What's the best way to compress a graphic (jpg) file

The short answer is, you can't. JPEG has compression built into it. As soon as you save a jpeg it is already compressed. Further compression without loss is very difficult.

Try going to netmechanic.com and clicking on "Option1" which says EVALUATE. Now, at the right click on the TRY IT button. Enter the URL which has the page with the images you want to check. Let it run a couple of seconds and a page will return with the load times for each image on your page. Click on the SIZE next to any image.

A page will return showing your original image with 6-8 images below decreasing in quality as you go down. The load time of each image is given and the file size it would be. If you would like their gif bot to downscale your original image just click on the one you want an you can save it to your computer and then reload it to replace your original image on your site.

This is a handy tool because most people have no idea how long their pages take to load with different connection speeds. One of the main reasons people click off sites is because of slow loading graphics. This utility will tell you which of your graphics are causing bottlenecks in loading for your site and you can correct them in a snap.

Remember, when you look at your own web site or blog, the images are likely cached on your computer and it may load in a snap. Do not assume your pages load that fast for people whose computer has to download the images from the network--the differences in loading times can be enormous!

Good luck!

Thanks Mike -

I will try netmechanic.com ---

I am also open to any other suggestions that can be offered up.

One other thought -- I can convert the files to a .psd or a .png file using gimp - any good ways to compress after doing that?

In my initial test of saving as a .png the file was much larger :-(

Thanks

jpeg IS already a compressed format, so there is already a quality loss. You can always load the image with a graphic program (like paint shop pro etc..) and re-save.

There is a "options slider" for quality if you save as jpeg...and you can slide this all the way up to like 10% quality..and even more shrink the jpeg....but at cost of more quality loss.

I use Photoshop and the results come out looking sa-weet. If you don't have Photoshop you can mess around with GIMP (a FREE photoshop clone).

The sample below shows my original PSD file at 1.15 megs (top left). Saving it as a JPEG at 51 quality reduced the file size to 66K (top right).

Reducing the pic down to 12 quality gives you a file size of 23K (bottom right). And that image is useable.

Thanks -- I will try gimp and see what I can get

Mr. Subtle, run a WSO for a date with that girl in the photo and I'll bet you do alright . Where do I send the check?

If it is a pic to be displayed on a web site, reduce the resolution to 72 dpi. (web optimized in other words) Gimp is a free program that will do this and it isn't hard. Results in an enormous reduction in file size for most pictures.

Thanks all -- Lloyd I am going to try this - so far it doesn't look like it is giving me a large decrease in size - but I am going to play with it some more.