Using an action to save to jpg and then to Tiff

[Guy Burns]

Background

I am converting my old slide shows to Blu-ray format. The scans are Tiff, multi-layered, around 6000 x 4000, and are typically about 100MB. When they are ready to go into Premiere, I reduce them to 1080P, jpeg, maximum quality, and save them in a special folder for Premiere. Each jpg is typically about 2 MB, and Premiere loves them. Encodes them very quickly. On the other hand, Premiere does not like the original tiffs. They seriously slow encodes.

To keep the file sizes down, I archive the tiffs as ZiP/Zip (Image Compression: Zip;  Layer Compression: Zip) which gives the smallest file size.

To do the conversion from Tiff to jpg, I have an Action which does this to the Tiffs:

1. Flatten image

2. Crop (to a selection I have saved within the Tiff)

3. Convert to profile Rec 709 (Blu-ray)

4. Image size (reduce to 1080P)

5. Save as jpeg

6. Close

Problem

I cannot save the Tiffs as Zip/Zip because sometimes the save can take up to a minute. Shadows really slow down the save. So, before I run the Action I save as LZW/Zip which is always much quicker. Then I run the Action, which only takes a few seconds, and I can jump into Premiere straight away with the jpg.

An unwieldly workaround

At the moment, I save to Tiff (LZW/Zip), run the Action, open the Tiff again and save as Tiff (Zip/Zip), and while it is saving I can jump into Premiere.

What I'd like to do is have an Action which not only saves as jpg (as above), but also saves as Tiff (Zip/Zip) – but after the jpg. "Revert" doesn't work because it would revert to the jpg. I can't do a Batch run because the Tiffs come from numerous folders.

Question

Any suggestions as to how I can write an Action to save a file as jpg, as well as Tiff (Zip/Zip), with the Tiff coming last but preserving the file as it existed at the start of the Action?

[c.pfaffenbichler]

If there is one target location for all the jpgs one option might be to use Image > Duplicate to create a new file (flattened right away) for saving as jpg and closing it. After that the original tif is the active document again and you can have the action perform on that again.

Another option might be recording the creation of a Snapshot in the History Panel and selecting that later in the Action.

[macpawel]

Maybe try to use Save a Copy command instead of Save as
This way you don't need to flatened image in action
You can also use different formats saving options

[Bob_Hallam]

Change History options to "Non-Linear History" then you can record backing up in history whatever steps are required to save your zip/zip/ tiff before cropping it and resizing it.  So in your action after saving the resized .jpg, start recording and back up in history to before that eas done and save your zip/zip tiff to another folder. 

[Stephen_A_Marsh]

I'm thinking that Image Processor Pro could handle this, batches too!

It can save both JPEG and TIFF, it can resize, it can run an action per file type, it can make you cuppa coffee etc.

https://sourceforge.net/projects/ps-scripts/files/Image%20Processor%20Pro/v3_2%20betas/

Otherwise, I would use a named history snapshot and call it to revert.

[Guy Burns]

Thanks for the suggestions, most of them using PS functions I haven't used before. A good learning experience coming up. I'll try all the methods, and report back on the one I choose.

[JJMack]

Why not post what you are actually doing step by step.  I have no ideas of you current processes where you change 3:2 Aspect Ratio  6000px by 4000px images into 16:9 Aspect ration 1920px by 1080px images. Perhaps we could help you to design a more efficient process than you current work flow.  Why are you even converting to video. Tiff to Jpeg I would think All Blu Ray machined can display jpeg images you can also stream slide shows and music to smart tv.

[Guy Burns]

Since I've been asked to post what I'm doing step-by-step, I'll go one better. You can download my Slide Scans actions here which includes a sample, half-resolution tiff (LZW/Zip).

The Action I am playing around with at the moment is Crop 1080P jpg copy. There are a whole heap of actions in that action-set that do similar things: saving to various-resolution jpgs and PSDs, amongst others. I need PSDs in Premiere for transparent areas: when I want to layer an image on top of another.

One other thing: my AVs are not just slide shows, as in one image after another, so I can't just use Quicklook or a Smart TV. My AVs have narration, music, slides, prints, 8mm and 9.5mm films, and my own videos. If you see me accepting an Oscar sometime, tell your mates you saw it here first!

As regards the Action: I start with a Tiff file and apply a selection (the crop). Then I run the Action which does this (after the suggestion by the first responder, Chris). I've yet to try the other suggestions.

1. Makes a snapshot called "Original"
2. Flattens the image
3. Crops to the selection
4. Converts to sRGB/Rec 209
5. Down scales to 1080P
6. Displays image at 100% (so I can see the effect of sharpening in the next step)
7. Unsharp Mask (the Action stops while the user edits the USM settings)
8. Save as jpg (saved to a folder called Slide Temp)
9. Return to "original" snapshot
10. Save as Tiff (Zip/Zip)

There is a problem though. That last Save (to Tiff) asks me where I want to save the file, and I don't want that. I want the file to be saved in the folder where the Tiff came from. I don't mind the Step 8, (Save to jpg), going to a certain folder, because all my Premiere jpgs are destined for the one folder anyway, but I don't want to hunt through nested folders trying to find where the Tiff file came from.

In the final step of the Action, how do I "Save As" to the same folder the Tiff file came from?

[Bojan Živković]

You are saving snapshot "original" and later reverting to that snapshot to save it as TIFF. Isn't it easier to save TIFF then to flatten image and do the rest. If you record Save As step using Insert Menu Item and you have in Preferences > File Handling > Save As to Original Folder turned on everything should work just fine.

[Guy Burns]

Thanks for the suggestions, Bojan, but:

I had a look at preferences and Save to Original folder is ticked. Must be the default as I've never changed it.

Yes, it would be easier to save the Tiff at the start, except… Tiffs (ZIp/Zip) may take up to a minute to save, and while doing so via an Action, PS locks up. This means I cannot open another image. It also means I have to wait for the jpg (which will be saved after the Tiff), so I cannot work in Premiere either. I have to sit around and wait. Whereas if I do my workaround, the jpg is available in seconds, then I can save the Tiff as (Zip/Zip) outside the Action (takes me about 5 seconds to set up), and PS does NOT lock up. Thus, I can open another PS document and work on that while PS saves the original Tiff, or I can choose to continue work in Premiere.

It sounds complicated and it is complicated.

So I need a way to save the Tiff at the end, but to the original folder.

[JJMack]

Guy Burns

1. Makes a snapshot called "Original"
2. Flattens the image
3. Crops to the selection
4. Converts to sRGB/Rec 209
5. Down scales to 1080P
6. Displays image at 100% (so I can see the effect of sharpening in the next step)
7. Unsharp Mask (the Action stops while the user edits the USM settings)
8. Save as jpg (saved to a folder called Slide Temp)
9. Return to "original" snapshot
10. Save as Tiff (Zip/Zip)

What the action does.

The first thing the Action does is make a snapshot of the Documents current state.   Photoshop is a document editor not a file editor.  You may have opened the document from a tiff image files.  The Document may or may contain multiple layers from the Tiff File or layers you  may have added before playing the action.  After the snapshot the action flattens the document to a background layer which will insure there is no transparency.   The Action then Crop. So the Action depends on there being and active selection made before the action is played.  The Action then insure the Document is in the SRGB. Next Image size is use to do a constrained resize to a height of 1080px  either up sized or downsize it depends on how the required active selection was made bicubic Automatic interpolation.  The Image will fill the height of a 1080 display.  The width may or may not fit on the display it depends on the aspect ration the Active Selection has.   The image is the zoomed to 100 % and an interactive Unsharp Mask step in entered into with the  initial amount set to 50%  and radius of a half pixel.  That is followed by an Interactive Save As Jpeg with not destination and a quality setting 12 I would think 10 would be just as good.  The Action then reverts the document back toe the snapshot state recovering layers transparency and color space.   The Action then did a Save As Tiff it may be interactive for in my case. Single stepping the Action my save as tiff was interactive.   I started from a RAW file so my document has never been saved other then the proceeding Save As Jpeg and I added layers before stepping through the action The action ends the  document is the same state as before the action was played the view may have changed the action zoomed to 100%.