Images as anchored objects in text

    I use CS4 on a Mac. I'm working on a book with photos of my art in the text. Before I've used Place to insert all images. (I use Picasa to straighten and crop my photos, they are all jpgs in high resolution, the photos are in a separate folder on my Mac).
    To make the pictures anchored objects in-line, I first place the graphic, then according to the instructions I cut, then paste in text, select image, then set the anchored object above the text etc.
    http://www.adobe.com/designcenter/video_workshop/?id=vid0073
    My question is what happens to the image when you cut and paste. Does it retain it's placed format, like file size and resolution? It seems my InDesign file should be bigger with the added images.
    Should I be worried?

    When use File>Place to insert an image to InDesign - InDesign creates a low-res thumbnail to act as a "placeholder" to the original image.
    It's very cumbersome on the computer when viewing the images in full resolution within InDesign. As it could be displaying 10mb for each image and 10 images would 100 mb per page, quite a lot to render; for example.
    Anchoring objects has no bearing on the file size (well maybe a little).
    The file size and resolution is not affected when you place an image. But the Resolution is affected if you SCALE the image any amount.
    If you go to the Window>Info panel and select an image then you can see TWO options ACTUAL and EFFECTIVE PPI.
    Actual refers to what the original PPI of the image is (ppi = pixels per inch and refers to resolution)
    And Effective shows the the PPI after the image has been scaled.
    For example if you place a 72 ppi image and scale it 24% it will now be Effectively 300 ppi (100/24)*72=300
    For printing you should ensure that the image quality is 300 ppi (it's a general rule of thumb and it's not entirely accurate but that's what most printing places operate at as a standard).
    For the record - you should resave images as JPG if you make ANY alteration to them (as a rule of thumb) saving as JPG over and over can add jpeg artifacts to the image which will degrade the image over time, as jpeg is a lossy format (information is removed with each save). A better way would be to save as TIFF as this is a LOSSLESS format - in that no data is removed upon saving.
    I wouldn't recommend Picassa for your image editing. You should get Photohsop or failing that a free open source program like GIMP.

  • Report on placed image size and resolution?

    I was asked by a client today "does CS4 allow you to create a report of the filenames and the sizes they're  used at?"
    They're getting slides scanned at a higher resolution and the higher the resolution the greater the cost.
    I guess I need: what shows up in the link info panel (actual and effective ppi), the dimension in inches or centimetres, and (ideally) the width and height of the object boxes they're placed in (to make sure the cropping isn't too drastic).
    Anyone know of any scripts or some secret panel that I can't seem to find?

    See this post.
    Might be just what you need, or could be with a bit of tweaking.
    Noel

  • Help with placing images - why do they appear at 150% and look bad?

    Hi there,
    Relative newbie here.
    I have my display performace in InDesign set to high. Whether I 'place' an image or simply drag it onto the page, and regardless of what image file format I use (tif, png, jpg, whatever), when placed, the images appear about 50% bigger than the source, and low-ish quality. I'm forced then to try to resize them manually so they look good on-screen and when printed.
    Why when I place images do they not appear at 100%?
    Is there a way to resize images other than grabbing the re-size handles and hoping for the best?
    Many thanks.

    OK, if the scale says 100% with the direct select tool, that's what you have. Note that using the regular select tool (the black arrow) will ALWAYS show 100% in the scale fields unless you have set your prefs to "adjust scaling percentage," so that's why you use the direct select tool to check. You can also selct the image with either tool and look at the Info Palette. at 100% the actual and effective ppi listed will be the same. What resolution is currently listed in the Info Palette?
    I asked about click vs, click and drag because in CS4 when you drag a frame it always scales the image to fit. This is not true in CS3.
    Screen captures are typically 72 ppi at the size they are captured. 72 ppi is low for most print work, but for screen captures nobody really  expects much in terms of quality. You really are placing, right, not dragging from Photoshop into ID, which is the equivalent of pasting? Pasting an image gives you only the screen preview in CS3. I'm not sure you'd see a difference with a screen grab, though, since the preview would also be 72 ppi.
    If the image is really too large on the page you can scale in ID by holding the Ctrl + Shift keys while dragging a handle. You must press the keys before clicking the mouse in Windows becasue there is a bug. You can also use the Scale tool, or enter a new scale value in the scaling fields. You can use actual dimensions in those fields if you include the units, by the way.
    In Photoshop you can scale the image using Image > Image Size... If you uncheck the "resample image" box the resolutiuon will change in inverse proportion to the size, so reducing the size will increase the resolution, but there will be no differnce in quality over scaling in ID.

  • Changing images to 300dpi within indesign

    Hi again only me, lol
    Within Illustrator have an action set up so i can automatically change the resolution of an image to 300dpi with one click.
    I know Indesign doesnt use actions but is there away of simply setting a script to action this very time saving exercise?
    Andy

    You don't need to do this.
    Make a PDF
    Go to File>Export and in the Compression section of the dialog box there is the option to Downsample All Images to 300 ppi that are above 450.
    However:
    There are scripts to resize images to do this http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/exchange/index.cfm?event=extensionDetail&extid=1833529
    (Window>Automation> Scripts) CS5 it's Under (Window>Utilities>Scripts)
    Installing scripts
    http://indesignsecrets.com/how-to-install-scripts-in-indesign.php
    Why do you want to change all the images to 300 ppi ? There's no need.
    There are two things to look for in the Window>Info Panel
    When you place an image check teh Info Panel
    It will have actual and effective PPI
    Actual will show you the ppi that is resident in the file.
    Effective will show you the PPI in relation to how it was scaled within InDesign
    As long as Effective PPI is 300 ppi or higher then all is fine.
    Generally there is no need to go to open all your images and save them as 300 ppi
    Just use them as they are - even if they are "effectively" over 300 ppi it won't matter.
    When you make the PDF for print you can downsample the images there - reducing the size of the PDF.

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