Is AI's Unsharp Mask effect dependable?

I make a ton of newspaper ads in AI and it's the photos that slow me down the most.
I usually place a linked image and when the size is set, I edit it in PS, size it and sharpen it.
I was thinking it'd be nice to just plop the photo in skip the PS step and sharpen it right in AI.
Anyone use this?

It's not that high but not that low. I churn a bunch of these out every day.
It's for newsprint. They're gonna mess something up on each anyway when they print.
But I am interested in having my photos 'pop' as much as possible.
But it's not like they're all high quality posters or anything.

Similar Messages

How to apply a 'calculated' radius in Unsharp Mask en mass?

In about a week's time, when I've finished applying Curves to about 1200 B&W images, I'll be ready to apply an Unsharp Mask to each of them. Exactly how I'll do that I'm not certain yet, but I've been reading my Photoshop CS Bible (Deke McClelland) in preparation. On page 503 it states:
If you're looking for a simple formula, I recommend 0.1 of Radius for every 15 ppi of final image resolution... If you have a calculator, just divide the intended resolution by 150 to get the ideal Radius value.
For example, at 300 ppi use Radius = 2. Such a recommendation is just that: a recommendation (and not 'ideal' as he also states), but I've taken it as a good starting point; and while I've been adding Curves I have also been experimenting with Unsharp Mask and various Radii (but not yet saving the sharpened images).
McClelland's statement is not clear regarding what Radius should be used if you are NOT working on the image at final resolution. I think I know what the answer is, but I want to confirm.
Some background: I'll be printing on a Xerox iGen running a colour line screen at 175 lpi. The printer wants the images to be 300 ppi. The images at the moment range from an effective ppi of about 100 to 2000, depending on how much they have been scaled in InDesign. So I've got resolutions all over the place which at some point I will have to tidy up. Those images below about 250 ppi, I will be upsampling to 300. Those above about 450 ppi (this may change), will be downsampled to 300 when I convert to PDF.
I have some questions:
QUES 1
Say I have an image at 1200 ppi, that will be downsampled to 300 ppi. Should I do the sharpening on the 1200 ppi image, or on the downsampled 300 ppi image? i.e Will it make any difference to the final printed result if sharpening is done before or after downsampling?
QUES 2
I think the statement:
I recommend 0.1 of Radius for every 15 ppi of final image resolution
should read
I recommend 0.1 of Radius for every 15 ppi of image resolution
Surely the Radius (assuming you accept the figures McClelland gives) depends only on the resolution of the image you are working on. i.e if you have a 1500 ppi image, use a Radius of 10 (1500/150), NOT a Radius of 2 (300/150) -- the final image resolution that is sent to the printer. Is that a correct reading of McClelland's recommendation?
QUES 3
My experiments indicate that for the type of images I am using, McClelland's recommendation oversharpens, at least for my liking. I will probably use half the figure he suggests: Radius = 1 for 300 ppi.
Given that I have about 1200 images, if I was going to apply an Unsharp Mask manually this is what I would do:
1. Put all the layers in each image into a Group.
2. Calculate the Radius to be applied to each image from the formula: Radius = (IMAGE PPI) /300.
3. Apply an Unsharp Mask to the Group using the calculated Radius (plus Amount = 50, Threshhold = 0)
Of course I'm not going to do this manually -- well, I hope I'm not -- but what is the best way? Could an Action handle all of this? A Script? A combination of both? Something else entirely? Not possible in PS?
In summary: I want to automatically apply a variable Radius that depends on the image's resolution. Possible?

The PDF says, for one of the steps:
Command-click the duplicate channel to make the edge mask a selection.
When I do that, a selection outline appears, but I can't work out, or find out, what conditions are applied to make the selection. Any ideas? I may have to start a separate thread for this question. I don't like to blindly follow recipes. I like to know what's going on.
Guy,
I'm not sure I understand your question. With command click, the channel is the selection. White = fully selected, black = not selected. It's all the steps made to create the channel that affect the selection. To me the selection edges are visually interfering with a soft mask, I usually hide the edges.
In post 9 steps 2-6 all contribute to the final section. Find edges identifies the edges. Median has a smoothing effect. Maximum expands the selection a little, then the gaussian blur softens it.
This process (post 9) works for me when I sharpen images, but you may not like it. Sometimes no mask at all is a viable option - some folks like a grainy/noisy appearance in non-edge areas. Some people may even purposefully add noise to create that kind of look.
With USM the radius thickens the light and dark areas of edges, and amount intensifies (lightening the light, darkening the dark). Threshold is just what it's name implies, it sets a parameter for Ps to apply the sharpening or not (but it can result in a pockmarked look in smooth areas, so I like 0)
I always look at images at actual pixels in Ps when sharpening. With sharpening there is room for opinion. Some people like thicker edges (higher radius). Some people go easy on the amount, some people are more aggressive.
It's the scaling in ID that makes things difficult, because actual pixels won't give you a true print appearance. To correct this the image either needs to be scaled to size in PS, and placed at 100% in ID - OR left as is in ID, and the resolution changed in PS (300 x % i.e. 300 x 25% = 75 PPI)
I like to start with radius 1 and 100 amount but these values are always subject to change. I wish it was an exact science but it's not. I like sharp images, but I don't want icicles in eyebrows either. I believe you said 175 LPI screening, so if it was me I would err on the sharp side...
Something else I just thought of - the print size is something to think about, too. Consider the two extremes (which may or may not apply to your project) - thumbnails, and posters. If it's a thumbnail, by the time you've got the scaling right in Ps, there really isn't much pixel information left! In his instance a lot of sharpening probably wouldn't hurt, it would create contrast (which is important in very small images). The other end of the spectrum - posters. Actual pixels may be a little misleading in this case, because when the average person looks at a poster, they don't get right up on it at a normal reading distance, they view it from several feet away. For this reason sometimes poster images are only half-resolution, to keep the file size manageable, and give a more realistic view perspective.
Hope this helps. I am not a forum expert. The others may have better advice, or may see errors in my information.

PS Unsharp Mask and Aperture problems

Okay, this is bugging the **** out of me.
From Aperture I open up an image with external editor (PhotoShop), select an area, sharpen it using unsharp mask and save it. It shows up in Aperture, however the selected sharpened area is fine but the area I did not select and sharpen has disappeared and shows up in the main window as back and the thumbnail, white.
I’ve tried flattening the image in Photoshop but to no avail.
Any help would be greatly appreciated,
Simon

Are ypu by any chance using alpha channels? Aperture does not support alpha channels and you can end up with exactly the effect you describe.
If you are using alpha channels, you need to finalize their usage and remove the additional alpha channels before saving the image back to Aperture.
G.

Error Compiling when using RGB Color Corrector and Unsharp Mask

If I apply the RGB Color Corrector and and Unsharp mask to a clip within a sequence and try to render the sequence or a small portion of the work area I get the Error Compiling: Unknown error.
This is occurring within a project I have updated to Premiere CS6 from Premiere CS5.
I have tried creating a new sequence and importing the same clip and other clips. Anytime I try to use both the Unsharp Mask and RGB Color Corrector I am unable to render. I have tried this with Mercury Playback both in hardware and software modes with the same result.
Has anyone else seen something like this?

Okay, glad this occurs for others too and I am not experiencing something isolated. The issue here is this shouldn't be happening at all.
Premiere CS5 has no problem with this.
Yeah if I turn off one effect or the other no problem. Unfortunately it doesn't matter the order I place the effects in I get the same error regardless of which is placed first.
Nesting does work. If I create a sequence, apply one or the other to the clip in the sequence then embed the sequence in another sequence and apply the remaining filter to the sequence containing the clip then I can get my color correction and edge definition. But this is a work around.
There seems to a bug here since there were no issues when using RGB Color Corrector and Unsharp Mask simultaneously applied to one clip in CS5. I doubt there will be a fix for this anytime soon so it looks like I will have to use another method for color correcting or apply RGB color correction to clips already embedded in a sequence as I move forward into solely using CS6.
(How this can become an issue is that after applying effects and color correction to several clips within a sequence I like to render that entire sequence. Then this sequence is ebedded in another main sequence and I can add additional effects and transitions and overlays without killing the live playback speed and only have to render smaller amounts of content from additional tracks. It ends up saving a lot of time after the initial length of rendering.)
Thanks for the suggestions.

Elements 11 unsharp mask and Curves

Aft all
I have recently installed elements 11, it being more to my budget, and more suited to my requirements than the Creative Cloud, which I trialled.
It appears I have not got Curves or the Unsharp Mask, and I wondered if there are plug-ins allowing one to use these tools?
Rggs
the.chair

The name 'unsharp mask', which is misleading for beginners, has been replaced in the 'enhance' menu. It's the option near 'adjust sharpness'. (Don't know the exact word as I am on a French version).
You find the curves, with a different layout, in the enhance menu, adjust color; it's called 'adjust color curves'... which is misleading. The interface is based on the effect you want to get and you see the result on the shape of the curves.
There are free external curve tools which are more like the version in CC:
- Grants tools
- Elements+
- smartcurves (the most powerful, but Windows only).

Reproduce Unsharp Mask Using Gaussian Blur

Hello,
I know the effect of Unsharp Mask can be achieved using Gaussian Blur and Blending Mode only.
Given a layer 'L' (The original) its USM(L, Amount - 100, Radius - 10, Threshold - 0) is given by:
GBL = GB(L, Radius - 10) - Gaussian Blur.
Difference = L - BGL.
USM = L + Difference.
I made it using 'Image Apply' and Gaussian Blur yet the result is different.
Does Photoshop uses different method?
How can the accurate result be achieved?

Hi Chris,
All I did was as follwoing:
1. Created black image in 32 Bit Mode (RGB Mode so numbers will be the same in MATLAB).
2. Applied GB with Radius 3.
3. Saved as 32 bit TIF.
4. Loaded at MATLAB using imread.
5. Extracted the first channel (They aer all the same).
The result is up.
Something went wrong with the numbers.
Anyhow, how come the result of my classic Gaussian Kernel are so different from Photoshop's?
Here are the example:
This is the GB Kernel of Photoshop for Radius = Sigma = 2:
Here is the GB Kernel of a classic GB using STD of 2 and support of size [11, 11] (Just like photoshop):
And here is the difference:
As you can see, it is very noticeable difference.
The blur using the classic kernel is much harsher.
Moreover, Using the classic kernel trying to replicate USM ( USM(O) = O + 2(O - B) )yields something completely different.
What am I missing here?
Thank You.
P.S.
Well, I'm just playing for fun, so I don't have "Run Time" limitations :-).

Trying to find Fade unsharp mask

I was reading Scott Kelby's book Digital Photography Book 1. Early on in the bool he says to go to Edit Fade adn Unsharp Mask andchange it to Luminosity form Normal in the menu. The problem I have is that I do not see the Fade option under Edit. I am hoping some on could help me. I am using PE 8.
Thank You,
Frank

While pse does't have a fade option per se,
you easily achieve the same effect by:
1. Duplicate the layer you want to apply the
    filter to (unsharp mask in this case).
2. Apply the filter to the duplicated layer.
3. Go to the top of the layers palette (panel)
    and change the layer blending mode of the
    duplicated layer to luminosity.
4. If the sharping is too strong, you can adjust
    strength by using the opacity slider (also on top
    in the layers panel).
5. If you have a bunch of layers underneath those two
    layers, click on the duplicated layer to select it.
    Then go to Layer-Group with Previous (Create Clipping
    Mask).
6. This groups the two layers together so the sharping doesn't
    affect the layers below.
Hope this helps.
MTSTUNER

Fade unsharp mask

This tutorial applies the filter 'unsharp mask' on the 'stone texture copy' layer (pic 1). After that the same filter on the layer beneath 'stone texture'(pic 2). After this: Edit-Fade Unsharp Mask (pic 3+4). I'm doing exact the same steps but I don't get this 'Fade Unsharp Mask' but only 'Fade..' and this is greyed out. If you notice he uses the unsharp filter on the stone texture and not the masks.
I tried this in cs3 and cs2 and both give the same result.
Anyone can help me with this?
[IMG]http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c194/mandrake2005/fade_unsharp_mask.jpg[/IMG]

@Phos±four dots, this is from the dvd Photoshop Topsecret.
The image link:
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c194/mandrake2005/fade_unsharp_mask.jpg
@Dave, I don't know what you mean? I directly go to edit-fade menu after applying the unsharp filter on the stone texture layer.
If I apply the unsharp filter on the layer mask itself, thus not the stone texture, I do get the fade unsharp mask option but this has no effect. When I apply any other filter on the stone texture I do get the fade option for that filter.
Teun

Where to apply Unsharp Mask?

I have multiple image layers and adjustment layers, and after doing all of my editing I would like to sharpen the image. Do I just apply the Unsharp Mask to the top most layer to achieve this OR is there some other way? Will it sharpen the details of all the layers if applied to the highest layer?
Thanks.

Guidelines?
Sharpening is almost the very definition of "season to taste".
I've seen a lot of publications that I feel tremendously oversharpen photos, making them look like some artificial construct (but like a lot of other similar publications). A photographer friend and I were once trying to make prints that looked like those in a coffee table picture book, and we were failing for a while until we tried dialing up the Unsharp Mask to ludicrous levels.
What I suggest you do is to try to get a feel for how what you've done on the screen is going to look as published (e.g., if you make a print, assuming that's what you do). Then decide on a "look and feel" that you want to express, and try to consistently achieve it with your photos.
One trick I use is to view an image at exactly 50% to try to get a feel for how sharp it will look in print.
By the way, depending on what you're after, there are better sharpening tools than Unsharp Mask available.
-Noel

Is there a way to sharpen or apply unsharp mask to the entire image?

I know there is a sharpening brush under the affects brushes, but is there a way to apply a sharpening or unsharp mask filter to an entire image or layer? This would be very helpful.
Thanks, David

Thanks so much. Sorry I missed that first time around.
d

Unsharp Mask

I have Photoshop Elements 10 on my Mac Mini, and the unsharp mask feature, which originally worked fine, no longer works. When you click on it all you get is a little square that replaces the curser and doesn't do anything, while most of the menu bar options become grayed out. I even removed and reinstalled the application and the same thing is still happening. How can I restore the unsharp mask??

Not sure what you mean by cursor?
When you select Enhance >>Unsharp Mask you should only see a dialog with sliders.

Simple Mask Effect not working in Flash 8 Pro

I recently updated to Flash 8 pro.I'm having a wiered
problem.First I was having problem applying masking.I applied a
masking effect in a movie clip and when view the movie instead of
showing the effect it shows my masking shape that is a
rectangle.When i move the play head in the movie it shows me the
effect, im trying to achieve but when I hit ctrl+enter to test the
movie, it does not work.Then another thing was I tried to apply a
Fade in effect and even that does not work.Any suggestion would be
appreciated.As im having these problems in the player, so I assume
there is something wrong with the player.I have Flash Player 9
installed.I unistalled and re installed a new copy,Still did'nt
help. I am

Hi,
Are you sure that you set your Mask layer to a Mask? Double
click the icon int he right of the Layer name and set the Layer
type to a mask.
And regarding the Fade, I guess you may miss some thing, let
me know the steps you have done to create your Fade effect?
hope this helps

Mask effect not showing up

I created a simple mask effect using CS3 Pro on WIn XP. When
I run the animation in Flash, the effect works perfectly but when I
publish an SWF file, the mask effect does not appear. Strangely
enough, I sent the FLA file to someone who has the same version of
Flash as me. He opened up the file, published an SWF and his mask
effect worked fine. Am I missing something here???

It sounds to me like you are not uploading all the files. The navigation for example needs the feed.xml file.
What FTP application are you using to upload?
Putting effects like drop shadows and frames increases the page file size and slows download.
Its better to take a screenshot of the image and replace the original with this JPEG. See...
http://roddymckay.com/PhotoSatellite/OptimizeImageFile.html
"I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link."

Unsharp mask not working

This is weird. I apply Unsharp Mask to a clip and adjust it the way I like it, but after I've rendered it the image goes back to looking like it did before. If I then turn off Unsharp Mask, it changes back to looking like my adjustments. Has anyone else experienced this?
My specs:
Early 2009 Mac Pro
OS 10.10.3
32 GB Ram
RADEON HD 5870
Premiere Pro CC

Barbara
Thank you for replying
Photoshop Elements 11
I don't know about deleting preferences
Is there anything I can do now?
Thanks

Unsharp mask filter for iPad

Hi friends,
I am trying to apply USM filter on the image (taking from the server). but i am not getting any help in apple document. I searched in google and i got GPUIimage and imagemagick open source library. but in imagemagick it seems USM filter is not working and in GPUIimage, i am not getting how it will take image as input which i am taking from the server .
please guide me.
Thanks

I got the solution "ImageMagic" updated one and it is working fine . For unsharp mask please go through the user guide .
Thanks

Is AI's Unsharp Mask effect dependable?

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