Optimizing for the Web
Web pages require file sizes as small as possible to ensure faster downloads. Compression reduces the file size along with the loss in quality. A correctly optimized image will be a balanced image of quality and the file size.
Optimizing is a compression process to shrink the file size dramatically to put it on the web. The trick is to balance the image quality and the image size. Image ready has some features that will help you find the right balance. The most common image formats are,
- JPEG preferred for photos and images on the web that contain a lot of gradients or color progression.
- GIF preferred for images that contain areas of flat information and for images with repeating patterns.
To optimize an JPEG image, open image in Image Ready and choose the optimized view. In the Optimize palette choose JPEG in the Format drop down list. In the quality drop-down box make adjustments to the slider. Slide the amount slider and adjust. Preview the file and select File > save optimized
To optimize a GIF image is slightly different from that of JPEGs. Open the image in image ready and chose Optimized view. In the optimize palette choose GIF from the drop down palette. Choose one of the following reduction formats to build a color table:
- Perceptual preference to colors predominant to the eye.
- Selective produces the most accurate color table.
- Adaptive uses the most common color table
- Restrictive web uses the 216 web safe colors.
From the colors drop-down list choose the number of colors and adjust the dithering.
