IMAGE TRANSFER GUIDE
Image Transfer gives you control of the images on your website, right from your own computer. You can replace any old image on the website, in addition to adding new images to the portfolio. The portfolio section will automatially add new pages as you add new images, so you can expand your gallery infinitely.
This guide provides image sizing specifications and directions for the use of the Image Transfer program. Image Transfer requires possession and a basic working knowledge of an image-editing program such as Adobe Photoshop and Macromedia Fireworks.
IMAGE SPECIFICATIONS
- Image Formats
- Images must be in jpg or gif format. Furthermore, the extension must be in lower case. Any other formats, and capitalized extensions (JPG or GIF) will cause an error. PC users will not be able to see the extensions on their image, they will only see the file name. Therefore, when saving your images, be sure that "Save all extensions in lower case" is checked ON in the Save As or Save for Web dialogue box. You won't be able to change the extension later without resaving the image all over again.
- Images should have a resolution of 72 ppi (sometimes called dpi), which is the standard resolution for all Web images. Larger ppi will cause slower downloads on your website, and are easier for theives to steal and reproduce. A larger ppi will not make your image look any better - a monitor is only capable of displaying 72ppi, so anything more is unessessary and dangerous.
- Images must be in the RGB color space. CMYK and Grayscale will cause errors.
- Image Naming Conventions
- Images must only use alphanumeric characters (letters and numbers) and dashes in the file names. Image names containing spaces or symbols (periods, pound signs, ampersands, quotes, parenthesis, underscores, slashes, or any other symbol whatsoever) will cause an error.
- File names should be no longer than 25 characters.
- Your file names should be descriptive. Search engines, such as Google, use file names for indexing your images in their databases.
- Examples
- Good File Name: dog-chasing-ball.jpg
- Bad File Name: Rufus("Chasing the ball")B&W.JPG
- Image Sizes
- Images should be no larger than 150-200 KB for large versions and appx 50 KB for thumbnails.
- Image Transfer does not automatically size images or create thumbnails for you. You must create both a small thumbnail version of your image and a larger version for your web site, and you must upload them both at the same time. This gives you the ability to control the shape, crop and appearance of all images on your web site, including thumbnails, rather than letting an automated program do it for you.
- Each web site has its own sizing requirements. Refer to the Image Dimension Guidelines, find your web style, and follow the given directions.
- View the Image Dimension Guidelines
- Things To Know
- Never increase the size of an image. Start large and reduce to the size needed.
- Resizing images usually results in a loss of sharpness. Check for softening and sharpen as needed.
- Save your resized images into a folder that you can easily find later. This will speed up the process during upload.
- Take care not to overwrite your original, large format digital images. To be safe, create a special folder where you will save your resized web images, and keep your originals in a separate folder.
- Make adjustments to color, contrast, spotting, etc. before you resize your images.
- When using Photoshop, use the Save for Web feature instead of the Save As.. feature to avoid potential errors.
- Click for Using Photoshop's Save for Web
Note that a file name is not the same thing as a Title. File names are given to the actual image file that you create and store on your computer. A Title is something you assign to an image after you upload it to your website. Titles do not have the same restrictions as file names; your Titles can be longer than 25 characters, and you can use symbols. Your website visitors can see your Titles, but they don't see your file names, so don't worry if you don't like the restrictions placed on file names - it is for the computer's use only and you can change it once it's on your website.