Sizing photos for Different Uses

[Patti Edens]

At work, I use my 20D when we go out to our field locations for measurement audits or to troubleshoot problems. The photos will be used for reports, development of written and Powerpoint training documents, some prints (probably no larger than 8 x 10) and for our website and e-mailing to colleagues.

I will save them on a network drive that all in the group has access to. My group is clueless when it comes to RAW vs TIFF vs jpeg, etc., so I need to label the folders in such a way that they can pick the right saved file for their application.

I always shoot RAW, so I plan to have a folder for each date/location and under that folder I will have a subfolder for the RAW, for Print, for PowerPoint and for web/e-mail/reports.

But, I need to decide how to save all of my photos for all these different uses.

My thoughts are below. Please let me know if you see any problems with this and any please let me know if there's a better way.

Print - Tiffs at 8 bit and 300 resolution - no downsizing.

Powerpoint - ?? I don't have a clue here. My concerns are that the file is large enough and high enough resolution to be shown on a large conference room screen without jaggies, but not so big that it makes the Powerpoint presentation huge. We could have up to 20 images in one presentation.

Web/E-mail/Written reports - Jpegs, 90 resolution and around 650 pixels on longest side. Will this work okay for the written reports (usually Word)? Is there a better way?

Whew, that was wordy. For any that made it to the end, thanks and I would appreciate any thoughts on this.

[KdLaneJr]

I just looked at this in Powerpoint 2002 sp2. It supports both jpeg and tiff files up to a point. I was able to insert an 11mb Tiff, but not a 22mb Tiff. Inserting a 5mb jpeg was faster. I don't know where the file size cutoff is between 11mb and 22mb but it is rather irrelevant. For both cases, jpeg and tiff, the file I inserted was larger that the slide window.

If you have to maintain Tiff files for printing, then I would see how usable they are for powerpoint ( in regard to size when inserted into the slide).

As far as the jaggies go..., this is primarily going to be driven by the quality of your projector. Projectors are not all made equal.

You really need to put together a mock presentation with images files of various formats and resolutions and then decide what is best for your needs with minimum duplication of images on the network.

Hopefully I didn't miss your question by too much.

Ken

[kenw]

for powerpoint, size them at the resolution that will be used most commonly, probably 1024x768, or if it is to be shown on a projector, the native resolution of the projector (1024x768 or sometimes 800x600). Oversizing the image and letting PPT resize it is asking for trouble. It also bloats the file and makes transitions tougher/slower/jerkier on many computers.

BUT (here's where you can really save space) save them at no more than 72dpi. any more than that is wasted. In fact, if the image is strictly for viewing on a monitor or projector (and NOT for hi quality printing), only use 72dpi with whatever size you wind up with. It will save tons of filesize bandwidth.

In my experience for projected images, a jpg at 72dpi, sized for the native resolution of the projector AND compressed to 10 (from 1-100 in PSP) will be as perfect as you can get.

[picman]

For one-stop image processing check out Dr. Brown's 1-2-3 Process at http://www.russellbrown.com/tips_tech.html.

Lots of freebie goodies there also.

Brian

[Patti Edens]

Originally Posted by KdLaneJr

You really need to put together a mock presentation with images files of various formats and resolutions and then decide what is best for your needs with minimum duplication of images on the network.

Hopefully I didn't miss your question by too much.

Ken

Ken, Thanks for the reply. I think your advice to put together a mock presentation is a good one. I'll do that.

[Patti Edens]

Originally Posted by kenw

for powerpoint, size them at the resolution that will be used most commonly, probably 1024x768, or if it is to be shown on a projector, the native resolution of the projector (1024x768 or sometimes 800x600). Oversizing the image and letting PPT resize it is asking for trouble. It also bloats the file and makes transitions tougher/slower/jerkier on many computers.

BUT (here's where you can really save space) save them at no more than 72dpi. any more than that is wasted. In fact, if the image is strictly for viewing on a monitor or projector (and NOT for hi quality printing), only use 72dpi with whatever size you wind up with. It will save tons of filesize bandwidth.

In my experience for projected images, a jpg at 72dpi, sized for the native resolution of the projector AND compressed to 10 (from 1-100 in PSP) will be as perfect as you can get.

Ken, Thanks much. I hadn't thought about saving them at 72dpi. That makes sense. We have two portable projectors at work and are planning to buy another one since we all travel so much we never have one at the office. So, I'll have to check to see if they are all the same native resolution. I might need more folders than I thought.

Thanks,

[Patti Edens]

Originally Posted by picman

For one-stop image processing check out Dr. Brown's 1-2-3 Process at http://www.russellbrown.com/tips_tech.html.

Lots of freebie goodies there also.

Brian

Brian, Thanks much for the link. There's a huge amount of great info there. It'll take me a while to even begin to digest all that.

Thanks,