Take the 2-minute tour ×

I have a set of vector icons which I need to save as PNG images in 3 sizes (16,32,48). I'm confused as the best way to go about this to produce the best quality results. Either I can save each one individually at each size from within illustrator or I produce the largest size from illustrator (48x48) and then simply resize them down using my handy batch image resizing tool. Is there a difference in the quality the would be produced between these two methods?

share|improve this question
add comment

1 Answer

It depends somewhat on the icons. Unless the job is paying by the hour, I'd definitely try the batch method first, because the quality difference is likely to be so slight as to be no difference at all.

If you have Photoshop CS5 or 5.1, you could run Image Processor Pro and save all three versions at once, with a separate subfolder for each size.

If not, an Illustrator action that saves each size for a given image would certainly speed things up for you.

share|improve this answer
Alan's the best. –  Johannes Nov 7 '11 at 9:02
The ideal solution would be a batch tool that you could point at all your .ai files. It would then loop through each file and export 3 PNGs (16, 32 and 48) per .ai file input. If you're on a Mac, and familiar with writing Applescript, this is pretty simple to do. Adobe's scripting resources for Illustrator (includes Applescript): adobe.com/devnet/illustrator/scripting.html –  Vickash Nov 9 '11 at 23:42
add comment

Your Answer


