Expert: Glen Demers - 1/12/2009

Question
Hi! I am trying to make text graphics to insert into the footer of a word document. After I have converted the text into a JPEG and then insert into the Word doc and print, the text is always fuzzy. I have tried the anti-alias options and tried converting the text to a shape and have got the same fuzzy outcome each time. This happens when it is printed only, it looks ok in Photoshop and in Word. This document is a letter so it needs to look good printed. The text size is 8 point.

Answer
Hi Margo,

Whenever you create text in Photoshop it is rasterized when saved as a tiff or jpeg file. This means that the smooth outlines of the characters are converted to pixels and the sharpness of the type depends on the resolution of the image. For this reason it is recommended to only set large headlines in Photoshop which need special effects added to them.
To fix your problem, increase the resolution of your Photoshop document to 600 dpi and re-set the type, or set the type in Word.
It looks good on you screen because the screen resolution is low (72-100 dpi) but most printers will output at 300 dpi or higher.

Hope this helps,
Glen Demers
Adobe Certified Expert, Photoshop 7
Prepress Technician, Best Printing Online
www.bestprintingonline.com

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