Since we at Zookbinders moved from just assembling photo albums to actually printing the albums too since we launched print-to-bind service in 2006, we’ve learned a thing or two about digital imaging.
We commonly see image files uploaded to us at every conceivable combination of file size and resolution, some which are needlessly large. We recommend that photographers prepare their image files to the accepted industry standard for photographic printing, which is 300 dpi in the sRGB color space and saved at a level 10 JPEG format.
JPEG compression is the clever method of reducing the image size (and therefore storage capacity needed for) digital photographic files devised by the Joint Photographic Experts Group from where it gets its name. Compression means loss of image quality. Without getting too technical here, converting your image files to JPEG is a tradeoff between maintaining image quality and minimizing storage size. The degree of compression can be adjusted. In Photoshop, the range is from 1 to 12 with 1 being the highest degree of compression coupled with the lowest image quality, and 12 being the least compression and highest quality image.
So given that 12 is the highest quality JPEG, why would we recommend a level 10? The answer is that an image saved at level 10 JPEG is roughly one third the size of the level 12 file which will reduce your storage needs and dramatically speed your internet upload time.* Oh, and by the way, no one can tell the difference! That’s right, there is no noticeable increase in JPEG artifacts going from level 12 to level 10. You don’t have to take our word for it either. The popular internet hosting site SmugMug reports that after years of debate and contests in forums, the results are that no one has been able to tell the difference between printed photographs generated from files stored at Photoshop JPEG 12 and JPEG 10 settings.
The takeaway here is save yourself the frustration and time wasted watching your images upload to your internet hosting site, or to Zookbinders. You won’t be compromising quality, and just maybe you can get off the computer and have dinner with your family.
*For example, given a 12” x 24” album spread at 300dpi, the uncompressed file (either PSD or TIFF, flattened) will be just over 74 mb. Save this file as a level 12 JPEG file, and it drops to around 15mb. If you save it to a level 10 JPEG, it drops to around 5mb or roughly one third the size of the level 12 file without any noticeable loss in image quality.
Step Five: Choose Filter>Render>Clouds to create a cloud pattern on the image. Click Command-F or Ctrl-F to run different patterns through your new layer.
