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Participant
April 16, 2021
Question

Imaging resizing for web

  • April 16, 2021
  • 2 replies
  • 1208 views

Hello,

I am editing alot of images for a website so want to make sure i get it right before I waste time doing it wrong.

 

I am working on  a Mac.

1. In image finder the Images size says  it is 500kb but when i open in Photoshop it is actually 9 MB... what is the actual size...?   I dont want to cause long loading times for websites.

 

2. Also some images are below 500KB but are 300 DPI... which is better is 300DPI or 72 DPI  is better for website...? the 300DPI seems to be sharper but  will it cause issues when loading?

 

3. Any advise for best formate size, DPI for images for website. ( i am using square space Avenue Template, Gallery pages so about 8- 20  images per page . I want fast loading on phones and Screen.)

 

4. I have read i should set to RGB yet they says sRGB is better... most of my images  in photoshop are RGB .8 channel... is that correct? Yet sometime when i save  as RGB image,  below ,  in the saving menu, it says below,  that sRGB is embedded in File.... is that correct or do i need to select different setting?

 

 

 

thanks so much!! 

 

MAny thanks

 

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2 replies

Per Berntsen
Community Expert
Community Expert
April 16, 2021

1. The Finder shows you the compressed size on disk. When you open the image, it is decompressed, and Photoshop shows you the uncompressed file size.

 

2. PPI (not DPI) stands for Pixels Per Inch, and is metadata used to calculate print size. 

Pixel dimensions divided by PPI value = Print size in inches.

For on screen viewing, PPI is irrelevant. The image will display according to its pixel dimensions, regardless of the PPI value.

 

3. Squarespace probably has some recommendations about pixel dimensions.

Do not use full resolution images from your camera, reduce the pixel dimensions to for instance 1500 to 2000 pixels on the long side. You can change the pixel dimensions when using Export and Save for Web.

 

4. RGB is a color mode. CMYK and Greyscale are examples of other color modes.

sRGB is a color space, also referred to as a color profile. It is considered the safest color space for web images.

Always embed the profile. When using Export or Save for Web, make sure to check both Convert to sRGB and Embed profile.

D Fosse
Community Expert
Community Expert
April 16, 2021

Yes, and I didn't even get to embedding the sRGB profile...

D Fosse
Community Expert
Community Expert
April 16, 2021

Ppi (pixels per inch, often incorrectly called dpi) is a print parameter that is absolutely irrelevant for web/screen. Doesn't matter one way or the other. An image can be 10000 ppi or 1 ppi, and they will display absolutely identically on a web page, and on screen in general.

 

On screen/ web, all that matters is the pixel size, so many pixels wide by so many pixels high. Each image pixel will then align to one screen pixel. The "resolution" is in fact the screen resolution of the display you're actually viewing on.

 

Traditionally, 1000 to 1500 pixels long side has been considered a comfortable web size. Retina displays is a complication, because everything will be smaller on a high resolution display. So to be able to use the same images on all types of display, the generally accepted workaround is that the web browser scales up to 200% when it detects a high-resolution (retina) display. This way one image pixel is represented by four screen pixels. Effectively, your retina screen is turned into a standard one. As I said, it's a workaround.

 

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File size on disk is also not what it appears to be. The jpeg file format specification uses very aggressive data compression to reduce storage space on disk. When the file is reopened, it is decompressed back to its original size.

 

Again, all that matters is the pixel dimensions.

 

Jpeg compression is extremely effective, and it can reduce storage space down to 2-5% of original size with little immediate quality loss. But there will be some. Jpeg compression is irreversible and cumulative. Every time you resave a jpeg, it deteriorates a bit. And because of compression artifacts, the size actually tends to increase a bit with every new save.

abi5ED3Author
Participant
April 19, 2021

Thank you so very much that is really helpful! Really appreciate your time and assistance!! thank you