Powerpoint slides as non-fuzzy images
July 16, 2015 12:18 PM Subscribe
I need to put images of slides from a PowerPoint presentation into another document. However, the slides invariably look fuzzy in the new document. I've tried adjusting the pixel dimensions of the images on the PowerPoint export, adjusting the resolution of the images to match the physical size I need for the final document, but I haven't found the right combination. I'm going from a full slide to a 2.67x2 inch image. Help? Bonus points if it's a Mac answer.
Response by poster: They are fuzzy when printed and when saved as a PDF using the built-in OS X PDF printer.
My most complicated attempt was to export the slides as 800x600 images, then use Preview to resize the images to 300dpi without resampling (which produced a 2.67x2" image). There was no improvement between the 300dpi version and the 72dpi version scaled down within Word.
posted by philosophygeek at 12:25 PM on July 16, 2015
My most complicated attempt was to export the slides as 800x600 images, then use Preview to resize the images to 300dpi without resampling (which produced a 2.67x2" image). There was no improvement between the 300dpi version and the 72dpi version scaled down within Word.
posted by philosophygeek at 12:25 PM on July 16, 2015
Best answer: It sounds like the end result is a Word doc (?)
I'd try this:
- Export PDF from PowerPoint
- Place the PDF in Word, selecting slide-by-slide as needed
- Resizing in Word as needed
In a quick experiment on my end, it looks like this method retains some vector elements (shapes, text), resulting in a crisper look. Images also appear crisper than when exporting to jpg and placing those.
posted by Uncle Glendinning at 1:02 PM on July 16, 2015
I'd try this:
- Export PDF from PowerPoint
- Place the PDF in Word, selecting slide-by-slide as needed
- Resizing in Word as needed
In a quick experiment on my end, it looks like this method retains some vector elements (shapes, text), resulting in a crisper look. Images also appear crisper than when exporting to jpg and placing those.
posted by Uncle Glendinning at 1:02 PM on July 16, 2015
Do any of the images or drawing objects have transparencies applied to them? I've found that in Powerpoint, any use of transparencies results in the slide being reduced to a JPEG image, meaning not particularly crisp. Not sure about the sizing issue.
posted by adamrice at 1:20 PM on July 16, 2015
posted by adamrice at 1:20 PM on July 16, 2015
Be sure your Powerpoint is maximized. Then in Word: Insert tab > Screenshot
posted by SuperSquirrel at 2:28 PM on July 16, 2015
posted by SuperSquirrel at 2:28 PM on July 16, 2015
Are you going cross-platform?
Mac Office will happily handle PDF images. They look nice at any scale. Same document, opened on Windows, generally ends up with a PNG version - and for some damn reason seems to always end up a crappy, fuzzy, low-res version - never nearly as crisp as if a PNG were just inserted in the first place.
No idea if Office 365 fixed this. But as of Office 2013 it still was an issue. Just FYI.
posted by caution live frogs at 7:36 AM on July 17, 2015
Mac Office will happily handle PDF images. They look nice at any scale. Same document, opened on Windows, generally ends up with a PNG version - and for some damn reason seems to always end up a crappy, fuzzy, low-res version - never nearly as crisp as if a PNG were just inserted in the first place.
No idea if Office 365 fixed this. But as of Office 2013 it still was an issue. Just FYI.
posted by caution live frogs at 7:36 AM on July 17, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by desjardins at 12:22 PM on July 16, 2015