MicrostockGroup

So which is it?

When I edit and save the file I save it as a TIFF so it isn't compressed.  When I upload to a stock site I save a JPG version.  In photoshop you are asked at which quality level you want to save the JPG file.  Some microstock sites say to save it at the highest level (12), others say quality level 10 is good enough.

Which do you use?  The difference in file size on the disk is significant.  For a regular file from the Canon 5D mark II the sizes are

Quality 12 : 10.5 MB
Quality 11 : 5.5 MB
Quality 10 : 3.5 MB

So in regards to storage and FTP uploading it is tempting not to use quality 12.  There is obviously a lot more information in the Quality 12 file size but can you really see a difference?  When opening the JPG files up in photoshop, putting them on top of each other as layers and clicking the hide/view button to toggle I really can't see a different.  Not even with the Quality 10 file.  If you were to save and open and save and open the file numerous times I could see a potential problem, but for a one time save perhaps Quality 11 is an OK middle ground?

I always save at 12. But it would be nice to see a 100% crop if you have the two images.

Well I had to save at 10 or 11 before for StockXpert size limit and I also didn't saw a difference. I would say... don't worry lol

There might not be much difference but is there more degradation when you edit and re-save a jpeg that is lower than level 12?  I use 12 most of the time but drop to 11 or 10 if the file goes over 10mb.

10 for me.

12, but I have accidentally saved at lower and still got those images approved.

I use 12.  Storage space and bandwidth are both cheap.

Not me, I save at 12. Jpg is already lossy compressed. I wouldn't want to give anything less, even if there isn't any difference between 11 and 12.

There used to be a time when printers wouldn't accept jpegs because of the lossy quality issue, only took tifs and eps. Because of this, I save at the highest quality setting.

Level 10 for almost everything, unless it's something graphic or lots of contrasting edges on a flat background then 12


That's because you only lost 'information' on the first save, in theory if you don't change anything and re-save with the same compression settings then nothing should change. The problem comes when you crop something that is not a multiple of 8 pixels from the top left or when you make any changes to the content of the image, then only those parts of the image will start to see artefacts, it's all based on 8x8 macroblocks (that's why you can rotate multiples of 90 degrees 'losslessly' if the images are themselves a multiples of 8 pixels in size along both edges)

How did you know which one to delete ?

The quality setting is saved in the image data/exif info.

Patrick h.

I'm convinced that I can see the difference in quality between a first and second save. Or maybe I've convinced myself. However, because of this I don't like saving an image twice and never save it a 3rd time.

I usually save my pics at 11, sometimes at 12.