Converting Bitmap Images to Quality Jpegs

[Sealwarrior]

Hello everyone,

I have once again come out of my dark hole to ask the question that the thread topic poses: Is there a better way to convert bitmap images to JPEG without a significant loss of quality? Also is there a way to enhance the JPEGs I have already converted?

I ask this now because I have a large library of bitmap images that have been languishing in cold storage on my hard drive for months. Converting them to JPEGs will certainly help to free up some space, as these are large files to begin with. However, I was more interested in doing something that is out of my usual comfort zone: Posting them here on this site. In order to be content with doing this, I wish to make them the best quality I can before I venture sharing. I have posted only a few of my screens here on a private album, but the quality of the JPEG conversions I made was so diminished that I was embarrassed to continue forward with it. If anyone has any suggestions whatsoever, I am all ears. Thank you.

Sealwarrior

[Hanaisse]

Photoshop is probably your best bet. When you re-save a bmp to a jpg you get an option to adjust quality.

I also use a program called FastStone Image Viewer that opens bmp's, just save as jpg. Honestly, I don't see any difference in quality.

[eloquate]

If you're only looking to quickly convert from .bmp to .jpg I would use IrfanView.

Photoshop might be overkill if you don't own a license. Good luck!

[greenwarden]

I'll second using an image editor, then you can really fiddle with the settings until you are satisfied with the quality and compression balance. Photoshop is good, but GIMP and Paint.Net are also good. Best of all, GIMP and Paint.net are both free.

[Arthmoor]

+1 for Paint.NET. When saving as jpg, you get a quality slider. Set it to 100% and you're golden.

[Khettienna]

+1 for Paint.NET. When saving as jpg, you get a quality slider. Set it to 100% and you're golden.

Make that +2, that's what I do as well.

[DaMage]

JPEG just means that it doesn't store all the infomation, and that it 'guesses' (very well) what it didn't save.

Often you export in JPEG for a finished image, as once it's in jpeg it get alot hard to change things again with a photomunipulation sfotware.

[Sealwarrior]

Thank you all for the replies! I would have responded sooner, but real life responsibilities have been taking over my life for the past few days.

Using the information that you all have given me, I have been able to make some progress. I have downloaded both GIMP and Paint.NET at this time. and I will be trying to convert some of the images I have. I have posted one image that I just converted to JPEG using MS Paint, and I will post the same image using Paint.Net's feature to see if there is any actual difference. Hopefully, I will be posting back soon.

[Hanaisse]

I'm looking at both the pictures you posted, and Paint.Net is the definite winner of the two.

The MS Paint one looks to be leaving colour artifacts, and doesn't seem as sharp although they are both fine for posting random pics here. We won't complain, honest.

Maybe if you described your definition of "quality" that you are trying to achieve?

[Sealwarrior]

Alright, my test bitmap uploads are done.... One converted with MS Paint, the other with Paint.NET:

I think I can see that the quality of the Paint.NET version is a little sharper in some areas of the capture, but I still would like the opinions of better trained and more experienced eyes.... For all I know I could still be doing something wrong. I have a very bad tendency for perfectionism, and sometimes I figuratively pull my hair out trying to make everything just right. Hopefully, that will be toned down as I gain experience in such things.

I will also keep DaMage's post in mind as well about exporting in Jpeg as a finished image. While I was hoping to make the quality of the shots I uploaded on this site better, it may be a lot more work to get them the way I would like them now that they are already converted. I had used MS Paint at the time, and I was not satisfied with the results that were made. Unfortunately, I seem to have misplaced the original bitmaps for those images, as well as the collection that they were with, for the time being. I am sure I will find them soon, but for now I will focus on converting the ones I have on file. Regardless. from now on I will try and make the Jpeg exports the best quality I can make them before I upload, so thank you for the tip.

I also wanted to thank you all for recommending GIMP, Paint.NET, Ifranview, and Faststone Image Viewer at this time, as having such tools will be a great boon to me in the future. The fact that they are free and have active communities is also a nice bit of information to know. My knowledge of such things is limited, and I am very grateful for the recommendations.

Sealwarrior

[Sealwarrior]

Oh wow..... I am such a slow poster...

Thank you for your input Hana, it is much appreciated. The quality I am trying to achieve is optimal sharpness with minimal artifact corruption, just as you said. If there is anything else I should know about screenshot quality, I am all ears.