How to Make Great Looking
Graphics for the WWW

This document contains links to information on setting up our two most popular scanners and converting images to GIF and JPEG formats. Read all these files before you start to work with your images.

When creating small GIF images or thumbnails, we sometimes want to include a higer quality image for our viewers. This is the case many times when GIF images are thumbnails of artwork or photographs.

The process we use consists of three files

The archival image-a scanned image, no larger than 640-pixels wide or 480-pixels high at 300 dpi and 24 bit color. The size of a standard computer screen. Once scanned the image is corrected and saved. Keep your archival image safe, the JPEG and GIF files will be made from this image.
The JPEG image-is made first because it is a higher quality image and we will make the GIF from the JPEG. The JPEG image will be reduced to fit in to the standard Netscape window. A size that fits nicely is no more then 468-pixels wide and 325-pixels high. The dpi gets dropped to 72 dpi (standard computer screen); the color stays at 24 bit (16 million).
The GIF image-gets reduced to a size that is appropriate for its use. 36-pixels high equals a half inch (the size of the UD return button), 72=1 inch, 144=2 inches, 216=3 inches, which would be a good size for portrait layout on your office page. In addition to the size reduction, the 16 million colors are reduced to 256.

  1. Setting up the Scanners
    How to set up the Nikon slide and HP flatbed scanners for Web image scanning.

  2. Tips for Scanning Images
    Tips on scanning for the optimal output to the JPEG and GIF formats.

  3. Photoshop Tips and Techniques
    How to change brightness/contrast, color correction, and Despeckling to remove Moiré patterns.

  4. JPEG and GIF Converting Tutorial
    A quick process for converting files to the JPEG and GIF formats (to be used after reading the preceding files).

The Graphics Technology Cookbook text links
Digital cameras
desktop video
and sound
Web pages Class handouts and
PDF instructions
Images
scanning
and printing
Slides and
presentations
Multimedia
and Authoring
NewMedia
User Web Site