LisaL Posted November 30, 2008 Share Posted November 30, 2008 Ladies, When you are ready to save your file as a jpeg for printing, do you flatten the entire image? I have not been doing that, I just crop my 12 x 24 into a 12 x 12 and save it as a jpeg then up load both pages for printing. Am I missing steps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristinaP Posted November 30, 2008 Share Posted November 30, 2008 I have never flattened my LO's, I think they get flattened when you save them as a jpg anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaL Posted November 30, 2008 Author Share Posted November 30, 2008 ok..I noticed that when I posted my Giving Thanks LO today the shadow on the title seemed to drop more than it shows on my PSE. But that is not a jpeg it is saved for web. Someone mentioned before that I needed to flatten, but maybe that was for before I save them for the web instead of as a jpeg. Does that sound right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrappinang Posted November 30, 2008 Share Posted November 30, 2008 I read somewhere...and I had to do it tonight with my siggy file that you should flatten before you resize for posting. Flattening before you resize makes it easier for PSE and possibly PS to keep everything uniform....on non-flattened images that are saved as JPGs, each layer is resized seperately and that's why you get a drop shadow that's way off base or a layer style (in my case) that didn't "stick" when the entire image was saved as a JPG.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjc Posted November 30, 2008 Share Posted November 30, 2008 i save as a psd first and keep as a psd always but i flatten before i resize to post my lo and save as a jpg...i also flatten and save as a jpg if i am sending a lo to a online printing place ( like shutterfly, kodak gallery) but again i always save as and have a psd of every lo ....you never know when you want to change a layer or can drag a layer to make a similiar lo using that same layer sometime Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaL Posted November 30, 2008 Author Share Posted November 30, 2008 I have 3 folders for my LO's, WIP which are saved as psd's, Completed for web which are resized and saved for the web and completed which are jpegs and cropped back to 12 x 12 so I guess I should add the step of flattening the image before resizing for the web and before saving as a jpeg. Gotcha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J9Buckles Posted November 30, 2008 Share Posted November 30, 2008 I have never flattened an image. I save my psd file, then save as jpg. Then to create the smaller sizes I need for the gallery/newsletter etc. I open the jpg file, change the resolution to 72 dpi and then change the size to 600x600. To create an 8x8 jpg to send off for printing I open the large 3600x3600 jpg file, leave the resolution at 300dpi and change the size to 8x8 inches, or 2400x2400 px. It's when you resize your psd file that you get into trouble with your shadows, styles etc. You see, the shadow settings are maintained but your elements get smaller. For example, if you set your shadow to size 7, distance 7 on a flower, when you make your layout smaller, you flower gets smaller but the shadow stays at 7 & 7, when it would look better at 3 & 3. Does that make sense? When you resize your jpg everything, including your shadows, resize because your aspect ratios are maintained. The only time I flattened an image was when I made a mistake and then I couldn't go back and make changes to my layout! Yikes! Hope this helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbi Jo Posted November 30, 2008 Share Posted November 30, 2008 Wow, very helpful information in this thread! I have always resized my PSDs and then saved them as a .jpg of whatever size and resolution I needed -- gallery upload, printing, etc. Mostly I haven't had any problems (that I noticed! ) but this explains some strange "floating" elements I had on a couple of LOs where I thought I'd been careful about my drop shadows. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaL Posted November 30, 2008 Author Share Posted November 30, 2008 Janine, When I resize for the web, I do the entire image using, image, resize, check constrain proportions, check bicubic re(something-it is early..brain not working) and set dpi to 72. Then I save for the web. Most of the time it seems fine, but I have had a couple of layout that seemed a tad wonky. On the LO of my cousins daughters bday, a ribbon set at the bottom looks more like a shelf the way the shadow did and on my Giving Thanks LO the shadow for the title shadow distance looks like it grew. As you pointed out mine issues so far seem to be with only the web versions and the shadows on them. So if I flatten only on my web images, would that fix this issue? It does seem to be a problem on the printed jpegs. Cousins B-Day Layout Giving Thanks Layout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burnsie Posted November 30, 2008 Share Posted November 30, 2008 Lisa, are you using the "save for web" function? In my experience, that is where the shadows get nuts. I don't use that function anymore. I ususally save a full size .jpeg version of my LO. Then I close the .psd file and open the .jpeg file. (Now I won't ever screw up my .psd file on accident.) Go to Image>Resize>image size. Make sure your proportions are constrained. Change to 72 dpi and then change pixels to 600x600. Click ok. From here, do NOT go to "save for web". Just "save as" and make sure you save as a .jpeg with a title that denotes that this is your web version. Hope that helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaL Posted November 30, 2008 Author Share Posted November 30, 2008 I am using save for web...I will try it your way. In a bit I may resave the same one your way and see what it does. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angelaNussbaum Posted November 30, 2008 Share Posted November 30, 2008 I had Valerie (Varanda) Tell me that I should first save my layout as a jpg. Then close my layout and open the jpg. Then resize. then save as a new jpg (i usually add _web at the end of the filename). I have never lost quality, or had things not transfer over to the jpg since i have done this. AND If Valerie says to do it... i do it (i trust her) Angela Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaL Posted November 30, 2008 Author Share Posted November 30, 2008 Sounds good to me.. I put web on the end of mine also. I guess I just need to move my system around abit and resize from my jpeg instead of from my psd. I am sure there are more than one way to do this so I should be good now that I know what I was doing wrong. Thank you ladies!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrappinang Posted November 30, 2008 Share Posted November 30, 2008 I read somewhere...and I had to do it tonight with my siggy file that you should flatten before you resize for posting. Flattening before you resize makes it easier for PSE and possibly PS to keep everything uniform....on non-flattened images that are saved as JPGs, each layer is resized seperately and that's why you get a drop shadow that's way off base or a layer style (in my case) that didn't "stick" when the entire image was saved as a JPG.... Okay. After reading this again today...I must apologize for this post. It was late and I must not have been thinking clearly enough. I do not use the "flatten image" option. When I wrote this, I was thinking save as jpg meant the same as "flatten" because in a sense that's what happens when you save as a jpg. I'm so sorry to steer you in the wrong direction. After reading Janine's post I realized...and had to go back and note my own process, that I save the same way she does. So here is my process.... 1. Save as PSD always in full resolution 2. Save as JPG with "copy" (ex. 2008_seasons_greetings_siggy_copy.jpg) at the end of the file name. I use 12 for my compression value. 3. Open the JPG. Resize to whatever dimensions I need; 600x600 pixels for LOs or 250x250 pixels for my siggy (if I'm using a jpg) then save as new jpg with a notation of the new size (ex: 2008_seasons_greetings_siggy_copy_250x250.jpg) I do not use "save for web" option for JPGs because this can really mess up your styles, drop shadows, text, etc. The only time I use "save for web" is when I make animated .gifs. Again, I'm so sorry for writing so unclearly. I've grounded myself for life and will no longer post at 3am! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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