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Jagged Lines - why can't I get clean lines?


M

maXpower

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Trying to do anything in CS4 that has lines that aren't absolutely straight lead to jagged lines. Can't figure out why this is happening but it is getting a bit frustrating! Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Working on Mac OS X

Any other info that would help let me know and I'll do my best to provide it. Thanks for your help!

In this example I put a stroke on some text for a more dramatic effect but even happens without the stroke. Have anti-aliasing on but unfortunately doesn't help.
 

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1) Check your res, even if designing for the web...start out with hi-res. Downsample at the end.

2) Check your color space, should be CMYK or RGB not Indexed Color

3) Try rasterizing text then applying effects.
 
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I think to get the smooth results you want you need a vector based program like Illustrator.

There are free programs you can download like Inkscape and see if you can get better results.
I do have Inkscape installed on one computer but I'm not endorsing or promoting it.
If you choose to download and run it you do so at your own risk.
 
If you're designing for print, then I agree that a vector based program such as Illustrator is the way to go for smooth edges.
 
Thank you for the ideas. To be a little more specific, I am designing for the web and have tried the ideas here and still the outcome is not as desired. Some of the designers I work with have looked at the results and can't understand why I am so consistently having this problem. Could it be a setting that I need to change?

I could understand this being a problem if I was resizing the text after applying the effects but I set the size of the text beforehand. This doesn't just happen with text but, as I stated previously, to any line that isn't straight. It seems like my computer isn't rendering something correctly. Could it be something with my computer instead of Photoshop itself. Trying to think of anything :banghead: Thanks again for all of your help!
 
here is an idea, create a sample image at the normal size you have been working, then start again with a higher resolution and down size it , see if you see a difference
 
The original was 650px by 500px at 72ppi. This is 600 x 600 at 300ppi. This should be very smooth but it still has the steps anywhere it is not a vertical or a horizontal line. I created the text in Illustrator and brought it into Photoshop where I applied the effects. Any insights? I really appreciate the suggestions.
 

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Is that text editable in Photoshop or is it being treated as a raster graphic after you imported it from Illustrator?

What anti alias setting are you using?
 
Exactly what Gaussian said, it has to do with the Anti Alias and you can get really crisp lines in Photoshop. Starting with a Large file or object then trying to cram it in without making it a smart object in Photoshop will cause those jagged lines also..
 
I imported the text as a smart object into Photoshop and it gets the stairstep edges as soon as I do so. When using editable text in Photoshop I generally set anti-aliasing to crisp (occasionally smooth) unless I am working very small and then I'll set it to sharp.

Anti-aliasing definitely makes a difference as without it is very jagged. Here are two examples of anti-aliasing the first as none and the second as crisp. Is this how it looks when you guys do it or does it appear worse in my case?

Again thank you for your ideas and suggestions!
 

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What are you doing to the text in illustrator? I don't see anything that Photoshop could not do itself, unless I am missing something. If you create the text in Photoshop do you get a better result?
 
It is the same when I do it in Photoshop which for the most part is what I do. It just seems that it isn't rendering the text correctly. The edges are overly jagged no matter where the text is created when it is in Photoshop. It just doesn't seem to handle diagonal lines without fairly dramatic stair-stepping.

If I wouldn't have seen others examples of text (or diagonal lines for that matter) in Photoshop that seem to render correctly I would think this is the way it is supposed to be. I can't figure out if I am missing something or if something is legitimately wrong.
 
Try and see if you get rid of the stoke if it still does it, i had a problem with that about a month ago.. If it does fix it, then duplicate the layer and make the original layer larger to make it looked Stroked..
 
write the word in Ai, then turn it into CURVES... just copy, and paste on Ps.... then aply the effects and filters u want...
and check the resolution too, when u open a new document on Ai, check de 300dpis option...

hope it works :p
 
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