Clipping path of linked TIFF

[gnubler]

Illy CS. When I place a grayscale TIFF into Illy it does not recognize the clipping path. Am I missing something here? Saving the same TIFF as EPS and then placing it brings it in with the path outline already applied. Can this not be done with a TIFF?

Thx...

[DigitalCrapShoveler]

I myself am not a fan of Tiffs with clipping paths, but it can be done. First in PS, draw your path, make sure it is closed. Then in the paths palette, click the little arrow on the upper right side of the palette. Choose "Save Path" and name it whatever. Save as Tiff.

In Indesign, place the tiff. It should show up "clipped." If not, go to /Object/Clipping Path, and choose Photoshop Path... that should work.

Tiffs were never meant to have clipping paths in them, I find Tiffs with paths extremely problematic, and tend to shy away from doing that. If it were me, I would stick to native PSD, and keep it transparent for any Adobe Apps, sans PM, using the path for runarounds. Or EPS, if it is Quark or Freehand.

[dudley]

gnubler,

same results here in Illy CS2 & PShop CS3.

searched for "clipping path" in Illy Help, got everything BUT clipping path.

dudley

[DigitalCrapShoveler]

Sorry Gnub, for some reason I had ID on the brain.

No, you cannot import a tiff with a clipping path in Illustrator in any version. Use the PSD file format.

[beermonster]

tiffs and clipping paths - not a good mix

best way is to psd as said before - personally i'd use a mask as its non destructive too, and then leave a nice editable layered file that is intact

you can save layers within a tiff file, and save transparency - BUT - it's not supported in illy - probably not in indy too i suppose, and i wont even bother with quack

[gnubler]

Ok, many thanks. I thought I was missing something obvious. Where I work we use grayscale TIFFs quite a bit, as they can easily be colored in Indy and are smaller than Photoshop EPS.

[almaink]

U could clip the tif in Illy.

[gnubler]

U could clip the tif in Illy.

Through flattening? Or what?

[DigitalCrapShoveler]

Draw a clipping path in PS like you normally would, then export the path to Illustrator. Use the exported path in AI to make a clipping mask on your imported tiff. Or just draw the path in AI, and again apply it as a clipping mask on your imported tiff.

[Ash]

What's wrong with Tiffs and clipping paths? I used them for years before the apps supported transparency between them.

The key here is the fact that the file is linked not embeded. Embedding the raster image should retain it's clipping path and therefore allow you to alter the path with Illustrator's tools.

[DigitalCrapShoveler]

What's wrong with Tiffs and clipping paths? I used them for years before the apps supported transparency between them.

Tiffs with tagged data can be problematic, IMO. Tiffs were never designed to hold vector data and don't, they have an attached clippath tag. This tag can become corrupt. I never liked the idea of paths in tiffs because I have been/and seen others bitten several times, especially with older apps.

I tend to shy away from making the same mistake twice, even though I seem to do it more and more the older I get... senility I suppose. LOL

[Ash]

especially with older apps.

True. Xpress 4 bit many people but any Adobe app the version before CS has handled them absolutely fine. I never save raster EPS files, haven't for over a decade.

[beermonster]

to be honest - i cant see the point of tiffs with clippers - psd is, imho, the way to go - i have no issues at all - except some with loads of layers can get big in size - so i'll just flatten and resave - AFTER ensuring I have the original in tact of course

[LRob]

I'd go with the PSD.

[gnubler]

What's wrong with Tiffs and clipping paths? I used them for years before the apps supported transparency between them.

The key here is the fact that the file is linked not embeded. Embedding the raster image should retain it's clipping path and therefore allow you to alter the path with Illustrator's tools.

Doesn't work. I just placed a grayscale tiff w/ a clipping path, put it on top of a colored box, embedded it - still a white bounding box, no path. Then tried Rasterize under the Object menu, transparent bg, checked create clipping mask - still no path.

Am I missing something or is the general consensus still that TIFFs don't retain their paths when placed in Illy.