AboutDan Loffler Expertise I can help with specific "How To" questions. No Photoshop Elements questions please.
Experience I have been using Photoshop every day in my work as an Art Director and Graphic Artist since 1993 with version 2.5. I am currently employed as a Creative Director in Miami. I have taught computer graphics classes at CompUSA, Computer City. I currently teach a crash course on Photoshop to digital photographers on Digital Photography Corner's Digital Photography Cruises. I have worked as a personal Photoshop tutor for clients as far away as Seoul Korea.
Expert: Dan Loffler Date: 5/20/2008 Subject: Pixelated Images
Question When I create graphics in photoshop to use on my myspace they always appear fine on my computer (macbook pro) but when viewed on other peoples computers the images are very pixelated. So I am wondering I am doing something wrong when I create the image or save it. I tried saving the file in a .gif .jpeg and .png but all have the same issue, I have also tried playing around with the size of the images. So any advice you could give me would be great. Thanks
Answer Hi Justin,
Here are a few tips for images created for the web ...
Size: It's always best to create (or save a version) at the exact size, in pixels, that it will be used on the web page. If there is any resizing by the web page this will make the image ugly and pixelated.
File Types: When saving images for the web it is best to save them as GIF if they are a lot of flat colors and smooth lines, like a typical logo. Photos are best saved as JPEG. You can save as PNG-24 also but not all browsers will render them correctly.
The best way to save for the web from Photoshop is to use [File]-[Save For Web...]. This will give you a preview of what it will look like and it will save a copy of the file. If you have transparency you will need to set the "Matte" color to be the same color as the web page background it will be put on top of (you'll see "Matte" in the Save For Web dialog if you choose GIF). You can play with the different settings and see what effect they have (that's the best way to learn).
Finally if your original is smaller than it needs to be, you will always have a pixelated look, because there aren't enough pixels. There's not much you can do about that.
