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I did a test pdf without doing “fit” and it seemed to have printed clearly.
We had put the text to the edge and done “fit” because we were trying to get as many words on the paper as we could. But it looks like it’s messing things up.
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Comparing the quality of the PDF and the photo of the print tells me that the problem is happening between the PDF file and the printer. In other words, changing the export settings on Photoshop may make no difference at all to the final result. What program are you using to print? The printer settings didn’t get changed to “draft” for the program you are printing from, by any chance? Is “print as image” checked?
It’s sized to print on legal paper. When we set the printer to “fit” it doesn’t cut anything off. (I just thought of this, could that be were we’re getting the compression artifacts?)
Yes, that could absolutely be the problem! You need to create your design EXACTLY the way it should be printed (including margins), and not rely on the printer driver to scale or “fit” things for you. You can decide much better than a computer program how to make everything fit on the page. 🙂 If the printer driver has to “fit” things on the page, it’s actually having to resize the entire PDF slightly, which can make things look slightly blurry because of the way resizing algorithms work. It’s not usually very noticeable in photos, but for things that SHOULD look crisp like small text it becomes much more noticeable.
Thanks for uploading the sample PDF file. As you can see in the attached screenshot, when I zoom in to 1200% the font is clearly being rasterized into little pixel blocks instead of staying smooth as it ideally should.
The 2nd PDF file is correct. When I zoom in to 1200% the text is still perfectly smooth. (See the 2nd screenshot). So Photoshop definitely CAN export proper PDFs with embedded fonts, the question is why things are getting rasterized.
If you make a copy of the tract, delete all layers except the text layer, and then change the font to the same one you used for the 2nd PDF, can you get a clear export?
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More tests, with some improvement.
I removed all graphics for the pdf and change the text to what I think was on PDF2 (I hadn’t saved it). I then printed it “actual size”. -Not any clearer.
But then I noticed this little check box “save ink and toner”. So I unchecked that box.-Much clear. Not 100% but about 85% better.
We just print with the default window’s setting/program. I didn’t see any spot for “draft” or “print as image”
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Well, we’re learning slowly but surely. 🙂
Also uncheck “print in Grayscale” since the printer only has black toner anyway, and the “conversion” to grayscale might introduce additional artifacts.
If you click on “Properties” up in the top middle there, you’ll get to the printer driver settings which will allow you to change more advanced settings like the print quality.
I removed all graphics for the pdf and change the text to what I think was on PDF2 (I hadn’t saved it). I then printed it “actual size”. -Not any clearer.
Not any clearer than what? Your very first fuzzy results?
Try zooming in on this PDF to 1200% and see if the text has blocky pixels instead of smooth lines.
Another thing to try would be setting your PS export settings to 600 DPI. (In the Compression tab change 300 to 600 where it says “Bicubic Downsampling to”). It probably won’t make a huge difference, but it may help you get the missing 15%. 🙂
Yes, not any clearer then the first fuzzy results.
I printed a pdf again unchecking “grayscale”, setting it to 600 in PS and 600dpi in the print program. It’s much better the at the beginning. Do you think the small lack of clarity that we’re seeing now is due to the font? (I’m using times new Roman).
The only pdf viewer that I have that can zoom to 1200% is PS. So when I do that on the pdf it looks pixelated.
I was working on another project and tried comparing export as jpeg vs pdf. In that case, the pdf printed clearer. On the jpeg, it printed little regular dots over the whole thing. And because of those dots, it looked less clear then the pdf.
I’m learning a lot about printing! Thank you for your guidance.
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Glad you’re getting better results now! I don’t think the font is the problem, but you can experiment with other fonts and see if they turn out better.
Interesting that a different PDF project prints out clearer. If you zoom that one in to 1200% does the text look sharp, or pixelated? I still have a hunch that your tract is not as sharp as it should be because it’s getting rasterized. But without being able to run my own tests it’s kinda hard to troubleshoot.
Are you applying any kind of “effect” to the text? Any overlays or gradients? The test PDF you posted earlier clearly shows that PS can export a clean PDF file, so we just have to figure out why it isn’t in this case.
The reason you’re seeing little dots on the paper is because you’re using a laser printer. It can only print one color (pure black) so any other shade of grey has to be made “lighter” by spacing the black dots further apart to make them look not so black, if that makes sense. You can see the same thing happening in the other prints to a lesser extent.
Oh, what color is your text? If it’s not pure black, try changing it to pure black and see if that makes a difference.
Here’s a 1200% zoom on the other PDF.
When I look zoomed up, it’s as if the edges of the letters are where the problems are happening. The look like gray pixels and not black.
I don’t have any effects on the text and the color is pure black.How you explained the little dots makes since. It’s trying to make the paper a shade of gray.
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When I look zoomed up, it’s as if the edges of the letters are where the problems are happening. The look like gray pixels and not black.
The grey pixels on the edges of text are normal, (they’re there to make the text look better on your screen). I don’t think it’s the main cause of your blurry prints. But it would certainly yield better prints to have non-pixelated text. The only way to do that is to track down what is causing PS to rasterize it. (Or use layout software that is designed for text instead of raster graphics).
Thank you for sharing all your knowledge. I’ve learned some things to make photoshop PDFs the best I can. I’m working on finding another workable software for projects with a lot of text.
@blessingscaptured, I use Affinity Publisher for many design projects. It was a one-time purchase and has worked well for me. Not sure if something like that might be what you’re looking for, but just thought I’d throw that name out there!
Yes, Affinity is a great affordable alternative to the Adobe software rental system!
If you plan to use it for text layout though, I’d recommend Affinity Publisher. I own all three Affinity products (Designer, Publisher and Photo) and am very happy with them.
Thank you @lenspirationlydia and @buddingphotographer! I’ll be checking out Affinity.
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