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Question
I am working on a 20 page wedding album, placing high res jpegs into the doc. I am viewing the doc at actual size high quality display and it looks grainy. When exported as a PDF it looks fine. When exported as jpg (which is what i need for the vendor) it looks too grainy again. My questions are; Should I be making this book in photoshop (would it be easier to control the output?) and how can I export a jpg that is high res enough to print at 300 dpi in Indesign (which I much prefer to use).
Hi Shera,
Some of the issue that you are facing is within the file format of .jpg.
Since the .jpg format is a "lossy" compression, your images are being degraded each time they are re-saved as a .jpg. Once from Photoshop, and now again when you export from Indesign as a .jpg.
An example can be found here on our website discussing resolution -
http://www.bestprintingonline.com/resolution.htm
I am not sure the reasoning behind your vendor requiring a .jpg file as the final files to work with. Certainly a high-res pdf should do the job.
If you must use .jpg you may need to use your images at an even higher resolution from the start in order to compensate for the "lossy" compression. This will make for some pretty large files and you must start at that higher say 600 dpi resolution. Not an easily done task if you have already shot the photos in .jpg. If you shoot in RAW format, you could try to up the resolution within the RAW converter. Your other option is to create the book one page at a time in Photoshop.
Typically, I advise everyone to save their images as a .tif file in order to preserve the data, since .tif files do not use the "lossy" compression that is present in .jpg. Then after placing in Indesign, export the file as a PDF. In most cases using the PDF X-1a or X-3 standard works fine. In special instances, you may want to turn the compression and downsampling off or to None and Keep Resolution. This creates the optimum files for printing.
Thanks,
Ken Black
www.bestprintingonline.com
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| Rating(1-10) | Knowledgeability = 10 | Clarity of Response = 10 | Politeness = 10 |
| Comment | Thanks a ton. I will contact my vendor and see which file formats they will accept (something I should have already done!) | ||
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Answers by Expert:
Ken Black
Expertise
With over 20 years experience in graphic arts as well as working as a preflight and prepress technician for Best Printing Online, I can answer any questions relating to graphic design and printing. This includes but is not limited to Adobe Indesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Quark Xpress and just about any other graphics related software.
Experience
Currently employed by
Best Printing Online, I have been working as a graphic designer and printing professional for over 20 years. My experiences range from original design work including layout, illustration and photography to prepress production and troubleshooting. I have done consulting and training for some of the smallest print shops to the largest design agencies and printers in the industry.
Education/Credentials
Occupational Certificate in Darkroom and Printing Technologies from back when light tables and contacting frames were cool. Attended McHenry County College, Columbia College Chicago and Northern Illinois University and strive to attain new knowledge in this field wherever it may be hiding.
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