Guide
Krutidev in Photoshop
Photoshop's text engine treats Krutidev differently from Word. Anti-aliasing, rasterization, and DPI settings that do not matter in Word documents directly affect print quality in Photoshop designs.
Adding the Font to Photoshop
Photoshop uses fonts installed on your operating system. Install Krutidev 010 through Windows (right-click > Install for All Users) or macOS (double-click > Install Font), then restart Photoshop. Adobe applications cache fonts at startup and will not detect newly installed fonts while running.
If you use Adobe Fonts (formerly Typekit), Krutidev is not available there since it is not part of the Adobe Font library. You must install it manually from the TTF file. Download it from our font page.
Point Text vs Paragraph Text
Photoshop has two text modes. Clicking with the Type Tool creates point text (a single line that extends until you press Enter). Clicking and dragging creates paragraph text (a text box with automatic line wrapping).
For Krutidev, always use paragraph text for multi-line content. Point text does not wrap, and long Hindi sentences will extend beyond the canvas edge. Create the text box slightly wider than needed because Krutidev characters have uneven widths. A box that looks right for English text will clip Hindi text at the edges.
Line spacing (leading) matters more for Hindi. In the Character panel, set leading to 1.5x the font size. For 24pt Krutidev, use 36pt leading. The default "Auto" leading (120% of font size) is too tight for Devanagari because the matras above and below characters need more vertical space than Latin ascenders and descenders.
Anti-aliasing for Clean Text
The anti-aliasing setting is in the Options bar when the Type Tool is active, and in the Character panel. The options and their best use:
- None: No smoothing. Text looks pixelated. Only use for screen-resolution work at very small sizes where smoothing blurs the characters.
- Smooth: Best for Krutidev body text (14-30pt). Produces clean edges without adding too much weight.
- Strong: Adds weight to thin strokes. Use for large Krutidev headings (36pt+) where thin matras can look faint against a textured background.
- Crisp: Sharpens edges but can make thin Krutidev strokes disappear at small sizes. Avoid below 24pt.
- Sharp: Closest to Windows ClearType rendering. Good middle ground if "Smooth" feels too soft.
Document Setup for Print
When creating a new document for print (File > New), set these values:
- Resolution: 300 PPI (pixels per inch). Not 72 PPI, which is the screen default and will print blurry.
- Color mode: CMYK for commercial printing (offset, digital press). RGB for home/office inkjet printing. Wedding card and certificate printers typically require CMYK.
- Bleed: Add 3mm (0.125 inch) bleed on all sides if the design extends to the edge of the paper. Set this under Canvas Size, not Document Size.
Krutidev at 14pt in a 300 DPI document is not the same visual size as 14pt in Word. Photoshop measures type size in actual points (1/72 inch), while Word's rendering accounts for screen zoom. You will likely need 18-24pt in Photoshop to match the apparent size of 14pt in Word.
Rasterizing and Exporting
Keep text layers as editable type layers as long as possible. Only rasterize (right-click > Rasterize Type) when you are done editing, because rasterized text cannot be changed without retyping.
Before sending to a print shop, rasterize all text layers. This bakes the Krutidev font into the pixels so the print shop does not need the font installed. Without rasterization, Photoshop substitutes a default font when the file is opened on a machine without Krutidev, and all Hindi text becomes garbled English characters.
For export: use TIFF (no compression) for the highest quality. Use PDF with "Preserve Photoshop Editing Capabilities" unchecked and "Embed Fonts" checked if the shop prefers PDF. Do not use JPEG for final print output. JPEG compression creates visible artifacts around the thin strokes and matras in Krutidev text.