Ive been doing freelance branding for years and honestly my workflow is getting bogged down with these tedious asset iterations. I tried messing around with Firefly for some client mockups last week but the resolution was just garbage for print work and honestly I dont have time to upscale everything. Im based in Chicago and need something that actually handles vector exports decently without looking like a soulless filter mess. Im on a tight deadline for a rebrand project next month and my current Adobe sub feels like its not cutting it anymore. What are you guys actually using that isnt just a total gimmick for graphic design right now?
Quick thought before you drop more cash. Are you mostly vectorizing logos or handling full layout assets? If you are on a budget, you might want to consider these before diving into expensive subs:
Honestly, if you are doing print work, you gotta be super careful with most AI tools right now because they just output soft, pixelated junk. I stopped using standard image generators for actual assets ages ago. If you really need vector stuff, just stop trying to force raster generators to do vector work. It is never gonna look right. I have been using Adobe Illustrator 2024 Desktop with its built-in vector tracing features, but I would suggest you look into Vector Magic Desktop Edition if you have legacy assets that need to be clean. It is way better at handling paths than the basic Adobe tools. Just make sure you are manually cleaning up the nodes after, because no AI tool gets the bezier curves perfect on the first try. If you are doing layout or heavy branding mockups, sticking with Adobe InDesign 2024 Desktop for the final file construction is still the only way to keep your print shop happy. Dont trust those browser-based export tools for anything that needs to hold up on a large format print. It is basically a recipe for disaster with color profiles and bleeds. Keep your workflow tight and stop relying on magic buttons for the technical heavy lifting.
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Building on the earlier suggestion, I totally agree that relying on raster generators for print is just asking for a headache! It is basically impossible to get clean output for large formats. I have been experimenting with some workflows lately that might help save your sanity. I am not 100% sure if this fits your specific pipeline, but here is what I have been digging into: