How To Improve Pdf Resolution
As we can see, this is painfully low resolution. Let’s improve things somewhat with a basic enlargement. Navigate to Image Image Size. Where it says “Resample Image” you can change the type of anti-aliasing used to enlarge and smooth the image. Change it to “Bicubic Smoother (best for enlargement).” By default, Photoshop uses “Bicubic.”.
My problem is I am tasked to extract images from a 640-paged PDF file.
Majority of which are charts and tables with texts. Doing a simple copy and paste makes the image lose its resolution and the texts becomes blurry and sometimes unreadable.
Do you know of a better way to extract images from a PDF file without affecting the resolution?
Kurt Pfeifle14 Answers
From the XPDF suite (which is Free & Open Source Software) you can use pdfimages.exe CLI tool to extract all images from a PDF, or just all images from a range of pages. Here an example to extract all images from pages 33-36:
The -j will try to extract embedded JPEG images as JPEGs. All other images are output as PPMs (portable pixmaps). Attention, PPMs are totally uncompressed!
this is very easy using evince (The document viewer) in Ubuntu. Just open the pdf using evince then unmaximize the window, mark it Always on top then drag and drop the image into the folder you like.
Extracting the original resolution images is one of the free features of the Solid Framework SDK so if you create your solution in C#, this is it:http://www.soliddocuments.com/features.htm?product=SolidFramework
The sample application that illustrates this feature is also free if you need a GUI batch solution:http://www.pdf-internals.com/download.htm?product=SolidPDFMechanic
(I'm with Solid Documents)
(1) You can open the file in Word 2013 (just use File - Open), where you can copy the image. Resolution is good enough for printing, but not sure if the same as original.
(2) Freeware viewer SumatraPDF (very good if you use LaTeX) has a menu option 'Copy image' when you right-click on the image. I think it preserves the resolution (though I saw files from which I could not copy the images).
(3) Adobe Acrobat X, under File, has Save as Other - Image, and there by default it uses high resolution (in the cases that I tried it was the original resolution).
(4) In Perl, there is more than one way, e.g., read here and especially mentioned there program to extract JPEG images from anything, which worked perfectly for me and definitely extracts the original resolution JPEG images.
Alexander GelbukhAlexander GelbukhPHOTOSHOP! Open the PDF in Photoshop. (Using Photoshop CC on Windows 7)
- Launch Photoshop.
- Select File/Open (or Command/Control-O). The 'Open' dialogue box will pop up.
- Select the PDF and click OK/Enter. The 'Import PDF' dialogue box will pop up.
- IMPORTANT - under 'Select', click the 'Images' radio button. All of the images will appear!
- Select the image you want and click OK.
- Ta-da!
No - copying and pasting should retain the original resolution of the embedded resource - what is most likely happening is that it is a low resolution picture that was shrunk inside the PDF, so when it is exported, it looks worse than it is.
Try shrinking it and/or making it the same size as in the PDF and it should actually be the same.
Alternatively, (and worst option) go to 100% zoom and take a screenshot or use the snipping tool in Windows Vista / Windows 7.
NOTE - Images in .PDFs are usually shrunk/compressed at the time they are made converted to a .PDF, however, once it is has been compressed, you should be able to extract at the same quality as the PDF, not worse.
Which PDF viewing software are you using?
By using a PDF editing/creation program, like Adobe Acrobat Pro, you should be able to extract the embedded images as they are in the PDF file*. You can get a free trial from the Adobe site (for Windows and Mac), which you can use just for purpose.
* as long as they are not protected, in which case you will have to.. er, I'm not going there...
paradroidparadroidYou could use Imagemagick to convert all PDF pages to separate image files (although I am not sure how long it will take to do such a big document, or if it will cope!) and then crop out what you want. Might be worth doing a trial run with this as at least you will find out whether the resolution of the embedded images is OK for what you need.
Linker3000Linker3000The best way is to use Adobe Acrobat Pro (2010 or newer versions). Go to File -> Save As -> More Options -> Encapsulated PostScript and then click Save.
GarrettIf you have Acrobat pro this is by far the simplest way to take a snapshot of high resolution (set it how high you want). In preferences/general check the box that says 'use fixed resolution for snapshot tool' and set the resolution to your liking e.g., 300ppi or even higher. Then take a snapshot (tools/select & zoom/snapshot tool) and it will copy a high res copy to your clipboard. Then paste it from your clipboard where you want. works great.
To see a more detailed description click this link...
I usually extract images by opening the pdf files in Adobe Illustrator and then copy and pasting them into InDesign. The resolution preserves.
Adobe Acrobat Pro
File > SaveAs will use the Convert-From-PDF settings under 'Edit > Preferences'
[Converting from PDF] will allow [Edit Settings... ] for each file format
The Best will depend upon the source images and resolution that were used to create the PDF.
But you can get pretty good results by Editing the lossless TIFF settings
Set the Resolution to 1200 or more (if Save Fails set it lower) then use the original File > SaveAs to render the PDF file into high resolution individual files
Not the best way, but really much better than rendering as a different document type.
The files will be very big, but more suitable for cut and paste
On a Mac you can export images or a full page from Preview and get full resolution. You will be asked what resolution you want in a dialog.
In Adobe InDesign, you can use the 'Place' command to import a PDF file. If you like to import specific pages, enable the Show Import Options checkbox in the dialog that appears after you click the Place command. Drag and resize the frame so that what you need as high-res image fits in the page. You many need to resize the document page size according to the aspect ratio of the image. Once you are satisfied with what you see, use the Export command and select High Quality PDF. This will create a high resolution PDF which you can print or use in Latex docuemnts.
Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged imagespdf or ask your own question.
Related Articles
- 1 Convert Illustrator to Powerpoint
- 2 Increase Pixel Count in Photoshop
- 3 View an .EPS File With Octave
- 4 Have the Highest Quality Possible in Photoshop
Creating high-resolution files for use in print production may form one of the mainstays of your professional workflow, especially if you're a graphic artist or print production specialist. If you're presented with low-resolution files and asked to make high-resolution versions of them, you'll achieve better results if you can obtain natively high-resolution files to begin with. Some low-resolution files actually can become high resolution without a loss of image quality, depending on the size at which you need to reproduce them. At the same time, however, some files require upsizing to make them meet your resolution needs.
Reinterpret Resolution
1.Open your file in Adobe Photoshop. Press 'Shift-Ctrl-I' to open the Image Size dialog box.
2.Examine the Document Size statistics in the Image Size dialog box. If you see large width and height measurements with a resolution of 72 pixels per inch, your image probably originated from a digital camera. Turn off the 'Resample Image' check box and set the resolution to 300 ppi. At the top of the dialog box, notice that the Pixel Dimensions -- width, height and file size -- remain unchanged, whereas the width and height in the Document Size section drop. For example, an 8-bit RGB image that measures 25 inches by 16.667 inches at 72 ppi measures 6 inches by 4 inches at 300 ppi, but remains 6.18MB in file size. Click on the 'OK' button to apply your settings.
How To Improve Pdf Resolution In Word
3.Review your image. Its size and appearance remain unchanged because you simply told Photoshop to reinterpret its resolution, not to increase it. Instead of a very large low-resolution image, your file became a smaller high-resolution image.
Increase Resolution
1.Open your file in Adobe Photoshop. Press 'Shift-Ctrl-I' to open the Image Size dialog box.
2.Turn on the 'Resample Image' check box and set the resolution to 300 pixels per inch. Notice that the Pixel Dimensions -- width, height and file size -- at the top of the dialog box increase, whereas the width and height in the Document Size section remain unchanged. For example, an 8-bit RGB image that measures 432 pixels wide by 288 pixels high at 72 ppi remains 6 inches wide by 4 inches high at 300 ppi, but becomes 1800 pixels wide by 1200 pixels high, and increases in file size from 364.5K to 6.18MB. Click on the 'OK' button to apply your settings.
3.Look at your image window and image quality. Because you increased the resolution of your file, and thereby its size, your image window appears larger. With that increased size, however, comes pixelation introduced when Photoshop interpolated new pixels to accommodate the larger file area.
Tips
- Sharpen your image after you increase resolution, not before. If you sharpen first, you may introduce sharpening artifacts that reduce image quality after enlargement. If you sharpen afterward, you may be able to offset some of the softening introduced by enlargement.
- If a client asks you to increase image resolution and doesn't understand the negative effects of the process, invite him to watch you upsize a low-resolution image so he can see the byproducts for himself.
- Always check client-supplied images that come from digital cameras. Most will show large image dimensions at low resolution. When you incorporate these files into a page layout, you may think you've received large files and try to use them at what appears to be their actual size.
Warning
- Never use a low-resolution file in a print-production workflow that targets a printing press. The resulting output will look soft and pixelated.
References (1)
Resources (1)
- Adobe Photoshop CS6 Classroom in a Book; Adobe Creative Team
About the Author
Elizabeth Mott has been a writer since 1983. Mott has extensive experience writing advertising copy for everything from kitchen appliances and financial services to education and tourism. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in English from Indiana State University.
Cite this Article