Smooth Diagonal Edges

[m155g0ld]

Hi Guys,

First time here so hope I'm in the right place.

I have been using photoshop for years however I am now using it more than ever in my new job.

I have just created a logo which incorporates a diamond shape with a metal/diamond 3D look.

The problem I have is that, although the shape appears smooth when flat, as soon as I add the layer styles I need - such as bevel - the edges appear very jagged. I simply camn't seem to make completely smooth diagonal lines.

I thought if I increased the res it might help but I am working with 600 dpi and it's still no better.

Where am I going wrong Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

L x

[Medley]

The first thing to understand is that changing the dpi will have no effect on how the image looks on-screen. Changing the dpi simply changes the print size and resolution.

Now, unless you'll be using the logo online in e-mails and such, the question is really going to be how the logo looks in print. In print, I think you'll find the logo looks bettr for two reasons:

1) Onscreen pixels tend to be larger than printed 'pixels', and

2) Some softening occurs when converting the pixels into the half-tone dots most printers use. Also, if you're not using coated paper in the output, the ink will spread a bit more than normal.

My best advice is to not try to 'fix' the onscreen version just yet. Change the resolution to 300 dpi and print it to see how it looks. If it still looks a bit blocky, try 240 dpi.

If neither of these work, get back to me. However, there are some things I will want to ask:

1) The width, in inches, of your computer monitor
2) The screen resolution you use for Photoshop (ie 1440x900, 1152x720, etc...
3) The platform you use (Windows/Mac)
4) The printer used to print.

All of these figure in the conversion from screen to print. Try the simple approach first. If it doesn't work, we'll look at it a bit more in depth to determine a solution.

-Medley.

[m155g0ld]

Hi Medley,

Thanks for your quick reply.

The logo will be used for both print and web. I have tried reducing the res as you said but it seems to make no difference. It still looks jagged both on the screen and in print.

I have a 17" LCD screen and I use 1024 x 768 screen res. The printer is an HP PSC 1402 All-in-One Ink Jet and I use Windows.

I have tried using this tutorial http://www.lunacore.com/photoshop/tutorials/tut001.htm but it doesn't seem to work for this purpose.

Perhaps I could send you the image as a jpeg so you could see exactly what I mean?

Thanks again for your help,

L x

[thehen]

Post up the image, it would make life a lot easier.

[m155g0ld]

sorry guys... never used this forum before... not sure how to post an image! duh!

L x

[Medley]

You can post an image here by using a webiste host such as Photobucket ( http://s42.photobucket.com/ ). This is the one I use most. If you don't want to post the image on the web, you can e-mail it to me at tandemduo280@comcast.net. This will actually work better if the image is larger than 800x600 or is not an sRGB color file.

-Medley.