Save for Web/save for monitor

[mbalensiefer]

I am experienced with PS and am now experimenting with Fireworks.
 I've always saved my files into TIFF or jpg (PS size 9) to manage multiple edits.
 Does anyone here export for Web using FW; and thus have a "magic number" that seems to work best for image quality-vs-(.jpg)-file size?
 Also, regarding a post on a similar thread; should I save a copy of the profile (RGB) into each image?

Thank you!
Mike

[john beardsworth]

What are you using Fireworks to do? Remember its intended role isn't photo processing - it's for creating web graphics like buttons or complex rollovers with associated scripts and HTML. If you are slicing up a photo to use it in such ways, there might be a point to using it, but not if you're using it as an alternative to Save for Web.

Yes, save the profile. At least then there's a chance that others with colour managed systems and using colour managed browsers will see pictures approximately like you see them. But don't forget that even if you do save the profile there are visitors with non-colour managed systems and non colour managed browsers, and it's pot luck whether they'll get similar colour to what you'd expect.

John

[Tim Lookingbill]

If you're wanting to quickly process images out of Bridge (since you have Photoshop) for upload online, I'ld highly recommend using "Image Processor..." under Bridge's Tool menu>Photoshop>"Image Processor...".

It offers a one dialog box entry for downsizing in pixels and jpeg quality level as well as converting/embedding to sRGB without going into individual dialog boxes in Photoshop. Also it retains the image's EXIF data like copyright, camera and Adobe Camera Raw settings while "Save For Web" strips both sRGB profile and EXIF data.

It acts like a Photoshop Action Script but from within Bridge. Really handy and very fast especially on a lot of images. I do this on all my Raw files and process each when needed. I never save full rez duplicates in Tiff or jpeg.

[Ed Foster, Jr.]

Also it retains the image's EXIF data like copyright, camera and Adobe Camera Raw settings while "Save For Web" strips both sRGB profile and EXIF data.

If you check "Embed Color Profile" and "Convert to sRGB" and choose "All" in the "Metadata" drop down, Save For Web in PS will retain the sRGB profile and include EXIF and IPTC data.

Ed

[Tim Lookingbill]

I'm using CS3 so SFW doesn't have a drop down menu for Metadata>All. At least I couldn't find it. And you're right about it retaining the embedded sRGB profile. I mistaken it for regular Save As... which for some reason strips the sRGB profile when I upload the image into my online gallery. It doesn't happen saving with SFW.

Also in SFW there's an image size panel giving similar options as in "Image Size...", so there's another open/close dialog box taken out of the process.

But you still have to create and run a script to do it in batches. I still think "Image Processor..." tool runs faster and is a lot more convenient IMO.

[mbalensiefer]

Yes, save the profile. At least then there's a chance that others with colour managed systems and using colour managed browsers will see pictures approximately like you see them. But don't forget that even if you do save the profile there are visitors with non-colour managed systems and non colour managed browsers, and it's pot luck whether they'll get similar colour to what you'd expect.

 Hello. If I strip the profile out of an RGB-profiled image, then won't most browsers still assume RGB?

[john beardsworth]

If you strip the profile, don't all and not "most" browsers assume sRGB? I think so. But if you do strip the profile, you won't be showing your pictures at their best to the proportion of visitors who do happen to have colour managed systems and colour managed browsers.

[mbalensiefer]

Yes. But even stripped, in a color-managed system, the profile would still be RGB, wouldn't it? Still giving the onscreen image the same look?

[Tim Lookingbill]

A stripped sRGB profile will show the colors through the color gamut of the display. Some displays are sRGB-ish and some are AdobeRGB-ish (wide gamut). I say it this way because there is no display on the planet that exactly matches these color spaces because they are synthetic mathematical constructs.

A physical display's 3D gamut model shape is never the exact same shape as the two synthetic spaces. What this means with regards to color appearance in non-color managed browsers and images without embedded profiles is that there may be some hue/saturation distortion where maybe skin tones may appear slightly magenta or green, over saturated reds, etc.

[milt]

If you strip the profile, don't all and not "most" browsers assume sRGB? I think so. But if you do strip the profile, you won't be showing your pictures at their best to the proportion of visitors who do happen to have colour managed systems and colour managed browsers.

No.  Safari takes lack of profile to mean "no management", i.e. assume the file is coded in the current monitor profile!  (Not completely sure about the the very latest version of Safari.)

--Milt--