Stop high quality images from pixelating inside InDesign

Learn why your high quality images may look terrible in InDesign and how to fix it. Details below...
Patreon: / michaelbullo
InDesign can create and edit massive documents that contain huge external assets such as Photoshop files. To keep the program as responsive as possible, InDesign may display assets at a lower quality on screen without affecting the output quality. These display settings can be easily overridden which can make for a more comfortable design experience.
TIMELINE
0:00 - Intro
Demo file contains a high quality raster image and a vector file. So why do these images look so pixelated?
0:54 - Display Performance options
These are display only options and will not alter the output of any content.
Fast Display: All graphics grey out.
Typical Display: Graphics are displayed as a mid-quality, pixelated proxy.
High Quality Display: Graphics are displayed at a high quality.
2:31 - Object-Level Display Settings
The display quality can be changed on a per image basis.
All of these local overrides can be cleared with a single setting.
3:45 - Display Performance in the Preferences
The default global Display Performance can be set from here as well as the individual settings for the 3 Display Performance options.

[@kvbcmb659]

AHHHH! Thanks! I was having a heat attack!

[@MichaelBullo]

Thanks mate

[@bramcopermans7494]

I realised this would only be a problem on my pc, but to show WIPs to my clients, I still wanted the pictures to be of great quality. Thank you so much for this Michael, I couldn't figure it out myself after trying pretty much everything! Appreciate it!

[@MichaelBullo]

Hey thank you mate. Nothing worse than trying to convince a client to ignore what they are seeing on screen :)

[@Lordtro]

You, sir, are amazing. Been scratching my head for an hour now trying to fix this issue. You fixed it for me in 20 seconds. Thank you very much.

[@MichaelBullo]

Hey that's great. Thank you for that.

[@underratedandunappreciated9057]

I was literally lost for about 7 hours today before finding this video. Such a simple fix that flew completely over my head. Much appreciated.

[@MichaelBullo]

7 hours? Ouch. Happy to hear this video helped you find the solution. Thanks for letting me know.

[@catrose8366]

Absolute life saver lol! I kept trying to figure out why my resolution was bad even though I set my files to 300 ppi. Thanks so much!!

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you. Yeah this issue gets us all at some point.

[@prakritimukherjee6562]

Thank you sir. This was confusing me for a while. All clear now.

[@MichaelBullo]

Happy to have helped. Thank you and happy designing.

[@jezrelneri3001]

This was helpful. Thank you for making this video! I was just learning InDesign today.

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you and great to hear this video helped. Welcome to InDesign :)

[@humphreythuo3615]

just what i was looking for...thanks for the great video

[@MichaelBullo]

Awesome. Thank you

[@marjoriebd3326]

This saved me such a headache! Thank you so much for this video!!

[@MichaelBullo]

Thanks Marjorie. Great to hear.

[@j3mpot]

same here!!! hehehe

[@salkoharper2908]

Cheers mate. I subscribed to your channel. I found the Adobe InDesign videos very helpful. Making my job as a publisher much easier. Trying my hand at graphic design, making promotional banners and webpages for our books.

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you and welcome to the channel. Congrats on diving into the world of graphic design. Best of luck.

[@couragematsikiri8517]

Thank you man, just saved me now in a nick of time. Was doing an assignment.

[@MichaelBullo]

Cheers mate. Happy it helped.

[@Diana-wg1xp]

Wow! Thank you, thank you, thank you! 😍😍😍😍😍 I've been strugling with this a lot and no one could help me! This is awesome!

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you. That's great to hear and much appreciated. Hope you're having fun with InDesign.

[@themaskedtalker2171]

Thanks! This is a lifesaver right here!

[@MichaelBullo]

Happy to have helped. Thank you and have a great day.

[@naciraassabir8963]

Thank you I was about to redo my whole files on PS because they looked horrible in Indesign, before I checked this💜!

[@MichaelBullo]

Wow. Very happy you found the video. Thanks Nacira.

[@eoic4721]

Thanks, I needed this for my sanity :)

[@MichaelBullo]

Happy to hear I helped prevent you sliding into madness ;)

[@magdamazur1429]

Thank you Michael!

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you Magda

[@doniaaaaaaaaa]

I LOVE YOU - YOU DESERVE ALL THE BEST IN THE WORLD THANK YOU

[@MichaelBullo]

That's very kind of you. Thank you and have a great day.

[@rugilesestokaite6809]

So thank You! You saved my life! So good thant You are explaning everything in easy way. Thank you a lot!

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you. I genuinely appreciate that. Hope you're having fun with InDesign.

[@msr1164]

I was already loosing my mind. Bless you

[@MichaelBullo]

Welcome back to sanity ;) Thank you

[@raykamal5644]

Great video, straight to the point and worked!

[@MichaelBullo]

Thanks Ray. Happy it helped.

[@originalkingdomhearts]

Thank you so much for this, it fixed my issue with it pixelating my images!

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you. Great to hear this helped you out.

[@Rvxvxvl]

Holy moly your a life savior dude thank you!

[@MichaelBullo]

Thanks dude. Happy to help :)

[@paulafrangiosa6505]

Thanks heaps man helped out majorly

[@MichaelBullo]

Cheers Paula. Happy to hear that.

[@jorgeabdo4778]

spent one hour trying to solve this 'issue'. I'm a dumb dumb. Thanks dude

[@MichaelBullo]

Cheers bro. I wouldn't feel bad about that one. The solutions are far from obvious.

[@rakshithrao]

Thank you very much. Found this video at right time.

[@MichaelBullo]

Awesome. Thank you.

[@hemilmodh247]

Appreciated man ! X 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥✌🏻

[@MichaelBullo]

Thanks mate

[@mhairimacdonald1566]

Thank you soo much! Exactly the issue I was having and this wokred a charm.

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you Mhairi. Happy designing :)

[@nellnellom5577]

You just saved my day! Thank you so much

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you Nell. Great to hear.

[@almircorreadomingos]

Great. Thanks!

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you

[@jinxie8]

OMG bless you. I was getting so annoyed that my photos looked like pixelated junk!

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you. Happy it helped.

[@naciraassabir8963]

Army 💜

[@nelsonpacheco412]

Thanks Michael, it helped me out a lot.

[@MichaelBullo]

Thanks Nélson. Great to hear.

[@Rei-op6cx]

was wondering why my pictures look pixelated lol thanks for this! very helpful video!

[@MichaelBullo]

I know exactly how you feel. Thank you :)

[@Phantom-29]

Thank you so much, I really was struggling ..

[@MichaelBullo]

Hey thank you. Best of luck with all your designs.

[@bilalshbg]

thank you so much for this video

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you Bilal. Enjoy your crisp new images ;)

[@azeenanuhez8222]

thank you sooo much brother ..this helped me a lot

[@MichaelBullo]

Hey that's great to hear. Thank you.

[@lauravieira959]

Very helpful! Thank you.

[@MichaelBullo]

Cheers Laura

[@Lorenzo12089]

Thank you so much.

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you Waleed

[@riddhimehta8146]

Thank you so much for this video

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you Riddhi

[@OfficiallyRonny]

thanks my guy.🤘🏾

[@MichaelBullo]

Cheers mate

[@gonzaloremorta6781]

Thank you Michael

[@MichaelBullo]

Thanks Gonzalo

[@khemgurung2800]

AweSome Video, Thank You Michael Bullo.

[@MichaelBullo]

Thanks Khem

[@salamandar6691]

Just than you so much!

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you

[@luisrauda3788]

Nice! thanks man

[@MichaelBullo]

Cheers Luis

[@Crus1fx]

Great video really saved me from a mini heart attack

[@MichaelBullo]

Hey that's great to hear. Thank you.

[@skittymitty420]

Dude you saved my life thank you

[@MichaelBullo]

That's awesome. Thanks for the feedback.

[@nananapants.18]

thank you so much this was super helpful :)

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you. That's great to hear.

[@page1digitalmedia544]

very helpful thank you

[@MichaelBullo]

Hey thank you. Appreciate the feedback.

[@rufikunbargi9407]

Thank you.

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you

[@BTCPAGE]

Thankyou so much!!

[@MichaelBullo]

You're welcome. Thank you.

[@helenamoffat13]

thanks from TX USA :)

[@MichaelBullo]

Thanks Helena. From Australia :)

[@adityarajput1668]

thank you so much dude

[@MichaelBullo]

Cheers mate

[@bhavnashinde4082]

Thank you so much this helped me a lot today🥰

[@MichaelBullo]

Hey that's great to hear. Thank you.

[@yashdabhi4710]

Wow Thanks a lot for this tip it was headache for me :)

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you. Happy to hear this helped you out :)

[@mariaralucasandu723]

Thank youuuu!!!!!!!😊😊😊

[@MichaelBullo]

Cheers

[@big9290]

THANK YOU, HOPE GOD BLESS THIS HERO! ❤️

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you. That's quite the compliment :)

[@chadspro]

Thanks mate

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you

[@anasrafaat8182]

awesome, thank you bro

[@MichaelBullo]

Thanks mate. Appreciate it.

[@musicalfly]

Thank you so much, I thought something was wrong with my images.

[@MichaelBullo]

Thanks Rashmi. Happy this helped.

[@anjajurejevcic1233]

Thank you soooo much!! :D

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you. Hope it helped.

[@joacim3126]

THANK YOU!

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you

[@Desiklown]

THANKS!

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you

[@hanifzahidin6413]

thanks a lot you are life saver

[@MichaelBullo]

Cheers mate. Happy it helped.

[@sitdeydms]

Thank you I thought I broke something or missed a step since the pictures were fine before I put it in ID 🎉

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you Sharon. You are a true InDesigner now. We all go through that stage at some point ;)

[@samuelcardona1346]

Thanks, I love u!

[@MichaelBullo]

Thanks mate :)

[@rahaf1571]

Thank you so much you saved my life

[@MichaelBullo]

Cheers. Appreciate that.

[@99Pitches]

THANKS!!

[@MichaelBullo]

Cheers mate

[@reduniverse8912]

Thank you man🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@MichaelBullo]

Cheers dude

[@user-bo5ql8di3l]

Omg my teacher didn't explain this step and I got so much trouble because of it. God thank you so much!

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you. I'm happy to hear this helped you out. Have fun learning InDesign :)

[@lowking1436]

tq so much it does help me

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you. Great to hear.

[@kaishajones]

thank you

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you

[@ProfitEneh]

Thanks

[@MichaelBullo]

Cheers

[@sharpieton]

thank you hamster man!!

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you. Back on the wheel for me ;)

[@cfufuf6629]

I love you so much Go on, hero❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@MichaelBullo]

Now that's a quality comment right there :) Cheers.

[@goldreamdigital]

bro, thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@MichaelBullo]

Thanks mate. Sounds like you just solved a problem ;)

[@laragaivoto5235]

thank you

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you

[@candyberry7620]

You saved me ty!

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you. Great to hear.

[@code791]

your content is great

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you Scarlet. Much appreciated.

[@yogeshwarsarjoo4503]

Thanks bro

[@MichaelBullo]

Cheers mate

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very useful

[@MichaelBullo]

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Legend!

[@MichaelBullo]

Cheers mate

[@Yagmur-xf5ov]

you saved my life

[@MichaelBullo]

Great to hear. Thank you.

[@evanananda6771]

thanks .....

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you Evan

[@machadocfilipe]

my man 👊

[@MichaelBullo]

Cheers mate

[@khaoulaelfakari1407]

Well thanksss

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you

[@Lycopersiconz]

Hi, I've tried all high quality display settings but when I export the full spread file, the images are so blurry and pixelated. Yes, I save them as PDF's too. The image is 10.4mb

[@MichaelBullo]

Perhaps you aren't choosing high enough quality settings when you export out the PDF. What does your PDF look like when you choose the following from the menu? File - Adobe PDF Presets - Press Quality Within the "Export Adobe PDF" dialog box there is a "Compression" section. You can manually change the options for "pixels per inch", "Compression" and "Image Quality" if you want.

[@varadchitnis1055]

You re great👍

[@MichaelBullo]

Thanks mate

[@barezyahya5648]

thanks alott

[@MichaelBullo]

Cheers mate

[@sebastiandelprincipe1998]

thank u

[@MichaelBullo]

You're welcome! Cheers.

[@mbaart1969]

THank you Michael! when I swith to high quality display, does is work on all pages or do I have to do it on every single page ? thank you

[@MichaelBullo]

Thanks Hamza. This is a document-wide setting so switching to a different setting will be seen on every page immediately.

[@mbaart1969]

@@MichaelBullo Great! I am an architect. you know what I used to do ? I used to right click every single picture in order to make it high quality! thank you

[@MichaelBullo]

@@mbaart1969 Ouch! You must be happy to know this new setting :)

[@sowmyasriguru5707]

Thanks a lotttt

[@MichaelBullo]

Hey thank you

[@SAIFULLAHJAMIL]

Thank you so much!!! BTW, my assignment Due tonight :D

[@MichaelBullo]

Thanks mate. Best of luck with the assignment. What's it for?

[@SAIFULLAHJAMIL]

@@MichaelBullo creating a web banner

[@MichaelBullo]

@@SAIFULLAHJAMIL Nice

[@bgf123]

Mine still is pixelated even if i switch to high quality. I have a 5mb hd Picture. When i Export aus a PDF it is pixelated aswell. Any siggestions?

[@MichaelBullo]

Hi Fabian. What format is your image? Is it a JPEG, PNG, PSD, TIFF etc… What are the dimensions of your image in pixels? It's possible to have an image that has a large file size but is still very small in terms of pixels. The resolution of the image is what's important. If you have an image with few pixels but it has to cover a large area in a document then you will have problems. As a general rule when it comes to printing you want an image to have a minimum Effective PPI of 300 like I do in this video. Can you also tell me more about the PDF. Is it, for example, a document or a poster?

[@darsheetvora]

@@MichaelBullo I have the same issue with the PDF. I have 354 Effective PPI for one and "628 x 616" for another image. Both images spread widely throughout the spread and both are in PNG format with transparent background. What shall I do?

[@darsheetvora]

@@MichaelBullo hey, the issue is now resolved.

[@ponyozzang]

thanksass!!!!

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you :)

[@whiffmachine9131]

thxx

[@MichaelBullo]

Cheers

[@DeathGod999]

thankk youuuu

[@MichaelBullo]

Thanks for that

[@veggiet2009]

I wish there was a way to change the interpolation of images within Indesign

[@MichaelBullo]

Is it possible for you to place PSD files into InDesign and make such edits to those files in Photoshop?

[@gabrielotheguy9845]

I have this issue with Photoshop. Any idea how to fix? thank you

[@MichaelBullo]

You'll need to provide far more detail. Are you enlarging a document? Are you transforming layer content? etc...

[@darsheetvora]

I still had pixels, when I exported it into a pdf file. What can I do?

[@MichaelBullo]

Hi Darsheet. I see from your other comments that you have solved the problem. What did you do to fix it?

[@silvial4838]

Thank you. I fixed it by page however when scrolling through my entire document they look bad again.

[@MichaelBullo]

I can't tell if you fixed the problem or not. Could you please explain in more detail?

[@silvial4838]

@@MichaelBullo Hi Michael. I am working on a project that has a few pdf pages that needed adjusting. So I set up the display performance to high quality for each of these pages and it worked. It fixed it. However , once I start scrolling through my my entire project, I see they are blurry again. I don’t know what else to do.

[@MichaelBullo]

Are you inserting PDFs into InDesign using the Place command? Is this PDF content only blurring when you are scrolling? Does the quality return when you stop scrolling? If the PDF content remains blurry within the InDesign file, does it look fine when you export out the InDesign file to something like PDF?

[@silvial4838]

Yes, I am inserting PDFs with Place command. Yes, blurry only when scrolling. Quality returns partially when I stop on document. I just exported to PDF and I pages look sharp!! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!! I am new at this and had not done that yet. I am so happy!!!😃 thanks again. 🙏

[@MichaelBullo]

@@silvial4838 That's great news. Thank you. The main thing is that it exports out correctly. When Adobe programs "misbehave", like not displaying things correctly, resetting the preferences can sometimes help… How to reset Preferences in InDesign kzbin.info/www/bejne/e6bRf5d-e92getk Best of luck learning InDesign :)

[@nadhrahizyani]

The 'blurry' images will stay after print out of it?

[@MichaelBullo]

As long as you have high quality images your print outs will be fine. The problem I was describing is a display only issue.