Hi,

I don't know how many comic writers use PNG as their image format. I have found an open-source program called PNGCrush that recompresses PNG images without loss. The gain in size can be up to 60% depending on the program that generated the PNG (avg of 25% for The Gimp).

It could be interesting to set up PNGCrush on the server here so that when someone uploads a PNG it goes through this program, thus saving a bit of disk space on the Duck?

--Zig

Yeah I recently read a Digg about it... there is another one too, although I forget the name.

Could be cool to do that. Dunno if/when though... It would be nice at least in the meantime to setup a tools/downloads page to recommend stuff to creators.

I personally wish that not so many comic authors used PNG files. A JPG can serve you just fine if you set the compression high enough, and it's still much smaller in filesize than a PNG.

But this PNG compressor sounds pretty cool. Maybe if people could shrink the size of their PNGs they wouldn't be such a nuisance.

I agree... people don't understand what PNGs are for or how to use them
That's why a PNG crusher would be really useful!

How about writing a post about differences between JPG/PNG? Personally I have been told that JPEG is for photo, and PNG for simple gfx... My comics are made of simple graphics, so I use PNG :-). (Plus, PNG is an open, non-patent encumbered standard). But I'd love to read more about this and maybe change my ways...

That's about right. Some more basic info here.
PNG has superior facilities to GIF for colours and transparency through the use of Alpha chanels, so it's great for video work and animation.

Jpeg is always better for images that are more complicated (not just photos). PNG and GIF are better for simpler pics (limited colour). But YOU pretty much know that. The trouble comes from kids who use it for pics that they should be using Jpeg on.