Expert: Scott Valentine - 3/15/2010

Question
I am having trouble with my text being fuzzy and pixelated.  I'm using Photoshop 6.0 with Windows XP.  When I type a line and zoom in past 100%, it's fuzzy.  Shouldn't it be clear at any % when I just typed it?  My anti alias is on crisp and it happens on every font.

I need the text to be clear so I can save it as an EPS file for a vinyl cutting machine.  I make family tree art using the names of the family members.  So my projects consist of many layers of warped text (to make the names look like branches).  What settings should I select when creating and saving the file for the best quality EPS?

Answer
Hi Karen,

You've discovered that Photoshop is not great at producing text. This is because it renders the vector data of character outlines into pixel data, which accounts for the problems you are seeing.

Unfortunately, the best solution for you would be to use a vector application, like Illustrator. I believe there are dedicated packages for vinyl cutting, but the last time I looked into the industry, these applications were very expensive and not flexible. Some of them, however, are designed to take raster art and determine 'solutions' for cuts.

If you only need to export EPS files, then I recommend looking at purchasing Illustrator, or finding one of the free vector applications out there. I believe Corel also has a vector package, but I've not used it in years.

Best of luck,

-Scott