By optimize, I mean compression where JPEG files are concerned. If you have looked at your images and wondered why the quality is not too sharp, then you need this article. JPEG compression has been reiterated on the web for years. Beginner designers must bear it in mind when preparing their image media.
Here is an example of a badly compressed JPEG file result:
It’s a little blurry, the text is too soft and it won’t suit a professional brand. The same lack of compression is showing in this photo:
It’s all about file size as the images need to load into a web page. JPEG compression allows for various levels of compression depending on the detail in the image. Compression ratios are easily set in Photoshop from the ‘Save For Web’ option in the file menu. Compression can approach a state of high quality with no perceived loss.
Image quality must be sharp to excite visitors these days. If you have a photo gallery, it’s a prerequisite to have sharp images for people to view.
From the ‘Save for Web’ panel, optimization for progressive results is just a click. Quality balance with compression may need some tweaking; the higher the compression, the lower the image quality.
Select JPEG from the drop down box and use the quality slide bar for more precise compression. The progressive checkbox will retain the quality as the image is then displayed as it is downloaded. This method is referred to as progressive encoding and is a way to reduce the file size slightly.
Images with fine details such as photos and illustrations will need to be given the higher compression ratios. This is particularly so as per the above example where we have text against an image background. Where the background image contains flat colors, the compression will need to be increased.
This makes Photoshop a very useful tool as it so easy to compress a file to a fraction of its original size and retain the quality. This is an essential attribute when loading images from your digital camera card. The original images are large files and need compressing before being sent to a web page.
The ‘save for web’ feature allows you to control lossless levels in the compression so that your images are sharp for publication to a web page or pdf. If you need to sharpen your image after compression, for a little increase in file size, use the sharpen tool in the Filter menu.
Photoshop has always been a great tool for allowing designers of any skill level to quickly edit photos and images.
