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S
SSL-ADT
Inspiring
April 19, 2025
Answered

Saving a copy of a .PSDC file on computer as WebP to reduce file size, but... not consistent

  • April 19, 2025
  • 1 reply
  • 617 views

Hi Everyone,

 

I have two .PSDC files that I saved as a copy to local SSD.  The first one has a size of 2.57 MB, and the other 2.58 MB.

 

Once converted into WebP files, one ends up with a file size of 43 KB, and the other 193 KB. Why so much difference? 

 

The both compressions were set at Lossy 65%. Is this a good percentage for website use?

 

Regards,

 

-Ron

Correct answer Stephen Marsh

I'm trying to understand why I get 43 KB on one image and 193 KB on another. They are both the same image size within the .PSDC files.  They were both saved as WebP using Lossy at 65%. I just tried 15%, and the output image file is still too heavy to load.

 

 


Compression is dependent on image content, even more so for lossy. Even if two different images are the same size and pixel dimensions when uncompressed or lossless compressed, saving to lossy formats like JPEG or lossy WebP will compress differently and provide much smaller sizes and the resulting files may well be different in file sizes ratio when they were originally 1:1.

 

If the size is still too large, then you can do four things:

 

1) Add greater compression 

 

2) Reduce pixel dimensions 

 

3) Reduce bit depth 

 

4) Blur non-critical content (or not sharpen)

1 reply

Stephen Marsh
Community Expert
Stephen MarshCommunity Expert
Community Expert
April 19, 2025

Wouldn't a local save of a PSDC be a PSD?

 

Regardless, the native Photoshop document uses lossless compression.

 

Your WebP examples use an aggressive lossy compression.

 

What if you saved the WebP as a lossless compression? Keep in mind that PSD can also contain layers and other things which may also impact file size.

S
SSL-ADTAuthor
Inspiring
April 19, 2025

All my .PSDC files are stored on Adobe Cloud. Both files utilized the same compression, and a single layer on both.

Nevertheless, I will try your suggestions.

 

Thanks

 

 

S
SSL-ADTAuthor
Inspiring
April 19, 2025
quote

Okay, I finally tried your suggestion, using lossless. So, instead of 193 KB, it now yields at 1.6 MB.

 

I wonder if I should try the AVIF format instead.


By @SSL-ADT


But what are you trying to do or understand?

 

So now it's obvious to you that different lossless and lossy compression formats deliver different sized files. No compression or lossless compression will be larger and may not have much difference in file sizes as there isn't anything "special" taking place. While lossy compression will deliver smaller file sizes and there may be major differences in final size compared to the original lossless compression that had little variation in file sizes.


I'm trying to understand why I get 43 KB on one image and 193 KB on another. They are both the same image size within the .PSDC files.  They were both saved as WebP using Lossy at 65%. I just tried 15%, and the output image file is still too heavy to load.

 

 

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