Learn Adobe Photoshop - Optimizing Graphics For The Web

By David Peters

FREE Photoshop Tips

Optimization is a procedure which can take a bit of time if you are looking for perfect results or can be fairly brief for nearly perfect results. It is your choice as to which route you wish to take. Adobe Photoshop and Adobe ImageReady include tools that help optimize images for online display quality. The best bet is to use the software you are most familiar with. If you are comfortable using Photoshop then using ImageReady is really not necessary.

The easy way:

The Photoshop "Save As" control lets you save an image as either a GIF, JPEG, or PNG file. You can designate image quality, background transparency or matting, color display, and downloading method depending on which file format you select. The controls for each of the resulting dialog boxes are pretty much self explanatory. I recommend saving your image this way (using a different name) and then saving it using the next steps as a way of comparing the two. Doing it this way will give you a good indication of which option gives the best results.

I use the "Save for Web" command for greater control and more precise optimization. It's found in the File menu just below the "Save As..." item.

The ensuing window offers a variety of choices. The options are all fairly self explanatory.

Click on the tab at the top of the image area to choose a display option: I recommend 2-Up so you can see both versions of the image side by side.

The area below each image in the "Save for Web" dialog box gives you information concerning how the file will perform online. Some items you should see include the original image filename and file size; and the optimized image optimization options, the size of the optimized file, and the estimated download time using a selected modem speed. I use the 28.8 setting to be sure.

Now change your "quality" options to the right, and test various settings.

Nothing will actually change or affect the file until you select "Save Optimized" -- so play around until you have a good visual understanding of what to expect.

You can also set your scaling at this time and Photoshop does a good job of sampling your image down to the correct size. Remember: never enlarge.

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