How to save .png 32bit transparent 120dpi from Illustrator?

[Neil Johnson]

Ok here is the issue. I have icons created in illustrator. I am creating them for a powerpoint library. I need them to be in PNG 32bit transparent and at 120dpi. I was saving as EPS from illustrator and opening in photoshop and saving as a PNG 24 bit but someone told me that the files have a slight white bg on their machine which I dont see.

I brought an illustrator .ai file into Macromedia Freehand adn they give you the option to export as a 8,24,32, or 64 bit PNG file directly from Freehand, the only problem is that freehand doesnt support the ai files well, the colors are very dark and the lines get screwy during the opening.

How can I save directly from illustrator, or even from photoshop for that matter as a 32 bit PNG file?

Thanks

[BobHill]

Neil,

PNG is normally used only for WEB use, which is why in PhotoShop it's in the Save For Web option and either 8bit or 24bit options. No reason for 32bit color there. I'm curious as to why 32bit (obviously for printing), but you are using 120ppi for image resolution? Or are you talking about 120lpi for printing resolution on a press?

Bob

[BobHill]

Neil,

Why not size your images in pixels instead of printing sizes which is what ppi is factored on? This will assure you are going to size the image for screen use, since the size of a pixel is determined by your display setting. But in any case, have you considered using PowerPoint's ability to make a color transparent and now you can use any format, and any color mode without having to use a color that has to be converted (you'll only get RGB in any case on your screen).

Bob

[Neil Johnson]

Bob,
Yes I realize PNG is typically for web.
In photoshop there is also the "save as" feature for PNG which allows saving in high resolution.

The reason for 32 bit is that with 24 bit in powerpoint presentations sometimes there is a faint white bg to the transparent images. In 32 bit the faint whiteness disappears totally.

The 120 dpi is for Powerpoint because powerpoint presentations in slideshow mode are resized to full screen and the images on screen are also enlarged accordingly. 72 dpi in powerpoint at full screen appear pixelated. 96 dpi would probably work but for the 22"+ monitors we use 120dpi lends the best results.

We are not planning on printing these regularly but the salespeople who use them may print them on inkjet.

I really hate to use freehand since it causes so many issues with .ai files so I was hoping Illustrator would have the same amount of PNG options somewhere or even photoshop for that matter.

As why I dont use gif images, the transparency is poor quality compared to PNG in powerpoint and gif doesnt support 256 level transparency either.

Thanks
Neil

[Neil Johnson]

Bob,
Well its different because I dont necessarily want the images to be bigger pixel wise, just when they are blown up to full screen they still appear clean. When you bring a 72dpi larger pixel wise image and view the presentation it gets pixelated, it jsut appears bigger.

Yup we tried PPT's transparency (which is extremely poor) and it gives out some nice jaggies. We orinally used gifs but PNGs were just so much cleaner. I wish PPT could import flattened eps files or something but its not an incredibly complex program.

[Neil Johnson]

Bob,
I'll try that and see if they work now. The illustrations are pretty simple, solid color, near cartoony type business illustrations of objects and people.

Thanks
Neil

[BobHill]

Neil,

PPT will take WMF/EMF vector formats, which you can make from Illustrator, although I wouldn't use super complex images in WMF/EMF.

Bob

[BobHill]

Neil,

In that case, I'd surely use EMF/WMF. That'll keep your image sharp, clean without ANY background. No need to convert to a raster image at all.

Bob

[Neil Johnson]

Bob,
Wow they look good, didnt even realize PPT imported those formats. Best part is they can be scaled in PPT with no loss of quality.

Thanks for the help
Neil

[BobHill]

Neil,

Absolutely.

Bob