Photoshop image resize - blurred edge?

When I re-size a multi-layer image in photoshop the edge is destroyed. It ends up lighter in color or even partially transparent.

Try this...

1. Create a new PSD image. Doesn't matter what size.
2. Duplicate the white background so you now have two layers.
3. Fill the top one with black.
4. image -> image size, make it smaller using one of the bicubic resampling algorithms
5. Take a very close look at the edge. It's slightly lighter than black. If it doesn't look lighter, use the eyedropper to sample the edge pixel and then look at it in the color picker. It's not black.

But wait, it gets even better...

6. Undoo your last image re-size
7. Hide the background layer
8. Reduce the image size again

Now the edge is partially transparent!

Happens in CS on the Mac and CS2 on the PC. This is apparently normal behavior for bicubic resampling.

My solution has been to either repair the edge (if it's supposed to be a constant color) or to leave a border until I've re-sized, and then crop the image to remove the edge, but there are still times when I don't remember to do this and only notice after I've uploaded the image and applied it to a prim.

Is there a higher-quality work-around for this?

Has anyone even noticed this in Photoshop?

I can't say that I ever have, and I'm on CS3. It sounds like what's being described is similar to anti-aliasing gone amok.

Yes, that's normal for Photoshop's bicubic, and you've already found the solutions. There are other resize filters available, but they all have their own limitations.

:0 i dunno if this applies to what you are doing, hope this helps: (and also this behavior may not apply to all versions, but probably)

1) if you 'select all' first to fill up a layer or mask, your fill-in paint will -only reach the edge- of the canvas - hidden underneath the grey (if in fullscreen mode) just past the edge is leftover paint, could be anything - can't see it, until you apply a blur or move the layer around, then you see it...

2) don't 'select all' - just fill with color without a marquee. this fills in the canvas -and- beyond into the grey area. now blurs or whatever won't have unexpected effects - always start a layer or mask freshened up first!

I noticed the bug the original poster mentions when I first started making .raw files for sim terrain changes. I kept getting an ugly "flashing" at the edges, where one or two pixels that should have been the same as the next ones inward weere instead much lighter, creating a thin vertical ridge...

I solved it by placing guide lines at the intended edges, then expanding the canvas by 10 pixels or so and filling the area beyond what I needed with a solid fill, on the layer below.

I could then re-size the file, and if I cut a section based on that set of cut lines, I never got the flashing. Jusa as long as there was something beyond the edge of what I was cutting.

I agree that it seems to be attempting to anti-alias the edges against the un-filled space beyond the edge of the canvas, eventhough the selection tool has a feather settng of zero.

I think this effect explains why some of images saved as PNGs pick up stray transparent pixels. Makes sense now that you pointed it out. have to watch for this when doing precision work from now on.