Need help with quality of graphics

  • Unknown's avatar
    gosto · Member ·

    At:

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    I uploaded some simple graphics that I made using Word and Paint. The text in the Word originals are sharp, slightly fuzzy when copied into Paint, more fuzzy but still legible when uploaded as a gif, png, or jpg file, and barely legible when viewed in a post or page.

    Any suggestions about graphics software (preferably free or shareware) that I can use to make simple graphics that will look more like the original when viewed in a post or page?

    I would also be interested in high-end graphics generating software, if that is what is will take.

    Thanks, Ben

  • Unknown's avatar
    vivianpaige · Member ·

    I use Adobe Photoshop Elements for almost all of my graphics. Not free, but not expensive, either.

    And having your email address on that page is an invitation for spammers.

  • tellyworth · Staff ·

    Regardless of what software you use, diagrams such as the one in your post will always look better as a PNG or GIF file than as a JPG. JPG is much better for photographs, but not well suited to line drawings.

  • Unknown's avatar
    gosto · Member ·

    Thanks, I’ll use png until I can get my hands on Photoshop Elements.

    – Ben

  • Unknown's avatar
    timethief · Member ·

    There are many programs which you can use to optimize images. These rae the ones Mark has supplied in the FAQs.

    Packages such as Photoshop / Paint Shop Pro will do it, but there is no need to spend money on doing this. These are free:
    – Irfanview
    – Picasa
    – GIMP
    – Photofiltre
    – FastStone
    – Pixia
    You can also click on my username and find the page titled Resource Links and then look under images and image tools to find others.
    HTH and happy blogging. :)

  • Unknown's avatar
    energetic · Member ·

    That’s right, Timethief. I’ve been working with images for years and although I’ve used PaintShop Pro in the past, I’m now a firm fan of IrfanView (free download at http://www.IrfanView.com).

    It’s free, supports nearly all file formats, and it’s constantly being updated.

    One feature I use a lot is the screenshot (capture) function (Ctrl-F11).

    It can come in handy if you want a record of how a news site (or even a forum page) looked at a particular moment in time.

    One tip on manipulating jpg images – you can make as many changes as you want from an original image in IrfanView – resize, crop, rotate, compress, enhance colours … – but try to do each step in just one step. For example, if experimentation shows that you want a Gamma correction of 0.45 for a photo, go back to the original and do it in one shot, rather than as 0.9, 0.5. Same with cropping – always do it from the original. Then, most importantly, only save the new file once, when you’re done.

    This is because each ‘file-save’ operation results in a loss of jpg image quality. Keep those save steps to an absolute minimum.

    This is why I love IrfanView – you can do all the image manipulation live on screen, and it’s undoable at every stage. Finish the job and then save only once, right at the end.

    Good luck !

  • Unknown's avatar
    bluebirdgrainfarms · Member ·

    I have been reviewing answers and tried to download the free software and I am having a problem with the downloading. For example, I am choosing IrfanView again, so what mac application to use for IrfanView download for photo optimization?

  • Unknown's avatar
    bluebirdgrainfarms · Member ·

    I have tried to download the following in order to optimize a photo: – Irfanview
    – Picasa
    – GIMP
    – Photofiltre
    – FastStone
    – Pixia

    And everyone requests for me to choose an application. I have a MacBook Pro and I am not sure which application to choose. Any mac users out there have a suggestion?
    Thanks.

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