What is Image Compression?

All file for digital pictures store relevant information relating to brightness, contrast, position and color of the level of pixels that are supporting image creation. What compression system actually does is reordering as well as rationalizing the technique in which the information storage takes place. The end result is nothing but the file that is being optimized and lowered in size. Large amount of space can be saved by making proper identification of textures, brightness and color aligned within the images. Storage of the patterns at one time helps in its further usage where you can use the reference and perform rest of the tasks in an image. The process of recognition of pattern and file optimization is recognized as compression.

Process of Compression and Decompression are also referred as CODEC. It contains below mentioned 3 stages:

1. Algorithm is used for compressing the original image for the purpose of optimizing the file.

2. The version of tile that comes out is the one to be stored on your website or hard drive, wherever you require.

3. Compressed file that is the output is decompression available for editing or viewing.

If the decompressed output is exactly what the original file is even after decompression then the process is referred as ‘Lossless’. And if few of the information is lost during the way then is can called as ‘Lossy’. Lossless systems generally result in reducing the file up to 60% of the real size whereas less that 1% is the amount for reduction in lossy compression.

Lossless and Lossy Image Compression

Photoshop is one such software that supports colors and formats of images in the best possible manner. Generally due to the colors and size, the files of images are comparatively heavier. Simply by looking with naked eye, the structure might not be reflected whereas after comparisons, you can easily see the difference especially while being used during word processing. Any text document with around 100 pages length will be less than 1% size of any file containing digital photograph of say 8 X 10inches. This much larger size of file doesn’t work anywhere in the industry. Although, this is the current scenario but the need was left quite afterward when the industry people understood the problem and came up with the solution to assist photographers in alleviating their need, who kept on buying big hard drives.
Anywhere within the industry, images with heavy size cannot be used especially on the websites and even for printing. It gets noticeable while comparing them with the digital files.

Comparisons in pictures enable the use to squeeze the larger sized image files to smaller. Quality sometimes reduces by this whereas in one system, loss of quality in picture can be attained – that is by ‘lossless compression’. The other one, ‘lossy compress’ enables saving greater space on the prices of lowering down few image details. Both situations are helpful for improving quality and performance and reducing errors.

Panel display and quick thumbnail generation in Photoshop

Display of Panel in Photoshop

Few panels have embedded custom options required for governing the way and type through which information is repeated / displayed in the pane only. Metadata and keyword panels both have separate options located within the fly-out menu available over the top-right side of the panel. Folders can be easily added to the favorite panels simply by clicking right them over the panel. Then you can choose the entry button, Add to Favorites from the appearing menu. In order to remove the folders listed, right click on the entry and select Remove button, available in the options for Favorites. Inspector panel type and display of the relevant data expressed in thumbnail in the panel of content, can be controlled by the Preferences settings, Edit > Preferences.

Quick Generation of Thumbnails using Bridge

Latest version of Bridge performs in a better way than its previous form so now one can control the program for building the thumbnails to be displayed in the section of content. Instead of building similar levels of quality in thumbnail for every next picture, the program has the capacity to develop lower quality yet quickly generating and displaying thumbnails, by default. Within the Preferences general section, selection can be done amongst the creation of High Quality Thumbnail, Quick Thumbnail or even one more option that provide instructions to the program for transforming thumbnails into high quality, during its first preview. By default, Bridge is assigned to the Quick Thumbnails to assist quick display of content within the day but who all can wait for some more time can get better quality thumbnails through the following process, Individual thumbnail section is available in the preferences section containing 3 types of options assisting Thumbnail creation within the content panel.

Pictures labeling using Bridge

You must have understood the features of Bridge by now. It can be used for variety of features than simply being a file browser. One of its best uses is the utility which assists in the process of photo sorting and its categorization. Options are listed below the label menu of the photos, both in group and individually from where, the images can be labeled or rated with label color or star respectively. Now the importance of these tags is not understood generally. Basically these tags assist greatly for sorting images properly and are helpful even in their display. Best of the images can be displayed among those that are gathered in group within a folder or large Photo shoot.

Rating a labels can be easily applied by making selection, that is by multi-selecting the thumbnail, available in the Bridge workspace. Tags can be chosen from the Label menu. For attaching the tags with the files that are selected individually at one time, shortcut keys can be quickly used for quick, effective results of image sorting.

Bridge – Center for Effective image editing

Adobe Photoshop is coming up with attractive features to be used in professional world of graphics. Most of its revisions are based on improving the tools for image management specifically for designers and photographers as an important part of their editing program. File browser was the latest introduction through which files can be opened within the software itself. This feature was not embedded since the inception of Photoshop. Afterward another unique feature was added within referred as Bridge. Introduction of bridge has replaced the basic option of file browse. You can choose the application from the menu itself like Photoshop > File > Browse command buttoned over the option bar.

Fastest and the best way of opening any file from the library, picture library, is to find and choose the file from Bridge and then click Ctrl + O. In case the default software is anything other than Photoshop then commands used for opening a file should be File> Open with > Photoshop. Ample of selected files can be opened in browser this way.

Don’t forget that bridge is a standalone Photoshop application with its own memory management system and opening capacity which can be used for organizing and managing Photo files even without running Photoshop at the same time.
Variety of options is available for opening Bridge individually. One more is to click start menu, from left or simply from within Photoshop with the use of a dedicate button place over the options bar (in the middle). File > Browse command (along the right). Bridge is more of a tool now, suitable for proper management of the images. After its introduction and development in Photoshop CS2, Bridge has gained an important position in the work flow of the Photographers. It’s making things convenient and much more possible than other tools.

File Formats in Photoshop

Every time an image is clicked by the camera or any scanning device, the output is saved in the ‘file format’. If binary information can be referred as communication, then the file format is the language for the communication acting as its vehicle. Reading and understanding of the information depends on its recognition by the software. Numerous forms of formats are there in which images can be saved.

Commonly used formats are:
1. Raw or .dng: Camera Raw and digital negative
2. JPEG or .jpg, .jpx or .jpf : Joint Photographic Experts Group
3. TIFF or .tiff : Tagged Image File Format
4. Photoshop or .psd : Photoshop Document

Camera Raw or Digital Negatives: Raw is generally not preferred for better quality in images. Camera gives better clarity if TIFF or JPG formats are used and replacing both with the preference for RAW can stop processing of color data in the camera, collected from sensor. RAW data is basically the something that the sensor ‘saw’ even before the processing of the image by camera which is referred as ‘digital negative’ by many photographers. RAW, unprocessed, is required to be converted in the form of usable image file format through image editing software provided by the camera manufacturer or in Adobe Photoshop. It can be compressed as ‘Digital Negative’.

Joint Photographic Experts Group or JPEG: This is the standard format for images ideal for compressing them according to WWW, World Wide Web and for its storage in case of limited space. Lossy compression is used by JPEG compression where image quality and data are lost for small sized files during the closing of image. Compression amount is under the command of the user. Compression with high level results in formation of low quality images that are small in file size. High quality image results from low level compression but with larger file size. JPG file format is recommended after the image editing is done and a master Photoshop document too should be kept for the archival purposes.

JPEG 2000: JPEG 2000 is the supporter of alpha channels and 16 bits/channel. It uses complex saving options other than the standard JPEG format and produces lesser artifacts in image. Photoshop CS3 also supports this file version though it is sometimes not available in the Save for Web options.

Tagged Image File Format or TIFF: For images being published, either in books or magazines, TIFF is ideal used in those cases. LZW or lossless compression is used by TIFF (No loss of quality or data takes place in image).

Photoshop Document or PSD: This format is the default one in Adobe’s software for image editing. It is actually a master file through which any other files can be produced in accordance with the requirements of the output. PSD’s another version format is PSB which is designed for the purpose of creating large sized documents specifically that are above 2GB.

Save your end result by adjusting image size beforehand

Image editing in Photoshop can be performed in a variety of styles. There are many ways of doing so, either by selecting directly with the selection tool or by using a pen tool for exact sized image. But in all the cases, the final output is slightly different from one another. The quality, appearance and the use differs from one another by some or the other way. Even before the editing takes place, the size of the image is required to be scaled. This is because of the variations taking place in the final output and even the effects occurring in the operating speed of the computer. Scaling of the image ensures the maintenance of optimum quality of the image. For any kind of changes, you can simply control its size by going to the image section and selecting image size (images>image size). This is located at the top location of the Photoshop software.

There are three ways to describe an image size:
1. Pixel Dimensions: Size of the file is determined by the pixel number as kilobytes.
2. Print Size: The end result that is the dimensions of the output is expressed in centimeters or inches.
3. Resolution: It is measured by the pixels per inch or ppi.
If any one of them is altered, the impact or affect will be on the other or both, for e.g. raise in the size of the print should be lower than the resolution or rise of the pixel’s dimensions and size of the file.

Change in the images size results due to the following reasons:

1. Change in resolution for matching up with the requirements of the printing output device.

2. Change is dimensions of the printed output for matching display requirements.

Adjustments in the images are extremely important as it affects the final result. You should handle it beforehand to avoid variations in the end result.