Making A Webcomic

1
Making A Webcomic

• Choosing The Optimal File Format For Images

2
Exploring the Alternatives

• Same image (400x600 pixels), different formats
• Considerations File size, image quality,
  additional features.

3
.BMP

• Windows 3.x Bitmap (.BMP)
• 24-bit depth, true color RGB
• Size 703KB
• Notes No transparency, no compression (large
  file size)
• Verdict Undesirable.

4
.JPG, High Quality

• JPEG, RGB
• Size 121KB
• Notes No transparency, slightly better file size
• Verdict Undesirable

5
.JPG, Medium Quality

• JPEG, RGB
• Size 55KB
• Notes No transparency, manageable file size
• Verdict Usable

6
.JPG, Low Quality

• JPEG, RGB
• Size 17KB
• Notes No transparency, excellent file size,
  visible loss of quality
• Verdict Undesirable

7
.GIF, High Quality

• .GIF, 256 colors
• Size 87KB
• Notes Transparency, decent file size, no major
  loss of quality (comic artwork does not require a
  large palette)
• Verdict Usable

8
.GIF, Medium Quality

• .GIF, 64 colors
• Size 58KB
• Notes Transparency, decent file size, noticeable
  loss of quality (shading has a stippled look to
  it)
• Verdict Undesirable

9
.GIF, Low Quality

• .GIF, 16 colors
• Size 36KB
• Notes Transparency, small file size, horrendous
  loss of quality
• Verdict Undesirable

10
Tagged Information File Format (TIFF)

• .TIF, LZW Compression
• Size 276KB
• Notes No transparency, decent quality, file size
  a bit too large
• Verdict Undesirable

11
Portable Network Graphics (PNG)

• .PNG, Non-interlaced
• Size 234KB
• Transparency, good quality
• Verdict Usable

12
File Sizes in KB
13
Conclusion

• Since transparency is a preferred feature, the
  obvious choices with regard to quality vs. file
  size are GIF and PNG
• While GIF offers much smaller file size, PNG does
  not degrade quality with the stippling effect
  nearly as badly
• Most internet connections are fast
• The choice is either PNG or 256-color GIF,
  depending on the specific image to be used (the
  more colors, the less desirable GIF will be)