I’m sure this has been debated a thousand times over.
I 'd like to know:
1-which is best for logo resizing, Ps or Ai? and
2-which is best for general graphics resizing, Ps or Ai?
But I have a client who is intent on emailing me photoshop files (for logos and otherwise) to put on his website and he never sends the exact size/dimensions I need.
Yesterday he sent me a PS file that was 600x400 , 3000 resolution, by email, to use for his company logo which will only fit in a space that is 230x180.
I have told him if he must send me a photohsop file to please send it the correct size or at least as close to it as possible. And for logos, that he must send me in Ai format, not Ps , for logos.
so my question is this:
when I resize these large photoshop images, even if I use the "save for web" feature, do I reduce the quality of the image?
would it be better to export to Illustrator first, then resize and "save for web" in illustrator?
I have googled for this information of which is best for logo resizing, Ps or Ai, and which is best for general graphics resizing, but i have found different points of view.
If the original files you get are vector format (composed of lines, fills, points) then use Illustrator.
If the original files are rasterised/pixel-based (eg JPG, TIFF, PNG) then go straight to Photoshop.
It gets muddy because both programs have functionality with both types of files (ie Photoshop can use vector files and also store them inside its own files able to be edited by Illustrator!). But essentially they are specialised for the types of files they primarily deal with.
If you are using the Save for Web function then both the programs are converting whatever format the originals are in to a pixel-based format optimised for the web. The process will chop out as much information as you specify which is why it becomes a balancing act of file size and quality. I’ve not read them but I understand there is some good info in the stickies at the top of this forum. Depending on how fussy you want to be or the size of the website you are dealing with optimising images is a whole other subject.
It is always nice to receive source material, particularly AI/vector files as you can resize to your hearts content knowing you are getting the best quality. Real life dictates you’ll get all sorts of crap thrown at you and you will have to do your best. It’s okay for web the tolerances are much lower, try doing the web logo thing for print and you’ll know all about it (it’s what I deal with ALL the time).
If you are dealing with large companies then most of the time it is a matter of finding the right person to talk to. If there are printed advertisements around then chances are someone has a decent copy of the logo(s). Often the people supplying you the files don’t have a clue so make it easy for them and ask to talk to the person who deals with the print material or advertising/marketing.