GCOM 330: Save For Web

Creating Web Graphics in Adobe Photoshop

I am NOT assigning Lesson 13 CIB this semester. We just do not have the time. However, it is important stuff, so I uploaded the above 90 minute video I taped Fall 2012, on Save For Web in Photoshop. It covers a lot, but watch it if you really want to know this area of Photoshop. It is covered in much more detail in GCOM 332 and GCOM 360, including other web building and comping aspects of Photoshop.

GIF or PNG? – Quality Web Tips

‘GIF’ is the Oxford University Press word of the year in the US | The Verge

For fun:

50 reasons not to date a graphic designer

What is the Best File Format to Save Your Images In?

PSD • TIFF • JPEG • GIF • PNG ?????

(Courtesy of Jodi Friedman of MCP Actions)

As a photographer you shoot in Raw or Jpeg, or sometimes both. Then you edit. You may start in Lightroom or Adobe Camera Raw, but eventually you may end up in Photoshop doing more detailed editing of your photographs. In time, you come up with the “perfect” edit. Now it is time to save. What do you do? Do you save as a PSD, Tiff, Jpeg, Gif, Png or something else?

Here are a few of the most common formats and why you may or may not want to use them:

PSD

• You will want to save as a Photoshop PSD when you have many layers that you want to preserve.
• Saving this way will retain adjustment layers, your masks, shapes, clipping paths, layer styles, blending modes.
• Useful if you need to maintain transparency.
• The downsides to PSDs the large size and the compatibility.
• Only those with Photoshop will be able to view them, and you will need to save another way for printing.
• You cannot share on the web as a PSD.

TIFF

• This targeted file format is the highest quality and is excellent for print as there is no loss in quality
• Retains information in layers, depending how you save it.
• The downsides are the extremely large file size and you cannot display on the web in this format.
• Lossless format so you will retain information from your images as you re-open and re-save.

JPEG

• The Joint Photographic Experts Group format is the most common type. It is viewable by all and can be used for print and the web.
• When saving as a jpg, you decide what quality you desire from a 1-12.
• The biggest downsize is that the jpeg format is lossy. Each time you open and save, the image compresses and you lose a small amount of information.
• Another downside is that layers are flattened upon saving so you lose the ability to go back to past edits to tweak.

GIF

• The Graphics Interchange Format is great for web graphics with animation.
• The file size is very small so these files load fast on the web.
• The downsides are limited colors and does not handle photographs well. No recommended for print work.
• Lossless format so you will retain information from your images as you re-open and re-save.

PNG

• The Portable Network Graphics format also creates smaller file size but without the quality loss of a GIF.
• Often used for graphics instead of GIF.
• Lossless format so you will retain information from your images as you re-open and re-save.
• You can share on the web.