Ideogram V4.5: images with words that come out right
Ideogram V4.5 makes images from text with lettering and layout in mind. When to pick it, three prompts, the quality and size settings, and one honest limit.
Ask most image models for a poster that says OPEN LATE and you get OPNE LAET in a lovely font. Ideogram V4.5 is built for the opposite: its own description puts typography right next to quality and composition, and promises control over all three. That is the honest summary. It is the model to reach for when the words in the image are part of the job.
It is not only a sign painter. The example on its model page is pure mood with no lettering at all: a man in a dark wool coat at a rainy bus stop at night, holding a fishbowl with an orange goldfish, car lights streaking behind him. So it can do atmosphere too; the lettering is just where it pulls ahead.
Pick it when
- The text is the point: posters, flyers, book and album covers, signage in a scene, a label on a product mock-up.
- The layout matters: where the headline sits, how much space the subject takes, what is left empty.
- You need several formats of one idea. There are seven aspect ratios, from square to wide and tall, so one prompt can become a feed post, a story and a banner.
For a quick sketch where words do not matter, a cheaper model on the models page will do. For an image to edit rather than create, there is a separate Ideogram V4.5 Edit.
Three prompts
A vintage travel poster for a seaside town at sunset, flat screen-print style with three colours. Large headline at the top in bold rounded capitals: "SALT & SUNDAYS". A small lighthouse in the lower third, generous empty sky between the headline and the lighthouse.A small neon sign reading "open late" in pink cursive glowing in the window of a rainy noodle bar at night, reflections on the wet street, cinematic, shallow depth of field.A minimalist book cover: a single paper boat on dark water, seen from above. Title "The Quiet Harbour" in a thin serif at the top, the author name "M. Ellis" small at the bottom, lots of negative space.The settings that matter
Quality has three steps (low, medium, high), and it is the setting that moves the price. Size has two tiers, and its own description says it does not change the price. Prompt expansion sits under advanced and is off by default: switched on, the model rewrites your prompt into a longer one before it draws. Leave it off when your exact words must appear; try it when your prompt is a single loose idea.
The honest limit
Better at lettering is not the same as perfect. Long sentences, small print and rare words still go wrong more often than a short headline, so check every letter before you print, and set paragraphs of body text in a design tool, not in the prompt. For more on that, read fixing AI hands and text and leaving space for text; for poster work, event posters and flyers for print.
Questions
Can Ideogram V4.5 write text inside the image?
Yes, that is its strength. Put the exact words in quotes, keep them short, and check the spelling before you use the image.
Does the larger size cost more?
No. The size setting does not change the price; the quality setting does.
Should I switch on prompt expansion?
Only for loose ideas. When the wording or layout must be exact, keep it off so your prompt is used as written.
