Layout slowdowns caused by high res images

[masterpaul]

When I use layout to arrange my porfolio, I often use high res images. These images are too high res, meaning that the detail on the images would be lost when printed. However the problem is that after adding many of this images they slow down the computer.

Is there away for layout to somehow "explode" this images, and lower the resolution, essentially creating new lower res images in the place of the old image. The resolution of the images would after match the resolution of the page.

[Rich O Brien]

Why not lower the resolution yourself before importing?

LayOut is a drafting/presentation tool so I can't see it introducing post processing abilities.

Maybe I read your query incorrectly but it does sound like you are importing hi-res and want you LayOut to down sample them because the details aren't making it to print. If that is the case it does raise my initial question of why are you using images that you can't really get benefits from?

[masterpaul]

@rich o brien said:

Why not lower the resolution yourself before importing?

LayOut is a drafting/presentation tool so I can't see it introducing post processing abilities.

Maybe I read your query incorrectly but it does sound like you are importing hi-res and want you LayOut to down sample them because the details aren't making it to print. If that is the case it does raise my initial question of why are you using images that you can't really get benefits from?

1. Time constraints.

2. I render something in sketchup,I port it to layout. However Im not sure about the size I want it to be. So I scale it and move it around the page, until Im happy. However if I change the resolution beforehand the image may become may comeout pixelated or blury after resizing it on layout and printing it.

It would be a useful little option in layout.

[baz]

A workaround could be to save each page as a separate LO file, then export to PDF.
Then combine all your pages/Pdfs to one PDF.

[Richard]

Are you electing to "embed" the images under the references dialogue?

One option for working with higher res images is to compile your pages with low res versions as place holders and save. Then just before export relink all image files to the higher res versions! then close the file without saving so when you open it later for editing it is back to the low res versions.

One way to shortcut the process is to have two folders of images - I'll give example by simple naming:

Layout Images (folder)
Low Res Images (folder) - floor plan, elevations, site plan (all in low res)
Hi Res Images (folder) - floor plan, elevations, site plan (all in high res)

Then when compiling your layout docs link to images in the "Layout Images" folder containing copies of the low res versions then before export replace the low res versions in the "Layout Images" folder with high res versions and just update the reference links.

The beauty with Layout here is that your low res image can be MUCH smaller!!! As layout will when updating use the same placeholder bounds so the image wont increase in dimension!

Makes it a really simple fast process!

[pedrinalex]

Thank you Richard

For this smart tip.

Let me tray, and i say you later

Pedro

(sorry for my bad english)

[bmike]

Time constraints for image resampling?
You can set up and record Photoshop to blast through a folder and do this for you.
Or set up an Automator routine on a Mac.
Etc. Etc.

Figure out what the ideal resolution will be for the print process.
Batch process all images into a new folder.
Bring those into LayOut.

If you still have slowdown - I would make Richard's idea even simpler - keep 2 folders, but instead of manually re-linking each image, as long as the file names are the same - simply copy-over the original small images that LayOut is reading with the higher resolution images.

I do this with client / sales proposals - but with a SKP model. Model gets names 'presentation'. Saved to a specific folder. Open my LayOut file called 'proposal' (in the same folder) - and it updates with the new model (model has same scene names as in my original), that overwrote the old one. PDF, done. If I feel I need to keep that LO file and model around, I can copy that folder to the client folder and still have a record of it.

[Richard]

@bmike said:

If you still have slowdown - I would make Richard's idea even simpler - keep 2 folders, but instead of manually re-linking each image, as long as the file names are the same - simply copy-over the original small images that LayOut is reading with the higher resolution images.

Mate the reason for the third folder is to achieve the same thing but to not overwrite and lose either the lower res or higher res images. Again what I do is keep one folder with hi res, one with low res and then the third folder being the one LO reads and to here is where one alternates between high and low res images - again named commonly.

[bmike]

@richard said:

@bmike said:

If you still have slowdown - I would make Richard's idea even simpler - keep 2 folders, but instead of manually re-linking each image, as long as the file names are the same - simply copy-over the original small images that LayOut is reading with the higher resolution images.

Mate the reason for the third folder is to achieve the same thing but to not overwrite and lose either the lower res or higher res images. Again what I do is keep one folder with hi res, one with low res and then the third folder being the one LO reads and to here is where one alternates between high and low res images - again named commonly.

Sounded like you were manually re-linking all the images. But yes, 3 works just as well, just copy in the resolution you need, and update references in document settings. Wasn't clear when I read it earlier.