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Compressing Jpgs

photoshop is not the best

topr8

11:53 am on Oct 14, 2010 (gmt 0)

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Photoshop CS5 is superb software obviously - however i really believe that it isn't the best for jpeg compression for web images.

Previously i have used SmartSaver Pro 3 by Ulead, with superb results - however i note the product is no longer made or supported, as i've recently got a new computer and i'm on a 64 bit system i thought i'd ask here at WebmasterWorld to see what people were using for image compression for websites

... my personal requirement is almost exclusively for producing jpgs for ecommerce sites.

pay or free is not an issue for me, i just want something that gives smaller file sizes than photoshop with a similar quality, i bought the aforementioned software several years ago and it has served me well, but i'm figuring there could be a new kid on the block, so to speak.

alternatively am i missing a trick with photoshop, does anyone have a system for reducing file dimensions and saving as a jpeg that works well.
(given a scenario, where i'd like to make thumbnails and 2 or 3 other sized images from the same large, high resolution source file.

Mark_A

12:54 pm on Oct 14, 2010 (gmt 0)

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I still use an old version of Ulead Photoimpact. It permits you to adjust the % compression and see in realtime the quality of the resulting image, before you create it.

But I am pretty sure you can do the same in PhotoShop.

Staffa

12:54 pm on Oct 14, 2010 (gmt 0)

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I use Photoshop and for years I used SmartSaver as well until recently when I wanted to find if there was an easier/better alternative. I found Radical Image Optimization Tool (RIOT for short) it's free and I've ditched SmartSaver for this program and very pleased with it.

BillyS

12:59 pm on Oct 14, 2010 (gmt 0)

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But I am pretty sure you can do the same in PhotoShop.

I'm still using photoshop 7 and you can view the image in multiple window panes and see the impact of a change (from the original).

There are a lot of ways to tweak photoshop to try and get the best possible image. You can limit the color palate... look at those options.

I'm happy with photoshop, so I've never looked around. Did you look at Gimp? It's free and your only requirement is compression - which is a basic.

rocknbil

4:06 pm on Oct 14, 2010 (gmt 0)

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Well, I don't understand why, PS conforms to JPEG standards and supports embedded ICC color profiles and progressive downloads, when many other programs don't. One of the advantages of PS is the superior unsharp mask tools which can improve any image loss you might experience.

topr8

11:11 am on Oct 17, 2010 (gmt 0)

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thanks for the replies, it's sunday today so i've downloaded Radical Image Optimization Tool as suggested and another couple that i found online, i'm going to do some testing today.

@ rocknbil yes, i don't understand why either, i use photoshop for other things and consider myself a competent user, it goes without saying that it is superb, i have just found that resizing images in photoshop is the best (because of the tools available) but the actual conversion to jpgs just gives bigger file sizes for similar looking jpgs than smartsaver pro.

i need to look deeper into photoshop compression options as BillyS suggested.

explorador

3:39 pm on Oct 22, 2010 (gmt 0)

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just in case... check the save for web instead "save as jpg"