Image Quality Difference Among File Formats.

I'm creating a title sequence in After Effects that uses a series of still images.
I've been using TIFF formatted images and was pleased with the quality. On the other hand, I've started to try to use Photoshop EPS images because it's easy to create clipping paths from the alpha channels in Photoshop, then automatically maintain those mask/transparency settings after the EPS images are imported into After Effects.
However, I've noticed that the EPS images are much softer than those the TIFF ones, even at the same scale and resolution. These are photographs that need to look rich and crisp at all times.
What would you suggest I do to maintain the best image quality while being able to easily use clipping paths to eliminate the original backgrounds of the images I'm importing into AE? Is there some setting I can change to improve the quality of EPS images in AE or would some other file format be more appropriate?

Same procedure. Double click the background layer, create your mask, save as a PSD.
All transparency in Photoshop is supported in AE directly except transparency created with this tool in the Effects Panel:
To access this type of blending you need to import with editable blending modes and then enable Use Blend Range from source in the Advanced Blending options under Layer Styles in AE. I actually use this a lot to clean up mattes.

Similar Messages

Balance Image Quality with Small File Size

I need to first express that I'm a fully self-taught Flash designer. No one has ever sat down and tried to explain to me the DOs and DONTs about Flash. I have followed tutorials, books, and anything else I can get my hands on, but never a person. People of Flash seem to be very hard to find, in my personal experience.
I am the most comfortable with Photoshop, knowing very little about Illustrator or Fireworks.
That said, I have been asked to create a 45KB (yikes!) max file, rotating 3 .jpg images I created from other .jpgs given to me. The images are usually large, so I am given room to compress them for a 300px x 250 px stage.
However, these images are always my biggest culprit for my huge file size. I'll import them in, making them into Graphic Symbols, but nothing seems to prevent the enourmous file size.
When given the raw images, I would throw them into Photoshop, make the files the correct 300x250 size. Then I have tried: saving the image at the best resolution in .jpg and .png form, and then I tried saving the images as low-as-I-could-stomach quality. I hardly see a difference with file size when they are imported into Flash and used.
I was told to use Fireworks's Optimize function, which I did, but it made my .swf even bigger!
When I have my Flash piece all set up/animted as I want, but I need to replace the bitmap(.jpg/.png) photos, I will:
right click on the bitmap to get properties, "upload" the new image to be used, adjust the Quality, having "Allow smoothing" unclicked.
I understand I should make as much of the graphics in Flash as I can, instead of Import, but I am primarily given photographs to use.
Seeing what my previous peers have done is mind-puzzling, but they are not around, so I cannot ask them for their advice. Their files are under 45KB and look sharp and amazing:
http://creative.freedominteractive.com/clients/atep/banners2/
http://creative.freedominteractive.com/clients/fountainvalleyschool/banners/
http://creative.freedominteractive.com/clients/BranchGymnastics/
I am hoping someone can help me get my .jpg files under control. Thank you in advance for your help.

You're certainly on the right track by sizing and optimizing the photos in Photoshop. Are you using optimize for web or save as? Jpgs are your best bet, I find the a 40 quality is just about the point the quality starts badly degrading. In Flash, the only other things you didn't mention is the frame rate and JPEG compression setting in publish settings. Frame rate has a bigger impact on file size than the additional compression. Also, are you using keyframes for teed ing or the AS tween class? This I don't know for sure if it affects file size, but it just seems that motion Tweens with keyframes would add to the size. How far away from the target are you?

Image quality in PDF files

Hi. I add images to pdf files all the time and I have a question about them. The image quality seems to be bad in certain situations. For example I added a 501x483 72dpi gif image to a 1190x1684 pdf file. It looks great at 75% zoom but really jagged at 100% zoom. Why is it like this? Shouldn't it be same as the original image file at 100% zoom?
I'd really appreciate any guidance about making images look better in pdf files.

Hi
Thanks for the responses. I tried Print to PDF. In that images look better although they are little distorted. However, I cannot use print because the Table of Contents prepared in Word does not work when we use Print. Secondly, the PDF file size becomes too large when using Print to PDF.
While directly creating PDF from word using Acrobat, I changed settings for Images (in Preferences) turning downsampling off after changing it to 1800 pixels but that did not help either. Is there anything I am missing out or Is there any other resolution?
Else is there any setting in PDF so that after conversion we can show the images more clearly, maybe if someone hovers over the image it becomes big or clicking on it makes it look bigger.
Looking forward to make this problem resolve.
Thanks

Does Photoshop Express change image quality of original file?

I use Photoshop Express (currently version is 3.4196) on my iPhone 5s to work on 24 megapixel files from my Nikon D7100 DSLR.
Does anyone know if saving the file reduces the image quality? what is the equivalent JPEG level to the Desktop Photoshop?
Tal

Hello
We are currently having a beta for Measurement Studio. This is a public beta where we let customers evaluate beta software versions of the next release of Measurement Studio. If you can go to the beta site ( http://ni.com/beta ) and sign up for the Measurement Studio beta, you can evaluate this behavior in the newer CWGraph control and see if it provides you the desired behavior.
The main reason you are seeing problems like this is that the ControlImage function selects 600 dpi to draw the image out, since this is a standard number that works with most printers.The 7.1 controls will now provide a ControlImageEx function that lets you select the dpi for the image. The standard for most screens is 96 dpi.
Please email the beta coo
rdinator( [email protected] ) once you have signed up.
I hope this helps
Bilal Durrani
NI
Bilal Durrani
NI

Image quality issue - PM7 file converted to ID CS4 file

Hi
We have converted a Pagemaker 7 file to an InDesign CS4 file.
The issue we are having is that the quality of the images has dropped.
We are aware that this is a side effect of the conversion process.
We then tried to insert the original image file into the InDesign file but the quality is lacking.
Can anyone give any recommended settings for importing the images into ID without losing any quality?
Cheers
Jay

You may want to follow the recommendations about linked images in the InDesign Help file:
Before opening the document in InDesign, you may want to do the following:
If the PageMaker file or its linked graphics are located on a network server, floppy disk, or removable drive, it may not open as
expected if an interruption in data transfer occurs. To prevent data transfer problems, copy documents and their links to the
hard disk, preferably in the same folder where the PageMaker publication is stored, before opening them in InDesign.
You may want to use Save As in PageMaker to clear unnecessary hidden data.
To ensure that all links are maintained, copy all linked files to the same folder where the PageMaker publication is stored.
Make sure that all necessary fonts are available in InDesign.
Repair broken graphics links in the PageMaker publication.
If you have a problem converting a large PageMaker document, convert portions of the PageMaker file separately to isolate the
problem.

Image quality difference between timeline- and clip monitors

I've just captured dv into fcp4.5 and got surprised that I got the unrendered red line indication in the timeline when dragging it down from the clip monitor.
However, I rendered it but in timeline viewer the quality was bad like it was a field error. Contures were uneven etc.
The video in clip monitor has perfect quality.
I wish to find out a solution with this to learn something from it, rather than just re-install FCP wich normally puts things right.
Big thanks for advice /Erik
G4 1.2 Mac OS X (10.4.3) 1.8GB RAM

Thanx Jim, the compression was for some reason changed to none, now I changed it back to DV-PAL.
I suppose this compression doesn't affect the final export?
If I'd export with the DV-PAL compression (Ialways export with none) would that degenerate the video again or just read in the same trax so to speak?
Regards, Erik

Crystal Reports Developer 11 - image quality in exported pdf file

I need to create a report with many images and export it to a pdf file. The image quality in the pdf file is slightly lower than in the rpt file. Can someone tell me how to increase the image quality in pdf file?
Thanks,
Hong

This document explains how to increase the image resolution when exporting:
https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/go/portal/prtroot/docs/library/uuid/30407084-c51d-2b10-1f81-813488350e6f
But it's for Crystal Enterprise 8.0, do you know if Crystal Reports 11 will work the same way?

Best file format for linked images in AI

Goal: To keep Illustrator "running" as smoothly as possible with a few hundred linked images?
Question: What file format to use for the linked images ???
I have a few hundred grayscale and CMYK scans that are placed in AI. for a very large museum mural. The scans only have a single layer. They are currently jpegs but Illustrator in coming to a crawl and randomly crashing.
In my everyday work flow I usually link to PSDs
Just wondering what the absolutle best file format is to squeeze every bit of performace out of illustrator with so many linked images.
Thanks in advance,
Dan

Jpegs are compessed in such a way thata a jpeg of a smaller takes a little longer size to open.
You are probably experiencing this on alrge scale so it is more noticeable and making it take longer to link up.
I would use tiffs anyway.

10.6.2: Bad image quality with SIPS

I used to convert my PDF documents with SIPS like this:
/usr/bin/sips --setProperty format jpeg --setProperty formatOptions high -z 400 200 sourcefilename.pdf --out targetfilename.jpg
This results in a very bad image quality after updating to 10.6.2 (the text contained in the source pdf file is nearly unreadable in the resulting image, especially when using the -z attribute for downsizing).
I could reconstruct this behaviour with several machines today: when using 10.6.1 the quality is fine, but after the update to 10.6.2 the resulting image quality is unacceptable.
Any ideas? Or could this be a bug? The man page for sips does not contain any information about new parameters and the image quality for other target formats (tif, png, ...) seems to be ok.

That picture looks like it was taken in a dimly lit room.
You could try using night mode but you will need a very steady hand.
Most basic phone cameras just cannot produce good pictures indoors when not in brightly lit areas. LED flashes just cannot do a good enough job when compared to real cameras.
Megapixels don't equal quality, it's the lens and flash that make the biggest difference.

Image quality in slideshows

Hi,
Is there anyway to get iWeb to use a higher quality image when displaying a slideshow.
Compared to Google Web Albums the quality of the 800 x 600 image used is heavily reduced in quality.
Any ideas?
All the best

I'm not sure about image quality but I found these differences:
1. The iPhoto slideshow transitions were smoother.
2. The iPhoto slideshow was not restricted by the "tv safe zone" (edges were cut off on my TV).
For TV viewing, I cannot tell a image quality difference.
Brian

Reduce image quality (and file size)

Is there a simple way to reduce the quality of all backgroung
images ? (there are all bitmap images, about 3 MB each of them)
I imagine that by reducing the image quality, the file size
will be less huge...
But I wasn't able to find a way to do that...
(the option about JPEG quality in project/preferences has no
effect, because all background images are bitmap... )
Any idea is welcome !
Valérie

Hi Valerie
I have been doing some research on this -- the issue of file
size (relating to both .cp and .swf) crops up a lot on this forum,
so I wanted to find out which were the critical factors relating to
images.
My findings show that there are two critical factors:
-- Slide Properties: Quality (High, Standard, JPEG,
Optimized)
-- Format of original image file (used for slide background
or inserted image object)
To summarize the results of my testing:
Slide Quality
Changing the slide quality from High
to Standard or JPEG makes little or no difference to the size of
the .cp file but can *significantly* reduce the size of the
.swf
This is an especially useful way of
dealing with the very large .swf file sizes caused by importing PPT
slides
A .swf consisting entirely of
imported PPT slides with complex backgrounds may be reduced to less
than 10% of its original size by changing the quality setting for
each of the slides to JPEG and using a JPEG image quality setting
of 75%.
Format of original image file
For complex images such as photos,
the best image file format to use is (oddly) .bmp -- although it
results in a larger .cp file than other file formats (such as .jpg
or .png), it generates the smallest .swf output.
The benefit of using the .bmp format
is less marked if you have set slide quality to Standard instead of
High, but it can still cut the file size of the .swf output by up
to 50%
For slides using a quality setting of
JPEG, there appears to be no difference in resulting .swf file size
between .bmp or any other image file format
A final comment: it is interesting to compare the size of the
.cp and resulting .swf for different Captivate projects. There is
typically an assumption that the .swf file will be smaller due to
compression. However, this is not always the case. For example, I
tested one project that used High slide quality and images that had
been inserted from .jpg files -- the generated .swf file was over 4
times larger than the .cp file. However, when I changed the quality
setting for all slides to JPEG, the .swf file reduced to less than
50% of the size of the .cp file.
I hope this information is helpful -- please contact me if
you'd like to see the detailed test data.
Best regards,
-Matthew Ellison

Low File Size/Great Image Quality: H.264, AAC

1. I created a slideshow in iPhoto, exported it to a QT movie file. The properties of it is as follows:
Exibit A:
Dimensions: 720x480
Format: MPEG-4 Video, AAC, Stereo, 44.100kHz
FPS: 30
Data Rate: 7277.87 kbits/sec
Channel Count: 2
Duration: 02'46
Size: 143.58MB
2. I pulled a QT Movie file from the web with the following properties:
Exibit B:
Dimensions: 480x360
Format: AAC, H.264, Stereo (LR), 48.000kHz
FPS: 28.79
Channel Count: 2
Duration: 01'22
Data Rate: 868.14 kbits/sec
Size: 8.5MB
3. I tried to see if I could compress my movie and keep the quality as comparible to Exibit B. Here's what I ended up with:
Exibit C:
Dimensions: 720x480
Format: AAC, H.264, Stereo (LR), 44.100kHz
FPS: 30
Data Rate: 4826.73 kbits/sec
Channel Count: 2
Duration: 02'46
Size: 95.22MB
4. I tried again. This time creating the same dimension as Exibit B. Here what I got:
Exibit D:
Dimensions: 480x360
Format: AAC, H.264, Stereo (LR), 44.100 kHz
FPS: 30
Data Rate: 2577.17 kbits/sec
Channel Count: 2
Duration: 02'46
Size: 51MB
How can I create a very low size and image quality as Exibit B?
I have QTPro. Do I need something else?
Thanks.

Update:
Well playing all exibits on the Windows workstation worked just fine after the update. I now has QT7.
Next...I've exported Exibit A down to 8MB (Exitbit F)by recommendations from Capt. QTKirk. Here are the properties:
Exibit F:
Format: AAC, Stereo (LR), 32.000kHz, H.264, 720x480, Millions
FPS: 15
Data Size: 8.5MB
Data Rate: 429.79kbits/sec
Overall Quality:
Video: Fair at 720x480; much better at 486x324; overall choppy transitions as well
Audio: Fair -close to mono.
Anyone else have any suggestions?
How and what are others using to get the audio/video quality as crisp and sharp as what's shown in the QT Movie Trailer site?

I just set up a new computer running Windows 8.1. When I go to my icloud photostream, the pictures are in PNG format NOT JPG. When I open and upload photos from the photostream, the resolution is so low that the image quality is terrible. Help?!?

I just set up a new computer running Windows 8.1. When I go to my icloud photostream, the pictures are in PNG format NOT JPG. When I open and upload photos from the photostream, the resolution is so low that the image quality is terrible. Help?!?

Hey Sierra, You can do just what you have stated. My question, what is your "other"? If it is over 1.5 GB you most likely have corrupt files. Doing a Restore to New, Factory restore should correct it. Just make sure you make a full backup of all information on your iPod to your computer before you restore, so you don't lose your stuff, contacts, videos, pictures, non-iTunes music, etc, use the cable and connect with your computer. Then, via cable, connect to your computer, run the Restore to new, don't use your backup. Treat this iPod as if it was your first one ever. When restore is done, set up and add what info you wish to install on this iPod. The music apps etc you purchased should be on your computer, if not you should be able to retrieve purchased apps and music from iTunes. Any music, videos, apps not purchased from iTunes will be lost to you if you do not save them to your computer or the cloud first. When your done, make a current Backup and you should good to go. Hope this helps. Good luck. Cheers.

Please add support for JPEG Exchangeable Image File Format (EXIF)

It seems that now Adobe® Illustrator® can export only to the JPEG File Interchange Format (JFIF). We should have an option to produce the JPEG Exchangeable image file format (EXIF) as well (just like Photoshop does!). Why this is so important to me? I generally work under Illustrator and I often post my work on Behence. I work with 'sRGB IEC61966-2.1' color profile. When publishing I use *.jpg with embedded ICC Color Profile. But it looks like Behence doesn’t fully support the JPEG JFIF – for example it cannot read its icc data correctly. The effect is that my work looses its quality! The only option to produce the JPEG EXIF I have now is to: Export *.ai file to JPEG (under Adobe Illustrator) > go to Photoshop > Create new project > Paste the *.jpg > and Sava As JPEG with icc embedded. This guarantees my files are being processed correctly.
(JPEG) Formally, the EXIF and JFIF standards are incompatible. This is because both specify that their particular application segment (APP0 for JFIF, APP1 for Exif) must be the first in the image file. In practice, many programs and digital cameras produce files with both application segments included. This will not affect the image decoding for most decoders, but poorly designed JFIF or Exif parsers may not recognize the file properly. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JPEG_File_Interchange_Format#Exif_comparison )
I’ve analyzed my files using JPEGsnoop 1.6.1 (an app by Calvin Hass, http://www.impulseadventure.com/photo/) and here is the result:
A) an *.jpg file produced with Adobe Illustrator > File > Export > JPEG > ICC profile embedded:
*** Marker: SOI (xFFD8) ***
OFFSET: 0x00000000
*** Marker: APP0 (xFFE0) ***
OFFSET: 0x00000002
length     = 16
identifier = [JFIF]
version    = [1.2]
density    = 72 x 72 DPI (dots per inch)
thumbnail = 0 x 0
B) an *.jpg file produced with Adobe Illustrator > File > Save For Web > JPEG > ICC profile embedded:
*** Marker: SOI (xFFD8) ***
OFFSET: 0x00000000
*** Marker: APP0 (xFFE0) ***
OFFSET: 0x00000002
length     = 16
identifier = [JFIF]
version    = [1.2]
density    = 100 x 100 (aspect ratio)
thumbnail = 0 x 0
C) an *.jpg file produced with Adobe Photoshop > File > Save As > JPEG > ICC Profile embedded
*** Marker: SOI (xFFD8) ***
OFFSET: 0x00000000
*** Marker: APP1 (xFFE1) ***
OFFSET: 0x00000002
length          = 1320
Identifier      = [Exif]
Identifier TIFF = 0x[4D4D002A 00000008]
Endian          = Motorola (big)
TAG Mark x002A = 0x002A
EXIF IFD0 @ Absolute 0x00000014
Dir Length = 0x0007
[Orientation ] = Row 0: top, Col 0: left
[XResolution ] = 720000/10000
[YResolution ] = 720000/10000
[ResolutionUnit ] = Inch
[Software ] = "Adobe Photoshop CC 2014 (Windows)"
[DateTime ] = "2014:08:02 17:21:15"
[ExifOffset ] = @ 0x00A8
Offset to Next IFD = 0x000000D4
EXIF IFD1 @ Absolute 0x000000E0
Dir Length = 0x0006
[Compression ] = JPEG
[XResolution ] = 72/1
[YResolution ] = 72/1
[ResolutionUnit ] = Inch
[JpegIFOffset ] = @ +0x0132 = @ 0x013E
[JpegIFByteCount ] = 1006
Offset to Next IFD = 0x00000000
EXIF SubIFD @ Absolute 0x000000B4
Dir Length = 0x0003
[ColorSpace ] = sRGB
[ExifImageWidth ] = 200
[ExifImageHeight ] = 200
Regards,
Pawel Kuc

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!! Exporting SWF file in PDF reduces image quality.

Hello,
I have a file with many multi-state picture frames and buttons for them. I export it in pieces in SWF format, then I put the SWF's back in the document as a new layer and export as interactive PDF. Finally everything worked fine, except that PDF opens in a larger then normal zoom and when zooming in on pictures the quality is very poor I am guessing 72ppi at the intended zoom. I check the SWF file and see that its image quality is good when zoomed, so the problem is with the way the PDF has exported the SWF.
notes: I made sure the settings were to export at 300ppi and high image quality. When I take a single multi-state frame with its associated button and export to SWF then PDF the image quality is maintained.... however I have over 150 image frames, so I rather not export them individually. Please, please reply... any suggestions will be gratefully excepted.

edit your image in photoshop and experiment with various settings/size. there's no magic high quality small file size setting.
it's a trade-off. the higher the quality and the greater the image dimensions, the greater the file size. you have to decide where those are acceptable.

Image Quality Difference Among File Formats.

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