Are these artifacts normal?

I posted in another thread

I had the 1st version and updated to the 2nd. Also I now use LR8. Topaz instructs to remove previous NR adjustments before editing in AI Clear. I was using version 1 when needed so I can’t really say if I seen this in that version.

If I remove NR, send to Topaz and apply AI Clear it looks smooth. When I “Save” the TIFF in LR actually is showing a lot of artifacts. A few others have noticed this using Save As and outputting as a Jpeg.

If I retain LR’s NR edits it looks pretty good. Is there something I’m missing or doing incorrectly? AI Clear format is TIFF in LR.

1st image = before AI clear
2nd image = after
3rd = TIFF back in LR

A post was merged into an existing topic: Lightroom Detail vs AI Clear