After exporting my .ai file to another format (png or jpeg) I have problems with my text being blurry, but it is ONLY blurry when it is at actual size. When you zoom in, it is as if it focuses and then is sharper and clear. Basically, it's blurry when viewed at actual size and as I zoom in it 'snaps' into place and becomes perfectly clear. It's really strange, because if it were a resolution problem it would be the opposite-i.e. only clear at actual size and burry zoomed in. I've tried a bunch of things- anti-aliasing, type-optimized, document raster settings, converting type to outlines before export, exporting at different sizes and resolutions. Some of these things have helped, but it is always an issue with every file I export (not just with one typeface).

Please see image for an example. Try opening the image in a new tab, look at the blurry text, then zoom in once and you will see how it snaps into place:

For this example I did the following:

  • Before export, ai file was set for print
  • Document raster settings were set to anti-alias and res of 300dpi
  • Type was on default anti-aliasing (sharp)
  • Export for screens a 1x scale, type optimized

I've tried so many different combinations of raster effects, different scales when exporting but can't figure out what is going wrong

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    We need more info to begin to help you. Youve only described the end results not what you did – joojaa Jul 23 '17 at 9:17
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    I don't see how this is even possible at the image level, it can only really be an issue with your how you're viewing the images. Could you show us an example image? – Cai Jul 23 '17 at 9:24
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    You haven't said what software you're viewing the png or jpeg in, what OS, etc. so nobody can really attempt to answer this. I will hazard a guess, however, that it's just some poor on-the-fly resizing done in whatever you're previewing them in that's not recognising it doesn't need to interpolate or reduce pixels at 100%, or else is doing something silly like being 99.9% zoomed when it should be 100% (and is displaying 100%). There was one renderer on macOS that used to do this. I think it was possibly Modo. Renders would look blurry or aliased until you changed the zoom. – biscuitstack Jul 23 '17 at 10:00
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    The retina screen of the Macintosh easily explains why things look better at larger sizes. – Scott Jul 23 '17 at 14:42
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    Maybe I'm misunderstanding something but that linked image looks clear to me. My only thought is it might have something to do with retina displays? I'm on one and it looks clear. – MrRoundtree Jul 23 '17 at 18:50

If you view/print black and white rasterized image of text on any other size than 100% (100% being pixel to pixel, or device's native DPI), it will either look jagged (if resizing is done in monochrome, looks awful) or blurry (if done in grayscale, looks bad).

If you are going to print it at 300 dpi and so is the image, it doesn't matter how it is represented on screen at random sizes. If the image is going to be scaled you will have either problem (jagged or blurred edges) on print as well.


The document you are trying to preview is blurry because of the file size. Its previewing it making it appear "blurry" so the document doesn't freeze up. If you are using 300 DPI for print it normally does this, however if you try to print it, it should be crystal clear.

  • Thanks for the reply. It's actually blurry when saved at 72 DPI. – Vee Jul 26 '17 at 14:50

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