Point me to info on making graphics as clear and fast as possible

[myrrh]

I know making images sharp and fast loading are two opposite things. What I'm looking for is info/tutorial on what my choices are and how to get the best happy medium for sharp and fast loading.

[BeaJones]

I don't remember if I found a tutorial, but I did it by trial and error. Making the picture sharp and then compressing it. I ended up at 80% compression for my images (real estate).

Above 80% the file size started getting quite a bit larger. Below 80% I saw more problems with the sky and white walls.

HTH - Bea

[PatrickKerby]

Please give more specifics with your post.

Which type of graphics software are you using?
Which filetype are you looking to optimize? GIF, JPG, PNG?
What is the purpose of the graphics file, and what sort of problems have you run into in the past.

All of this information will greatly increase the chance of others helping you.

[natemcl]

What application(s) are you using. I find that Fireworks normally compresses better than Adobe Imageready.

I hope that helps.

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[edited by: tedster at 12:41 am (utc) on July 5, 2006]

[Candid India]

Dear Myrrh,

I was facing a similar problem as you and then I found this article [webmonkey.wired.com...]

Has really helped me and would like to share this with you

Best wishes,

Prashant

[Ardfry]

This has a number of tutorials and articles on choosing the best format based on image type in order to get the best performance.

[websiteoptimization.com...]

For photographic images, JPEG is best. JPEG will leave artifacts on text and screenshots, so GIF/PNG is best for these kinds of images. If you end up choosing GIF for non-photographic images, and the image doesn't have transparency or animation, then an optimized PNG will usually give you a smaller file.

[Candid India]

This post from Ardfry is really good. This also led me to the book "Speed Up Your Site: Web Site Optimization" by Andrew B. King Have gone through only a few excerpts but is a must read. Planning to buy it soon.

[tedster]

I find that some photographic images can still compress better with PNG or GIF. The difference lies in whether the colors range widely or if they are more limited to a certain range -- a limited color spread often does very nicely in a PNG, even though the image is quite photographic. And if you're woprking with a duotone-style tinted image, PNG or GIF is almost always the best, in my experience.

Up until Photoshop 8, I often thought Fireworks had a small edge over the compression algorithms in ImageReady. But not now -- ImageReady today really cooks for me! And this is coming from a guy who is fanatical about image size. Up to Photoshop 8, I often hand tweaked the color look-up tables in a gif, just to eleminate any extra colors the eye didn't truly need.