Importing graphics from Illustrator, they're not sharp

Bisbonian · Jun 12, 2010

I'm creating some graphics in Adobe Illustrator so that I can have decals made at a local place. The shop needs an EPS or JPEG file in order to make the decals so what I'm trying to do is create what I want in Illustrator, save it as a PDF or TIFF so that I can open it in Photoshop in order to change it over to JPEG.

My problem is that when I open the image in Photoshop it has grey rectangles all over it and if I zoom in the borders are quite rough.

I know I've seen something similar on here but for the life of me I can't find it now.

It has to be something simple that I'm missing.

I've tried messing with the image size settings in Photoshop but have had no luck.

Any ideas?

Dwig · Jun 13, 2010

Bisbonian said:
I'm creating some graphics in Adobe Illustrator..., save it as a PDF or TIFF ...

My problem is that when I open the image in Photoshop it has grey rectangles all over it and if I zoom in the borders are quite rough.

...

You are not creating your export file correctly in Illustrator. You may also not be creating the Illustrator file correctly.

To start with, you need to create the Illustrator file at the exact size of the final print job. If the final decals are going to by, say, 10" wide by 4" high the Illustrator art should be exactly that size. If the artwork is pure text and vector with no gradients, bitmap effects, or imported bitmaps you can get away with scaling the art when importing into PS if the Illustrator export file is an AI file with the PDF compatible option checked. Otherwise, the art must be created to size.

If you are using any bitmap effects in Illustrator it is critical that your settings are such that the effects are generated an adequately high resolution, typically 300ppi.

If you are using PDF as your export format in Illustrator, you need to make sure that the export/save option are set appropriately. You don't want any bitmaps or bitmap effects to be resampled to a lower resolution than 300ppi. If you are using TIFF as your export format, you need to be sure that the resolution is 300ppi, assuming the art was created exactly to size.