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Illustrators Corner - Microstock Illustrators Forum => Illustration - General => Topic started by: icefront on October 12, 2011, 14:38

Title: How do you handle gradient banding?
Post by: icefront on October 12, 2011, 14:38
I just started to do some more illustrations and I'm facing this banding problem...
See this image: http://www.canstockphoto.com/social-network-members-with-text-clouds-7533900.html (http://www.canstockphoto.com/social-network-members-with-text-clouds-7533900.html) (You can magnify but don't see the banding because I removed)

When I simply turn the illustration into raster, due to the 256-step gradient approximation, there is a heavy banding in the background. (in fact there is everywhere but in the darkest shades it's more visible to the human eye). I was scared in the first moment, the artifact is almost unacceptable. To handle this problem I'm converting to raster the bkg separately, apply a slight amount of noise (to simulate dither), then put the other stuff over the bkg.
Illustrators, how do you make the jpg previews for your illustrations? If I export from AI or import the eps into PS, banding is unacceptable. Regardless of 8 or 16 bits.
Do agencies reject jpg previews because of banding? I didn't tried this, eg. DT also sells raster, so I didn't wanted to provide images with banding for those who buy jpg...

Today I got a reject from SF, "jpg preview it's not the same as in eps". The file in question was one of those with background banding removed. Probably this is the problem.
Title: Re: How do you handle gradient banding?
Post by: michaeldb on October 12, 2011, 17:35
I have never found a way to avoid the banding in raster images exported from AI.

However, I have never had such a raster rejected by any site for banding when the image was submitted in association with an eps. Even at DT, where you are supposed to submit rasters independently of the eps files (they actually have rejected rasters with the keyword 'vector' even if the image is obviously a vector and I obviously intend to submit an eps file). So I wouldn't worry about it.

I think all raster effects in AI, such as drop shadows, look terrible on the raster exports.