How to Make Pictures That Will Work on the Net

Pictures put on the net need to be converted into one of two file types:  GIF (for simple cartoon like graphics & animations) or JPEG (for photos and more gradient artwork).  These file types compress the images so that they will download more quickly. There are several ways to make your pictures into JPEG or GIF files:

• Scanning done by Photo Processors --- An easy solution is to take a roll of photos as usual with your regular camera, bring it to your photo processor and pay $5-$8 extra to get the photos "on disk" as well as prints.  You are essentially paying the processor to scan the photos for you.

• Electronic Camera --- If you have or can borrow a good electronic camera you can take the photos digitally to begin with.  The best camera for this is the Sony Mavica series, that puts your photos directly into JPEG form onto a floppy disk. [This was advice 4 years ago, I have used a Minolta Dimage for the last 2 years 2002-2004.]

• Scanning --- If you have good photos already, you can just collect them together and scan them yourself.  Scan photos or renderings at 72dpi and save them to disk as JPEG (aka JPG) files.  Only make GIF files of cartoon like artwork like logos, patterns & diagrams.

Graphics Links: 

• Spinwave.com - Image Crunchers

• How to Make Graphics Heavy Pages (on purpose)

• Banner Ad Generator

• lynda.com (Advice from Lynda Weitzman, the best known web graphics designer/author)

Sony Mavica MVC-FD95 Digital Camera

Minolta Dimage X 2MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom

Sony Mavica MVCCD1000 Digital Camera

Hewlett Packard Scanjet 3400Cse

Canon CanoScan N1220U USB Flatbed Scanner

Canon CanoScan N656U USB Flatbed Scanner

 

Adobe Photoshop 7.0 Upgrade