JPG vs. GIF - Which to Use??????

[CowGirl]

Hi Everyone, CowGirl Here!

I purchased images from clipart.com, some of which came in both jpg and gif format. The gif format has a much smaller file size than the jpg format. Most of these pictures contain many colors and many curvy shapes (they are not images with straight lines and few colors). I had thought that pictures with many colors and curvy lines should be in the jpg format, and pictures with straight lines and few colors should be in the gif format.

All these images will have to be cropped and then resized to a smaller size.

I am somewhat confused. Should I use the jpg or gif formats?

You can see the pictures I am talking about here: http://betohelp.eu/. (This page has pictures with somewhat large file sizes.) The second set of pictures (the tree) is a perfect example - the jpg is 208 KB and the gif is 87 KB.

Thank you for your time and Big Hugs,

CowGirl!

[Centauri]

The graphics on those pages that have both jpg and gif versions are in fact quite simple graphics (less than 256 colours) which would be more suited to the gif version. When using something like Photoshop to optimise graphics, it may be possible to reduce the filesize of the jpg version to less than the gif version without noticable quality loss - sometimes you have to try both formats to see which is the smallest. With PaintShop Pro, I was able to reduce the tree jpg down to 69kB without noticable loss.

With photographs or more complex graphics, the gif format would not allow the picture quality required.

[tracknut]

There are just a few images in there (the clay pots) that are actual photos. Those you probably should leave as jpeg. "lots of curvy shapes" is not the distinction you should be making for jpg vs. gif, its the number of colors in the image, as Centauri says.

Dave

[Ferret]

It would be good to point out the advantages of using .gif, however, as they are capable of animations and transparency where .jpg is not.

If you need a high-color/quality image with transparency, use a .png (or .mng if you also need it to be animated.)

[dcpweb]

Hi,

I would recommend you use .jpg files for photo type images, images which have alot of colour and are complex in apperance.

.gif is more suitable for simple images such as buttons or titles on a website.

regards

p shah - www.dcpweb.co.uk

[CowGirl]

Dear All,

Thank you very much for taking the time to help me. Not only did you answer my question, but you also gave me other usefull information.

My cows and I much appreciate your efforts!

Big Hugs, CowGirl!!!