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    RickJ's Avatar
    RickJ Posts: 7,762, Reputation: 864
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    #1

    Aug 22, 2007, 04:54 AM
    Photoshop: reducing and keeping crisp quality
    This is a resurrection of an old post that I never figured out, so another try...

    I've got decent sized screenshots (example here) that I'd like to make crisp and focused thumbnails of, like the ones here.

    I've used Photoshop (Elements) to save it JPG Max Quality down to 100-150 pixels but the best I can get is here.

    How can I get really nice ones?
    Capuchin's Avatar
    Capuchin Posts: 5,255, Reputation: 656
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    #2

    Aug 22, 2007, 04:58 AM
    Are you resizing before you save? Or at the same time?

    You should resize before you save, I think it uses different algorithms.
    RickJ's Avatar
    RickJ Posts: 7,762, Reputation: 864
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    #3

    Aug 22, 2007, 05:04 AM
    I've tried it umpteen ways:

    I tried doing it 10% at a time, saving before each step down, as recommended on some sites,

    I tried it in one chunk.

    I tried it using the Batch Processing tool.

    ... all were about equal in quality. Poor.

    ... but now that I think of it, I did not try making a photo gallery out of the folder then seeing how good the thumbnails it makes are... I'll try that now...
    Capuchin's Avatar
    Capuchin Posts: 5,255, Reputation: 656
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    #4

    Aug 22, 2007, 05:06 AM
    Ill have a go with PSP.
    RickJ's Avatar
    RickJ Posts: 7,762, Reputation: 864
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    #5

    Aug 22, 2007, 05:09 AM
    The thumbnails that were made using the "Make Gallery" option also results in poor ones.

    I half wonder if my original file is just not large enough (the originals are about 1/2 MB)...
    Capuchin's Avatar
    Capuchin Posts: 5,255, Reputation: 656
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    #6

    Aug 22, 2007, 05:11 AM
    Of course it's large enough, it's pixel perfect, perfect data.

    In paint shop pro there are several option in the resize dialog, some of which give a much better result than others, is there something similar in PSE?
    Capuchin's Avatar
    Capuchin Posts: 5,255, Reputation: 656
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    #7

    Aug 22, 2007, 05:14 AM
    I can get something like this. Looks better than the one on your site.

    I think it used bicubic resizing.
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    RickJ's Avatar
    RickJ Posts: 7,762, Reputation: 864
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    #8

    Aug 22, 2007, 05:32 AM
    Yes. I see I've got 3 options:
    Bicubic (which is the default setting I've used)
    Biliner, and
    Nearest Neighbor.

    I also can choose the resolution.

    Starting with a 1130x862 original, here are the three - each reduced to 120 px wide at a resolution of 100 p/i:

    I also see that in the final step, I can choose Format Options
    Baseline Standard
    Baseline Optimized, or
    Progressive.

    I chose Baseline Optimized for the three.
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    RickJ's Avatar
    RickJ Posts: 7,762, Reputation: 864
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    #9

    Aug 22, 2007, 05:33 AM
    Nearest Neighbor is obviously worthless... I don't see a difference, though, between bilinear and bicubic.

    I don't suppose the guy whose thumbs I like will tell me how he did it, huh :o
    Capuchin's Avatar
    Capuchin Posts: 5,255, Reputation: 656
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    #10

    Aug 22, 2007, 05:35 AM
    I don't see why not, can't hurt to ask. I've done it several times and am surprised how often I get a helpful reply.
    RickJ's Avatar
    RickJ Posts: 7,762, Reputation: 864
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    #11

    Aug 22, 2007, 05:49 AM
    I found good looking thumbs here too... and asked them on their forum. We'll see what comes of it.
    NeedKarma's Avatar
    NeedKarma Posts: 10,635, Reputation: 1706
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    #12

    Aug 22, 2007, 06:18 AM
    Guys, we NEED this!

    YouTube - Image resize

    Discussion here: Digg - Advanced Photo Resizing [Vid]
    RickJ's Avatar
    RickJ Posts: 7,762, Reputation: 864
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    #13

    Aug 22, 2007, 06:39 AM
    Absolutely flipping amazing! Wow! Did I say Wow? If not, I meant WOW! :)
    alkalineangel's Avatar
    alkalineangel Posts: 2,391, Reputation: 323
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    #14

    Aug 22, 2007, 06:41 AM
    ::drool::
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    alkalineangel Posts: 2,391, Reputation: 323
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    #15

    Aug 22, 2007, 06:53 AM
    Rick - when you are saving the resized image in Photoshop are you simply"saving" or are you "saving for web"? You probably already know this, but sometimes I forget some basic things, when I think too much about it.. The reason I ask is there are options to balace the quality of the picture and the size of the file. The jpegs are lossy so when you scale it down, it will lose quality unless properly saved... I would "save for web" and then use the two up feature to change the quality. It may help to use Unsharpen mask before saving as well.
    RickJ's Avatar
    RickJ Posts: 7,762, Reputation: 864
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    #16

    Aug 22, 2007, 07:40 AM
    There are hundreds of option combinations in SaveForWeb - I think at this point I've about tried them all. I found a bunch of "thumbnail maker" apps on the net and tried a couple... also with no luck. Since I'm finding them in abundance on the net I'm continuing to surf for an answer.

    If I find it before someone pipes in with the magic trick, I'll post it here.
    NeedKarma's Avatar
    NeedKarma Posts: 10,635, Reputation: 1706
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    #17

    Aug 22, 2007, 07:47 AM
    You know my favorite free tool: XnView

    The feature you want is under Tools > Sequence Convert (actions to be done in the 'Transformations' tab)
    RickJ's Avatar
    RickJ Posts: 7,762, Reputation: 864
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    #18

    Aug 22, 2007, 07:56 AM
    Lucky me. First try, got a problem. Will give 'er another go :)
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    NeedKarma's Avatar
    NeedKarma Posts: 10,635, Reputation: 1706
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    #19

    Aug 22, 2007, 07:57 AM
    Must be user error. Heh.
    RickJ's Avatar
    RickJ Posts: 7,762, Reputation: 864
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    #20

    Aug 22, 2007, 07:59 AM
    I guess it does not like my computer. Got the same thing 2nd try too :(

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