Pixellated vs. Anti-Aliased (Smoothed) Graphics

I have created a document that contains two types of graphics, screen captures of dialog boxes (sometimes resized if too large), and vector PDF exports from AutoCAD.
The main document is created in Word and the screen captures are pasted into Word, blank areas are created in Word for the other graphics and the Word document is exported to PDF.
The AutoCAD PDF graphics are transferred into the main PDF using the Acrobat Pro, Edit Object function.
When viewing/printing the final PDF, these are the results:
AutoCAD vector PDF graphics always look great on-screen and printed
Screen capture graphics look great when printed
Screen capture graphics sometimes look very pixellated on-screen. This occurs when there are two documents open at the same time. If the PDF is opened in Acrobat or Reader and there are no other PDFs being viewed, the graphics look ok. If another PDF is being viewed then the graphics in the second PDF are pixelated.
As an example, here is the same document opened twice for on-screen viewing, first one on the left, second one on the right.

Sounds good, but I need some hand-holding.
I'm not creating the graphic in Photoshop. It's already created, and I'm pasting it into the document.
When I paste a graphic into a Photoshop document, it appears on a new layer anti-aliased on a white background. I don't know how to control the characteristics of a layer that hasn't been created yet to make it transparent (i.e. the layer that is created when I paste the graphic into the file). If I try to merge the layer containing the graphic with a clear background (as you say, checkerboard in PS), the graphic appears anti-aliased in white on a transparent background.
So, how do I paste my graphic into a Photoshop document "anti-aliased on a clear background"?
Thanks.

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One BIG thing that's always bugged me about Pages, is its rendering of text - can anyone tell if this has been fixed in the latest '09 version? Specifically it doesn't use the system preferences font smoothing setting, instead making the text 'fuzzy' - especially on LCD screens.
ck

Thank you to everyone who posted to this thread.
I have not tried Pages '09 yet as I want to "save" my 30 day trial when I actually have time to try it.
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JDeveloper Code Editor doesn't do ClearType font anti-aliasing

I can't seem to get the Code Editor in JDeveloper (11.1.1.5.0) to do ClearType sub-pixel font anti-aliasing. Everything else in the IDE is doing proper sub-pixel anti-aliasing, it's only the Code Editor that's not doing it. It's doing "normal" pixel anti-aliasing which isn't nearly as good and still leaves the font looking quite jaggy.
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Adobe Muse CC 2014 (font strong, bolder)
https://db.tt/JMZhwPtT
Photoshop CC 2014 (Correct version)
https://db.tt/QLQtxYZL
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Is it possible to turn off text smoothing (Anti-Aliasing)?

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this Anti-Aliasing or I think it is called text smoothing in English is really ugly and is driving me nuts. I cant turn it off. Even with TinkerTool up to size 144 it just doesnt help. Especially Safari loks horrible. Can it be turned off? Does anyone know if Leopard will be able to turn it off?
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Have you set font smoothing in Appearances (System preferences) to match your monitor?

What does the anti-aliasing feature of the graph do?

I see when I right click a graph anti-aliasing is an option. What does this feature on the graph allow you to do?

> I see when I right click a graph anti-aliasing is an option. What does
> this feature on the graph allow you to do?
As Dennis points out, it smooths the image. Specifically, computer
graphics on a raster device have stair-steps or jaggies. This occurs
because a sloping line is being approximated by setting pixels in a grid
to either the foreground or background color. For this example, lets
assume the BG is black and FG is white. At 45 deg and certain other
nice angles, the lines look relatively smooth, like the diagonals on a
chess board, but at other angles, they are heavily aliased or jaggy.
Anti-aliasing sets the color of the pixels to black, white, or shades of
gray depending on the amount of the pixel that intersects the
mathematical d
efinition of the line. This extra math slows things down,
and the fact that the anti-aliasing is done not by windows, by by an
OpenGL driver in its own memory buffer slows it down further. For
slowly changing plots, they look quite nice. This doesn't make sense
for dense data or quickly changing data.
Greg McKaskle

REPORT: Bug in OS X's anti-aliasing w/ rotated screen

This is a fairly substantial bug. This may not be the ideal place to post it, but could someone tell me where to submit this so Apple will take notice?
A friend and I both have Mac Pros w/ ATI X1900 displays. This video card supports screen rotation in the OS X Displays control panel. So he went out and grabbed a rotating 1600x1200 Samsung (4:3) display to set next to his 30" Apple Cinema Display (both 1600 pixels tall, when the Samsung is in portrait orientation - a good match).
Have a look at the setup:
http://www.hubbuddy.com/downloads/dual/DSCN0914.jpg
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http://www.hubbuddy.com/downloads/dual/one.jpg
http://www.hubbuddy.com/downloads/dual/two.jpg
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bp

Digg this story...
http://www.digg.com/apple/OSX_supports_screen_rotation_but_its_rotated_anti_aliasing_isbroken
...to get the word out. (Just trying to get this addressed.)
blakespot

What is correct anti-aliasing setting for text for web use?

The text in question will not be html, just text, mainly Times Roman and black. The graphics I produce should look clear online and I don't know which is best - sharp/crisp/strong - can I get some clarification on this?

I don't think any of the answers provided thus far are the ones you are looking for.
There are many places to change anti-alias options in Illustrator and they all pertain to different objects or different times at which the anti-aliasing happens, at least to my understanding anyway...
The anti-alias options you are referring to specifically define how the respective text is rendered within your document once it is rasterized. As you mentioned, the choices are None, Crisp, Sharp and Strong. Don't quote me on this specifically, but additional anti-alias options you set afterwards (i.e. when you're saving for web) will further modify the image as a whole (or within the scope of whatever you are editing) while the text is rendered first.
Now, to your question, which one is best?
I honestly don't know for sure, however, I don't think there is a 'best' option in a general sense. Usually Crisp works best for me, but it will depend on whether you are designing for the web or for print, then on other variables beyond that i.e. headlines versus paragraph text. I change mine for different things rarely-usually when I'm dealing with anything containing really small text or extreme variations of text sizes, or anything similar.
One way to help you know which one will look best for your output, try changing your preview mode to 'Pixel' and your zoom level to '100%', then switch between the choices and see how it affects the letters on-screen.
If that doesn't quite tickle your fancy, save an instance of each as its own image. Make sure to name them accordingly though-it's very easy to forget which is which if you don't. (i.e. "image-crisp.png", "image-sharp.png" and "image-strong.png")
Then, simply compare them within the Windows folder you saved them to-I usually use the default image preview and cycle back and forth with my arrow keys.
* Also, I recommend you use 'Save for Web' and the PNG-24 preset and keep the size close to, or the same as, your intended output.
I really hope that all makes sense.
Good luck!

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I could really use some help with this.. I am completely stuck!
I want to take a square BufferedImage (created from a jpeg)
and clip it with an inscribed circle, such that only a circular image
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return img;
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private static BufferedImage cutoutCircle(BufferedImage orig, int w, int h) {
BufferedImage bimg = new BufferedImage(w, h,
BufferedImage.TYPE_INT_ARGB);
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g2d.setRenderingHint(RenderingHints.KEY_ANTIALIASING,
RenderingHints.VALUE_ANTIALIAS_ON);
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At least try to run this code, and then maybe you'll start trying to think about what I said.
import javax.imageio.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.image.*;
import java.awt.geom.*;
public class UseYourBrain extends JPanel implements MouseMotionListener, MouseListener {
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     private double radius = 100;
     private Area area = null;
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          super();
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          addMouseMotionListener(this);
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          setArea(evt.getX(), evt.getY());
          repaint();
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     public void mouseClicked(MouseEvent evt) {}
     public void mouseEntered(MouseEvent evt) {}
     public void mouseExited(MouseEvent evt) {}
     public void mouseDragged(MouseEvent evt) {
          setArea(evt.getX(), evt.getY());
          repaint();
     public void mouseMoved(MouseEvent evt) {}
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          int w = image.getWidth();
          int h = image.getHeight();
          area = new Area(new Rectangle(0, 0, w, h));
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          super.paint(_g);
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RenderingHints.VALUE_ANTIALIAS_ON);
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          if (args.length == 0) {
               System.out.println("Usage: UseYourBrain <filename>");
               System.exit(0);
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          BufferedImage img = ImageIO.read(new java.io.File(args[0]));
          JPanel p = new UseYourBrain(img);
          f.setContentPane(p);
          f.setSize(500, 500);
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          f.addWindowListener(new WindowAdapter() {
               public void windowClosing(WindowEvent evt) {
                    System.exit(0);
}

Photoshop CS4 Brushes not Anti Aliasing properly

I've just set up CS4 and my brushes are not anti aliasing properly. There are no soft edges on any of them. I'm able to get a pressure sensitive opacity change on the stroke but the edges are all pixelated.
Here is an image (this is a soft brush. notice none of the feathering/anti aliasing is there):
http://craji.com/images/adobeproblem.jpg
I've updated the newest gpu drivers for my Nvidia 8800 GTS.
I'm running XP SP3 with dual monitors. An Apple 30" and a Cintiq 21"
I've tried placing the main photoshop window on both monitors (one at a time) to test if that was causing it and i've had no luck.
All of the options in my GPU Enabled are currently unchecked (since they were giving me lag issues on my brush stroke when they were checked).
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Cheers-

Definitely not file dependent. I'll open a photo in sRGB 8bit, or create a new document with any settings from cmyk/rgb/bw 8/16 etc.
I'm wondering if it has something to do with my Nvidia Display Property utility. I use it to gamma up my secondary monitor (cintiq). Although disabling that utility didn't resolve it..
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CS5 bug rendering anti-aliased text in 'Save for web'

Seems like there's a bit of a bug when using 'Save for web and devices' with thin weights of type in CS5 for Mac. Although thin type looks fine while working in Illustrator, as soon as you enter the 'Save for web' dialogue, it gets badly mangled. Looks like this issue has been present at least since CS4. It does not happen in Photoshop. It looks particularly bad for light text on a dark background.
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Hi,
I am experiencing this same problem of pixelated gifs when I use the "save for web" dialog from Illustrator, but this solution has not worked for me. I have tried the trick of using type-optimized anti-aliasing, but it doesn't change the output at all. I've done this from within the "Image size" tab as well as through Effect>Rasterize>Options)Anti-aliasing: Type Optimized. My image is a logo made entirely from text, although for some of it I used "outline path", so I'm not sure if it still qualifies as text...I'm a newbie at this stuff, so the technical details are still quite opaque to me.
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I'm using Illustrator in CS5, version 15.0.2.
Thanks in advance
Jonathan

Possible bug in Illustrator CS4 text anti-aliasing in Save for Web and Devices

Hello all,
This could be a bug... if so, I'd be happy to add it to Wade's bug list a few messages down the stream.
Here's what's happening: when I create small text using a very thin font (in this case, Helvetica Neue Light), the Pixel Preview gives a noticeably different anti-aliasing solution to the actual output from Save for Web & Devices. I'm attaching an original .AI file as well as a screenshots of what I'm getting in both situations.
I'd really prefer the Save for Web and Devices output to look exactly like the Pixel Preview. The font looks great in Illustrator but loses a lot of its punch when I Save for Web.
---Peter

In the Svae for Web and Device under the image tab where it says art Optimize that is a drop down menu select Type Optimize as such
htis is what it lloks like in AI and a browser when you choose Type Optimize
This the difference between Art Optimized and Type Optimize
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Preview - anti aliasing and text in scanned pdf

hello all,
i have an issue with preview not anti aliasing text in pdf files. to elaborate, take a pdf with text which is selectable and it appears jagged, not anti aliased as in pdfs with text which is treated as an image, i.e. not selectable.
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s.

Hi 1ndivisible,
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Wish I could help but I am also experiencing the same problem. I just installed the newest video card drivers, however the problem still exists.
64-bit Vista SP2
CS 4
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I have the same monitor as you and use a logitech mouse.
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Thanks.

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Pixellated vs. Anti-Aliased (Smoothed) Graphics

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