Vance, There are three things to consider when preparing a picture for viewing on the Web. Resolution, size and file format. In general, the optimal size is determined by your particular needs, and there is no way I can comment on this.
As far as resolution is concerned, you can get away with amazingly low res. For example, even 72dpi is quite acceptable for viewing online. Increase this at your peril, for you will find the file size will spiral out of all proportion. So forget the ridiculous resolutions created by digital cameras and scanners, and reduce the resolution way, way down. Remember, VDU's are relatively low-res devices, so if you are preparing graphics for screen viewing, anything over 72dpi is largely wasted. The type of file you choose to save your picture as has a huge impact on the size of the file. The same picture in GIF format can be more than three times larger than the JPG version. The same 800x639 graphic can vary hugely in size, as follows: JPG: 106kb GIF: 332kb BMP: 1498kb It would make sense, therefore, so save your pictures in the JPG (or JPEG) format. All photo editors will do this. I use PaintShop Pro (free download), and it works a charm. Something else you might want to try: search the Web for graphic file optimisers. Find one you like the sound of, and run your pictures through that. It will do all the hard work of optimising your pictures for the Web or screen viewing, and you will get the smallest possible file size. Infranview is one, but there are others. One final thought... If you are not already doing so, zip the photo before sending it. Winzip, or WinRar (or any number of other free file compression utilities) are freely available on the Web for download. Hope some of this helps, Duncan ======================================= >My question is, what resolution is adequate for net pictures? What is an >adequate size? > >I've tried some lower resolutions with my HP scanner, but I still get >files that are several megabytes. I would like to send some adequate brag >pictures without spending 20 minutes sending them over my dial-up modem >(one of the pleasures of living in the great American desert called rural >Kansas). > >Jim Vance >va...@claflinwildcats.com >My question is, what resolution is adequate for net pictures? What is an >adequate size?
