Optimization .jpg

We notice that there are many different formats using which we store images.
The most commonly used ones for the Internet are GIF, JPG and PNG.

The only two formats that we can use to get a transparent background are PNG and GIF.
JPG does not have this feature. If we save a new image with a transparent background such as jpg, then the background color will be white.

JPG and PNG are perfect for photos.
When you use PNG there will be absolutely no loss of quality in your photo. It is better to use JPG files when you download an image from your Internet page.

In other words, a PNG file will always be bigger than a JPG file, in kilobytes.The more KB’s, the longer it takes to appear on your page.

To optimize a JPG picture for the Internet, click “File” in the menu bar, select “Export” in the drop-down menu, and click the option, “JPEG optimizer.”

This opens a dialog with three tabs and the tab “Quality” is selected.
In this tab we define the compression value for our database. The higher we set it, the worse the quality of the picture and the lesser the size in KB.
Here you find a drop-down menu.
The the best option to choose for the “Chroma Subsampling” box is None.

In the second tab, “Layout”, we determine the encoding of the jpg file which can either be “Standard” or “Progressive”.
This selection affects the display in poor connections, eg If someone is visiting your site with a 56k modem,we see the difference between “Standard” or “Progressive” brands. We can view the difference in the preview window.

The third tab displays the different download times for different modems.

For those who prefer working with a wizard, in other words where a step by step process is requested, click the “Use Wizard” button. This will guide you in three steps with different instructions. In the second page of the Wizard we get more information about “Chroma Subsampling”.

Afer entering all your settings, click the “Finish” button in the window of the Wizard.
“PSP” will open be a dialog box where you navigate to location where you want to save the file. When you look at the top of the dialog you will see that PSP will save a copy and the original will remain as it was.
This can be seen in the open window.
If we save it in the same folder under the same name, then the original will be overwritten. But of course we are smart and we select another location to save the file.

 

Optimization and transparent GIF

The optimization of a GIF file is similar to JPG, only we have an option that comprises a transparent background.

If you have created the image with a transparent background, and also saved it as a transparent image, such as pspimage, then select “Existing Image or Layer Transparency”.
But if you have a background color in your image, select “Areas that match this color” and click the color picker. This opens the “Color” dialog in which you select the color you want to make transparent.

In the “Partial transparency” and “Colors” tabs we have a number of options that can be set.
Once again we have a Wizard that provides a step by step process which leads us through various options.

Click “Finish” after all the steps are done and then save a copy of the original.

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