Expert: Scott Valentine - 4/4/2009

Question
QUESTION: I'm working on a MacBook Pro using OS 10.5.6. What is the best way to put images from Photoshop CS3 10.0.1 into MS Word 2008 for Mac 12.1.5 such that they will post online and also print clearly and the file is as small as possible? I have old Word files made from scanned original drawings on a G3 that are 300KB or smaller yet the ones I'm creating now with similar scanned images in jpg format are much larger, up to 3MG. When I dragged one of the old file images into a folder to see what it is, it's identified as a Picture clipping and the file size 4.2 MB, yet the Word file it's in is only 128 KB. Thank you, Scott, for any help you can provide and for a crystal clear answer you gave to Katherine on 8/25/08 that was precisely the answer I needed yesterday.

ANSWER: Hi Peter,

You have competing goals between printing clearly, and being as small as possible in file size. On that count, if you are using scanned photos, I prefer to use PNG-8 for web presentation. The files are not always as small as JPG, but they have better fidelity. To post them online, I recommend that you create thumbnail versions and link to the higher resolution files - that gets you the best of both worlds. However, I understand this is not always possible.

To get images from Photoshop to Word, I would suggest again using PNG whenever possible. But there's a catch... Word converts whatever image you give it into BMP format. This can sometimes dramatically increase the file size, but depending on the image settings, may actually reduce the size. In short, it's complicated. And to be completely honest, I'm not certain exactly how Word makes the choices it does.

Your scanned files are probably higher due to higher scanning resolution, either in actual dimensions or in color depth. Figuring out which it is will require you to check your scanner's settings. If at all possible, scan in the highest resolution and color depth possible, and archive that version. Then open up the archived version and save out (Save for Web in most cases) smaller versions for various uses. The Save for Web dialog in Photoshop lets you choose image formats, dimensions and quality in the case of JPGs. This will determine the actual file size.

On a related note, if you can avoid using Word to generate web pages or galleries, do it. Photoshop actually has some web gallery templates built in, which should provide a much better experience for your viewers. If the format is not what you need, you can still use the web galleries to generate thumbnails and web-size versions of your image, then add *those* to your Word document. This may actually save you some time and headaches, but refer to the help files on web galleries before diving in - there can be some gotchas (like where the files end up, and how much flexibility you have in choosing sizes).

I realize this doesn't address all of your issues; if you would like to follow up, please choose one or two specific questions. I'd like to give you the best quality help I can, without taking up too much space =)

Cheers,

-Scott

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Scott,

Thanks for another very clear and helpful answer. I replaced jpg images with PNG in some of the Word files and was able to reduce the size of the files containing images I scanned and others that were rendered in Photoshop or Illustrator. Still, they are well over 1MB. The solution is literally right in front of me, but I don't know how to identify it. I have several Word files with similar images that were rendered in Photoshop 5.0 and/or Illustrator 8.0 on a G3 using Mac OS 8.6 maybe 8 years or so ago and they range in size from below 100KB up to 300KB and they print with good quality. Could this be because they were rendered and not scanned? But why are some of the rendered images that are placed into Word creating small files and others large? For scanned images, does the scanning resolution I use make a difference? The image quality was set to 300 dpi for the scans I did. Would it help if you saw 3 sample Word documents, 1 page each with an illustration? If so, how can I send them to you?

Thanks again, Scott, for your expertise and your ability to communicate it clearly. It's a much appreciated combination!

By the way, I went to the Photoshop forum you recommended (http://photoshoptechniques.com/forum) but couldn't do a search because the SPAM prevention image verification box was blank and when I tried to register I got a message saying "Registration has been disabled by administrator." I sent a feedback email to them but it couldn't be delivered.

Peter


Answer
Hi Peter,

There may be a handful of ways to get what you want, but the only obvious solution I can think of is to save the images out of Photoshop as smaller files - either by reducing the quality level as JPG images, or making the PNG image have smaller dimensions.

It probably would help if I could see an example Word file and the source image before importing it. Scanning certainly can change the file size as well as the dimensions, and it may be that your scanning options have changed (this can happen if you are using another application to 'drive' your scanner).

You can send a sample file to lightningsymphony@gmail.com

Be aware that I'm using a Mac, and that Gmail has a file size limit. If you are sending a file over about 5M, it may not be delivered properly (I haven't checked on this limit lately - it may have changed). In that case, I'll try out one of the file storage services and see if that performs any better.

Also, I will be traveling this week and part of next, so will be unable to test your files. If you need immediate assistance, try PhotoshopTechniques again - we closed registration to make some updates, but it will be open again this evening. Sorry for the confusion!

-Scott