Color Jpegs to Grayscale

[The Drawing Room]

I'm having a terrible time with this: Using color jpegs from the web (www.nps.gov/care/index.htm for example) for a client's newsletter and have to convert them to grayscale.

Using PhotoShop 7.0 (Mac), these are the steps I've tried:

Select photo -> SaveAs w/different filename in different folder -> Mode: Grayscale -> Save -> Auto Level/Contrast or whatever else needs doing -> Save -> Close.

When I try and Place them into the PageMaker 7.0 newsletter file, I keep getting that "Cannot place this file" message. Maybe one out of 10 works.

Should I save to other than jpeg file?

I've even tried simply SaveAs to a different filename/folder and closing the thing and re-opening it with the new filename.

Help!
Barbara

[don Arnoldy]

Originally Posted by The Drawing Room

When I try and Place them into the PageMaker 7.0 newsletter file, I keep getting that "Cannot place this file" message.

Save them as TIFFs.

[The Drawing Room]

Thanks Don. It worked perfectly!
Barbara

[ktinkel]

Originally Posted by The Drawing Room

I'm having a terrible time with this: Using color jpegs from the web (www.nps.gov/care/index.htm for example) for a client's newsletter and have to convert them to grayscale. … Should I save to other than jpeg file?

I see you got this sorted out.

Just a comment in general, though: Since JPEG is a lossy format the best approach if you must work with one is to convert to TIFF. Using jpg again can produce unexpectedly awful results. (Usually, you have no idea what the poor image has gone through before you found it.)

[The Drawing Room]

It seems no one formula works for every graphic, but this time, converting to TIFF works out great. It can even take on the one-color ink used on the covers of the newsletter. It drives me wild when you can't do that with certain file formats.

No matter how many times I resort to the PhotoShop manuals, including the one that came with the upgrade, I never seem to strike the right formula the first time around.

Barbara

[don Arnoldy]

Originally Posted by The Drawing Room

It seems no one formula works for every graphic

If your working with raster images--scans or digital photos-- for print, use TIFF, with three exceptions:

1. You're using duotone mode
2. you're embedding a clipping path (knock out mask)
3. Your prepress supplier wants DCS

None of those things work with TIFF--then use EPS.

Absolutely avoid JPEG and GIF for print.

Follow this simple rule and the magic will always work! <G>

[Shane Stanley]

Originally Posted by don Arnoldy

Absolutely avoid JPEG and GIF for print.

Unless it's JPEG 2000...

Shane