Resizing for e-mail

[manning]

Resizing
If you’re only sending one or two images, changing the width, height and resolution to a smaller size will make it easier for your recipient to download the images. A recommended size is 4x6 (vertical) or 6x4 inches (horizontal) at 72 pixels per inch (ppi).

Open the image in Photoshop and go to:

1. Image > Image Size.

2. Check the box “Resample Image”.

3. In the dialog box, change the height to either 4x6 or 6x4 and the resolution to 72 ppi.

4. Click OK.

Save your image in a separate file for e-mail attachments so when you’re browsing your files it will be easy to identify it (and future images).

Contact Sheets
If you have several images to share, create a contact sheet. Doing this allows you to send multiple images, at a lower resolution, in one or two small files.

First, place the images in a dedicated folder. In photoshop, go to:
1. File > Automate > Contact Sheet.

2. Click the Browse button to choose the folder that contains your images.

3. In the window, select how many images you’d like to appear on the page (two up, three across, etc.) and the size and resolution of your contact sheet (a size of 8x10 at 72 ppi is recommended).

4. Check the box “Use File Name As Caption” and change the font and font size to your liking.

5. Click OK.

Photoshop will start accessing your image files and create a contact sheet. When it’s finished, save the contact sheet in a separate file for e-mail attachments.

 

[boBQuincy]

The resizing information is correct, and should be a great help to those trying to resize their images.
To take it further, a monitor does not use PPI information, only pixels. Resizing the image to nnn x nnn pixels does the same thing as resizing it to a size @ xxx PPI, but without doing any math to get the desired image size in pixels.

For DisBoards and email I usually use 900 x 600 or 600 x 400.

Printers *do* use PPI information and 200-300 is usually appropriate, depending on the quality level desired.



From http://www.fotofinish.com/resources/centers/photo/resolution.htm:

"When you create graphics for the screen, embedded resolution does not matter. Simply pick the pixel dimensions of your image and don't worry about embedded resolution. Most people use 72 ppi for creating web graphics but this is just an arbitrary embedded resolution that has become a standard. You don't need to use 72 ppi to create a web graphic. Since monitors display images based on pixel dimension, embedded image resolution will not affect how large or small an image looks on the screen. A 300 by 199 pixel image set to 72 ppi and a 300 by 199 pixel image set to 300 ppi will look the same on the same screen. As discussed above, the embedded resolution (ppi or dpi) of an image only affects the image when printed."

 

[Groucho]

I agree with Bob - when working on the computer, "inches" and "dpi" are not really useful terms. It's all pixels, pixels, pixels.

If you don't have Photoshop or want to do it faster (without waiting for it to load!), Irfanview (free from www.irfanview.com) can resize quickly and easily. Either hit Ctrl-R or go to the Image dropdown, then Resize/Resample.

If you want to do contact sheets, you can do that with the Thumbnails section of Irfanview. I only really use Photoshop for serious image editing, Irfanview does most of what I need on any given day and is a top-notch photo viewer.

900x600 is a little large for here IMHO, it's fine for those with newer, high-rez displays, but someone at 1024x768 (which is probably the majority of people) will have to do some side-to-side scrolling. I usually do 700-750.

I hate the loss of details, though. I run my own web forum and have a modification installed that automatically will resize any picture that's too wide to one that fits on the viewer's window, and turns it into a clickable hyperlink (click the small pic and a new window opens with the full-size one.) It's Javascript so the processing is done on the client side, meaning little impact to the web server. It works terrifically. I don't know if such a thing is available for vBulletin (like DisBoards uses), though - I use phpBB. Anyway, this allows the best of both worlds - nobody has to scroll left/right, but you can still attach larger, high-quality photos. The only ones who lose out are those on dial-up.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

I suggest that you post your photos online and send a link rather than email, especially if the recipient has a slow connection.

 

[miss missy]

Yep on the pixels. Good info for re-sizing

 

[Cellthing]

Another extremely easy tool to use is the XP Powertoy for image resizing. I use it for multiple pictures, or single pictures. You get your choice of sizes as well as a custom setting as well

Image Resizer Powertoy for Windows XP