Optimum Size for Viewing, Sending and Printing jpgs

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J

JD

Friends send us batches of photos in .jpg format and they are often VERY big
files.
Most we just enjoy viewing on the screen, but we sometimes want to send them
as attachments to other people or to print them, usually in 4 X 6 size.
I know that Windows has a way to cut them down to smaller sizes, and I
wonder if there is an optimum size recommendation--expressed either as
inches or as "kb."
 
Image Resizing



A. To decrease the size of the file for e-mail, web publishing etc.



Go to this site and download the free Image Resizer. Exe file in one of your
folder.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/downloads/powertoys.asp

Once in your folder, double click on it to install it.

Once installed, you right click on a photo file (or on a group of selected
photo files).

Click on Resize image on the opening menu.

A window will open, select the size you want.

New files will be added in your folder, same name as original file but with
the word (small) added.



The first time you use it, you may not see Resize image on the opening menu
after you right click on the file or if you see it, it may not work. If so,
do the following:

Click on Run, click on Start and type the following in the textbox:

REGSVR32 SHIMGVW.DLL

and press the Enter key.

Note that there is a space between ...32 and SHI.



Also, you can download a free batch converter from here to resize pictures
and edit photos:

http://irfanview.com/
 
I run HP Home, not Pro. Can I still use the image resizer?
More to the point, and assuming I used the batch converter, I still wonder
about optimum size--for viewing, sending, and printing: say 100 kb?
 
Yes. It works on XP home and pro.
If you select 640 x 480 you get a file size around 50kb.
This is fine for viewing on your screen, not very good for printing, but you
can get a 6 x 4 out of it.
I prefer image resizer because you can select multiple files in a folder,
right click, click on resize, select the size and the resized files are
automatically added in your folder.
If the intent is printing, I would simply experiment with one file, resizing
it using each size available on the menu, and then print each resized file.
You would then be able to judge what is "good enough" for you.
If you use irfanview, resizing is not a batch option for this particular
function. You need to resize each file. You need to open the file, go to
Image and then resize. Select the size you want and then Save as and then
add something like resized to the file name. You also have to make sure
about the file type when Save as, irfanview may default to jp2 instead of
jpg, so you have to change this. The advantage is a better quality resizing
for printing, but you pay a price. The 640 x 480 file size will be around
250 kb.
 
Thank you for your very thoughtful and detailed advice. I will, indeed,
"experiment" with different sizes for different purposes.
 
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