file format comparison
I've been getting a few comments lately asking how to save mood images so that they come out clear and sharp instead of fuzzy. You just need to use a higher quality .jpeg. I made a quick tutorial about the difference between image file options, check it out under the cut.
.GIF vs .JPEG vs .PNG
.GIF format: 74 kb.
GIF supports only 256 colours, so it tends to look dotted, especially on smaller images. Can't see the dots? See the zoom-in below. GIF was really only meant to be used for images with only a few colours, like line drawings or small text. Of course, it is the only format that works with animation, so if you want an animated theme you have no other choice but GIF.
Low quality .JPEG format: 27 kb.
Yikes. You really don't want this to happen to your images, do you?
High quality .JPEG format: 128 kb.
Much better. There isn't just high quality and low quality, there's plenty of room between the two that you can choose as well. JPEGs support 16 million colors.
.PNG format: 183 kb.
I'm not really sure why people use this format over high quality jpeg. PNG was created as a better version of GIF, but it doesn't support animation. It is also not supported by all browsers. You should be able to use transparency with PNG, but it's more complicated than with GIF. There's a tutorial about using transparency masks for PNGs here.
Zoom-in on .GIF and .JPEG
This is what a .gif image looks like zoomed in. Gifs don't have enough colours to fit most images, so they use dithering, which means they make a pattern of the colours that fit the colour you want the best. This is why it ends up looking dotted.
Here's the same image saved as a high quality .jpeg. As you can see, it's much smoother and clearer.
How to save as a higher quality JPEG
When you save an image as a jpeg using Photoshop, a window will come up after you click "save". It's your options window, and there's a Quality bar in the middle. Just drag the cursor from left to right depending on what quality you want. Anything from 10-12 will guarantee a high quality jpeg. Then click OK, and it's saved!
.GIF vs .JPEG vs .PNG
.GIF format: 74 kb.
GIF supports only 256 colours, so it tends to look dotted, especially on smaller images. Can't see the dots? See the zoom-in below. GIF was really only meant to be used for images with only a few colours, like line drawings or small text. Of course, it is the only format that works with animation, so if you want an animated theme you have no other choice but GIF.
Low quality .JPEG format: 27 kb.
Yikes. You really don't want this to happen to your images, do you?
High quality .JPEG format: 128 kb.
Much better. There isn't just high quality and low quality, there's plenty of room between the two that you can choose as well. JPEGs support 16 million colors.
.PNG format: 183 kb.
I'm not really sure why people use this format over high quality jpeg. PNG was created as a better version of GIF, but it doesn't support animation. It is also not supported by all browsers. You should be able to use transparency with PNG, but it's more complicated than with GIF. There's a tutorial about using transparency masks for PNGs here.
Zoom-in on .GIF and .JPEG
This is what a .gif image looks like zoomed in. Gifs don't have enough colours to fit most images, so they use dithering, which means they make a pattern of the colours that fit the colour you want the best. This is why it ends up looking dotted.
Here's the same image saved as a high quality .jpeg. As you can see, it's much smoother and clearer.
How to save as a higher quality JPEG
When you save an image as a jpeg using Photoshop, a window will come up after you click "save". It's your options window, and there's a Quality bar in the middle. Just drag the cursor from left to right depending on what quality you want. Anything from 10-12 will guarantee a high quality jpeg. Then click OK, and it's saved!