?? image creation ?? 9

[toddOne]

application programmer needs advice....

i am designing my first professional website and need recommendations for image creation....i have downloaded a few different trial versions and all have left me desiring better results. for instance, when i am creating images with text the letters always seem to blur after saving.

therefore any recommendations for software would be greatly appreciated!!!

also, is there a better format to preserve image detail?
.... .jpg, .gif, .....?????

Thanks in advance!!!!

 

[dwarfthrower]

Time to bring out the gimp:

http://www.gimp.org/

- GNU Image Manipulation Program.

As per JPG to GIF - GIF files are limited to 256 colours so for photographs you should probably use the JPG format. However GIFs support transparency so use them for all the groovy little graphics that will adorn your site.

 

[cian]

Ideally you want Paint Shop Pro, possibly the best piece of graphics software out there...

it's affordable (compared to Macromedia products for example) at $84

http://www.jasc.com/products/paintshoppro/

- É -

http://www.ssi-developer.net/elgoog/

 

[blueark]

If you can stretch your budget, though, Macromedia Fireworks has some excellent web features, and integrates well with other Macromedia web products. If you want to go really professional, Photoshop is unbeatable.

Of course, if you don't think you'll be making enough money to justify the extra quality, then Paint Shop Pro will give you great results, although it's certainly not considered 'the best piece of graphics software' by any graphics professional! Gimp can't be beaten on price (it's free). I believe there's a related app that used to be called FilmGimp, but now it's CinePaint, and it may have a few extra features:

http://cinepaint.sourceforge.net/

I would add that many of the core principles behind these apps are similar, and it's worth downloading the trials and looking for tutorials where ever you can find them. Things like blurred text may be a problem in any application if you don't know about anti-aliasing settings and different file formats/compression settings. Most packages come with quick start tutorials, so don't skip them!

 

[Sparkyt]

Wow, all good options, The GIMP is fine, but not for newbies. Paint Shop Pro and Fireworks are both great choices. The tool you choose will be the one you're most comfortable with (o, such sage words :-D)

I reccomend that you opt to save your files using the .png format, rather than either .jpg and .gif. Png files can be saved with transparency and can preserve photo quality images. File sizes are comparable with .gif and .jpg, but aren't copyright(ed).

Good luck.
Gord
P.S.

O, Photoshop is awesome, and Corel Photo Paint is pretty good, if a little clunky.

 

[Wullie]

Sparkyt,

Recommending saving every file in png format is bad practise. The format that you choose to save a file in should be based on various factors and there is no one file extension that works for all image files.

Unisys don't hold a copyright of gif and jpg, they have a patent covering the LZW alogrythm that gifs use.

At this present time, the patent has expired in the US nearly 2 months ago but I think is still in force in the UK, Canada, France, Italy, Germany and Japan.

There are no issues with jpg files.

Hope this helps

Wullie

http://www.necomputers.org.uk

http://www.freshlookdesign.co.uk

http://www.freshlookdesign.com

The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change.
The leader adjusts the sails. - John Maxwell

 

[blueark]

The patent issues with GIFs only apply to application developers (eg. Adobe, Macromedia, Jasc, etc). Most graphics apps are licenced to use the LZW algorithm, so it's not an issue for end users. In other words, simply creating GIFs and using them on your website doesn't involve any more copyright issues than any other format.

 

[Wullie]

http://www.jasc.com/unisyslegal.asp

Hope ths helps

Wullie

http://www.necomputers.org.uk

http://www.freshlookdesign.co.uk

http://www.freshlookdesign.com

The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change.
The leader adjusts the sails. - John Maxwell

 

[TruthInSatire]

if you use fireworks the working file is png you have to save it as png to edit it in the future. export it to JPG or GIF though don't use png on the web. I don't know what paintshop working files are.

A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.
- Quote by Douglas Adams

 

[cian]

blueark, Photoshop would be considered better alright, but the price!! Scandalous!

Which is why I consider PSP "possibly the best..." (for non-professionals - i should have added), price has to be taken into account, as well as who the user is (doing his first professional website)






- É -

http://www.ssi-developer.net/elgoog/

 

[blueark]

Ah yes, non-professionals, that makes all the difference! I've never really bought into the price issue though, because if you do use it professionally (which is what I said ), it pays for itself in no time. You can also take on a wider range of work (such as print), and produce better quality in a shorter space of time. Personally, if I ditched Photoshop in favor of PSP, I'd never be able to pay the rent!

But yeah, if you can't justify the cost, PSP is pretty damned good, and for it's price, it probably is the best out there!

 

[cian]

Dead right, a professional can work off the cost in no time (missed the tone of the original post )

Price though is always a big factor for me, as a hobbyist PSP would be just about affordable and does an excellent job, Photoshop, while being a much better package will be on my shopping list only after i win the lottery





- É -

http://www.ssi-developer.net/elgoog/

 

[blueark]

If I win the lottery, you can have mine - I don't think I'll be needing it anymore

 

[cian]

Much appreciated! LOL






- É -

http://www.ssi-developer.net/elgoog/