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To Merge or Not to Merge?


ElizabethM

Well-Known Member
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Hey guys!

I was reading a couple articles about merging documents the other day and saving things for web. Which got me wondering a few things about it. Maybe you guys know the answers!

1) Do you merge your files once you're finished with a project and want to save it for printing?
- Or do you just save the files as a PDF with editing capablities?

2) Does merging files affect the quality of an image? For example, will a vector design still stay crisp even when merged together at the end and saved as a JPEG?

3) If you already saved a file via Save As and open it again to Save for Web, does still keep it's quality or is the email already modified to the format you've saved it? For example like when you use mockups to display work, saving it first normally as Save As and then wanting a smaller sized copy as Save for Web.

I normally save my files as it is after I finish working on them, they aren't ever too big. Only my TIFF files that should hold all the layers are sometimes really large.
What would you guys advise to better the workflow and save space while maintaining quality?
 

IamSam

Administrator
Staff member
Administrator
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Hey..........

Never merge anything!

Always save the PSD file in layers. Only "Merge a copy of all visible layers into new layer" Shift + Cmd/Cntrl + Option/Alt + E if needed. Preserve layers at all cost!

Use the "save as" and "save for web" from a PSD file. Never alter the original.
 

ElizabethM

Well-Known Member
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Hello Sam,

Thanks for the advice. I don't actually use merge at all to be honest. I just hear it so often in some tutorials, it made me wonder if I was missing something. If I ever merge, I do it as your suggestion to merge as a copy. However I am still curious as to when the need for merging is used?

We always keep a PSD copy, okay.
But when you save something for a website or to upload to a printing site, how do you save it? Merged, not merged, pdf?
And what if I do not have the PSD anymore of a file, would it really be that significant of a difference should I then from a normal say, JPEG file, save it for web?
 

JJLAPIN

Guru
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When images are being placed into Illustrator or Indesign I always either flatten or merge visible layers. (Merge visible for images with a transparent background)
The file is then saved with an _1 Photo.psd > Photo_1.psd
 

MikeMc

McGuru
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Welp, I merge most files. After I've saved my psd intact. After I merge I will look at product, sometimes a final filtered tweak is called for, so another save as , then print.....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

ElizabethM

Well-Known Member
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:eek: I barely merge. I merge if I need a stamp of the image (Merge All Visable Layers As A Copy) but I don't even merge when I save it out to print or to upload online. I save it via Save Web for Online work, because it reduces the quality. But that's about it... Am I using merge wrong? Haha
 

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