Re: GIF's for Buttons - Why? (Was: Photoshop colors)

>Hello ...
>
>> Oh, If you are saving them as .jpg (really should use gifs for buttons)
>
>Quick question ... why?
>
>TIA!
>


I know there are others on this list who can explain this much better than I
can.  However, it has to do with the way gifs and jpg are compressed in
part.   Lynda Weinman devotes several pages on the subject in her book
<preparing web graphics> as well as in her other books.  ( www.lynda.com )

jpg's are capable of displaying millions of colours (24 bit) and has a
'lossy' compression method...everytime you save it, it loses information.
However, it doesn't dither and is ideal for photographs.  It was developed
for displaying photographs in fact.  (jpeg = joint photographic experts
group)

On the other hand, gif's (gif= graphic interchange format) were developed
specifically for the web (by Compuserve).  They use 256 colours (8 bit) and
has a lossless compression method.  The advantage of gifs is that they can
be made transparent and used in animation.

I hope this helps.  There is a TON more info available online and in many
books....

Keep in mind there WILL be times when you need to save a photo as a .gif and
a normal graphic such as a logo or illustration as a .jpg.  Don't sweat it,
just use the above info as a guideline :-)

Heather

_____________________

Heather Peel
The Net Now
http://thenetnow.com
email:  heather(at)thenetnow.com

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