InDesign and Printing, question about resolution

[Sarasocke]

Hi!

It may be because it's late in the evening but I can't get my head around this problem.

I have just sent off a book to Blurb which I'd done in InDesign. My original photos were all 400ppi and I didn't crop any bits off when placing them in the frames. Blurbs inflight informed me that most of the photos were below 150 dpi. I sent it off anyway, it's just a one off and not really important, I'm just practising really.

I had the same problem when I sent off a calender to an online printer. This time I was having 500 printed so I went back and resized every photo to be the actual size of the frame.
It can't be that I would have to do this for a book when the frames are all sorts of different shapes and sizes - I don't know what the finished size will be.

I'm not sure if I've explained myself properly, but I do hope someone has a tip for me, as I'm planning a much larger book.

[Beaux Reflets]

Hi Carol, I used  Blurb's BookSmart download, and all my images were sized to 300dpi (dots per inch - not pixels per inch) and the book photography came back fine.

Some post processing software automatically reopens and saves files to 72 and 96 especially when working with jpeg when each save can reduce the files byte size.

I prepare all my 'printer book' images to 300dpi and check dpi by right click properties (on the image file icon) saving them into a single desk top folder / library file for each seperate book - each image file is given the same single letter prefix for the book, and then simply dragged into the Booksmart screen with no problem resizing in the template guides in its pages.

Having the images saved in a specific folder file name, is handy if you decide to adjust an image (when you see the proof copy)because their printer settings are different from your printer settings. 

 

[Jonathan]

I hardly use In Design and am a couple of versions behind the curve but......

When you export to PDF you should get a dialogue with lots of panes.  Click on the compression and you should see a panel like this....



What are your downsampling options?

>> all my images were sized to 300dpi (dots per inch - not pixels per inch)

Don't get me started on the difference   Technically you can only save at ppi.  Any software that labels it dpi is, um, wrong (there are lots of apps that use DPI when they mean PPI). http://www.rideau-info.com/photos/photoshop.html

And, of course, sometimes you may have to change the number in that section to 300, in order to make the photo acceptable to those who don't know that it doesn't matter what number is in this section.

BTW I'm currently working with a software company to track down a bug like this - an application has suddenly started complaining that pictures are too small for output when they aren't.  It's unlikely it's related to the InDesign/Blurb problem but it just may be.

[Sarasocke]

Thanks for the quick answers.

Just checked what my PDF export says about compression - it's just as you showed Jonathan. Downsize to 300 ppi. The only difference is that the "tile size" is grey (i.e. I can't change it from 128) and I have it set to downsize anything above 300. Maybe I should type in 450. But then Blurb says the resolution should be between 150 and 300, which would indicate that my photos are ending up with less than 150.

I used the Blurb software at the beginning of the year, and there were no problems. It seems to have something to do with InDesign.
I made a little book for the local animal shelter and had it printed cheaply online (1000 copies), and that had a similar problem. I made all the photos the exact size of the print (A5) and then it was OK. As I said below, for the calendar I resized all the photos from the word go.

But this can't be the solution if you're making a book with a 100 pages and diffefent sizes photos on every page.

Weird.

I have a course in Illustrator starting a week Saturday, and the teacher also did the InDesign course. I shall have to ask him.

[Sarasocke]

Cracked it.

I'd created a background in PS - various colours, textures - and didn't check the resolution. It was 72 and then got a little stretched in ID. The photos were OK so I'm hoping the book will be OK.

That cost me a good few hours messing about.

[Oldboy]

Cracked it.

I'd created a background in PS - various colours, textures - and didn't check the resolution. It was 72 and then got a little stretched in ID. The photos were OK so I'm hoping the book will be OK.

That cost me a good few hours messing about.

 

[Sarasocke]

 
[/quote]

yepp 

[Jonathan]

Glad you got it sorted   Mine turned out to be a program bug....