Photoshop Images for Indesign

Preparing Photoshop Images for use in Indesign
Photoshop images should always be prepared according to commercial print
­specifications:
1. The resolution must be 300ppi
2. The image must be ‘Actual Size’ - the size it will be within the InDesign layout
3. The colour mode must be CMYK or Greyscale
4. The file format must be .tif or .psd
This workflow will make it easy to achieve the above
1. Initial Image Preparation in Photoshop
Set the resolution to 300ppi (Image > Image Size). Uncheck Resample if changing the
resolution. If the resolution is already 300ppi no changes need to be made.
Save as .tif or .psd (a .psd file will maintain any image transparency once the image is
in InDesign) in your ‘project’ folder. This folder should contain all images and the
­InDesign file.
2. Place Images in InDesign
Create an Image Frame using the Rectangle Frame Tool.
With the Image Frame selected, choose File > Place. Choose the image from the folder
containing the prepared images.

Use Object > Fitting > Fill Frame Proportionally or Fit Content Proportionally (which-
ever is appropriate) to make the image fit the frame.

Continue preparing your layout, resize frames and make images fit frames as necessary.
3. Apply Image Scale in Photoshop
Once your layout is complete, use the Links Palette to check the Effective ppi of each
image. If the Effective ppi is not 300ppi (either higher or lower) make a note of the Scale
% that has been applied in InDesign.
Select the Image, right click on the image and choose Edit with... > Adobe Photoshop
from the contextual menu.
The image will then open in Photoshop. Use Image > Image Size to apply the Scale
%. When changing the image dimensions (either in units of cm, mm or scale %)
check Resample. This will maintain the resolution and enlarge or reduce the image
appropriately.
Once the Scale % has been applied choose File > Save. Close the image in Photoshop,
jump back to InDesign and you will see the image has updated and now has an effective
ppi of 300ppi.It now has a resolution of 300ppi and is ‘Actual Size’.