Compression similar to Winsoft Photo Rar?

[Jane Anderson]

Paint.net is really good at getting photos and graphics ready for the web where smaller file size is preferred.  And it does a very good job at compression yet still having clear results.  I tried copying from Microsoft Word into Paint.net, then paste into new image, then saved.  Good results, then I tried PhotoRar to see if it could do even better with the result, and it could.  I am aiming for 50 to 80k in file size, smaller is useful too.

 

Winsoft closed up shop, the PhotoRar version I have is 11 years old.  I haven't found another program that can equal it.  So, would it be possible to incorporate the compression (and neat sliders) into Paint.net?  That would truly be a one stop  tool for the web.

Thanks

[HyReZ]

Having small image files may be a great thing, but at what cost or better yet at what loss?
You don't mention what is the original file size, you only mention your goal of 50 to 80k.
Many image compression technologies will become lossy at compression ratios higher than 8:1.

Edited March 13, 2022 by HyReZ

[BoltBait]

Paint.NET does not remove metadata (EXIF data) from images.  You might want to investigate a tool to remove metadata from images when preparing them for the web.

[HyReZ]

I work with images ~100MB and usually save my single image files to PNG or TIFF.
My JPEG files are mainly for importing to the web.

Paint.NET allows for you to adjust compression factors to JPEG files before saving with its Save Configuration Settings

I have attached an illustration of what I did will using the configuration to get a compression ratio of ~24:1
(That is going from a file size of 95.4 MB down to 400.1 KB)
http://apmauldin.com/Image_Storage/2022-03-13_PDN.jpg

Edited March 14, 2022 by HyReZ

[HyReZ]

9 hours ago, BoltBait said:

Paint.NET does not remove metadata (EXIF data) from images.  You might want to investigate a tool to remove metadata from images when preparing them for the web.

I use this freeware for editing EXIF metadata from my photo that I transmit to the web:
Download Logipole softwares (Konvertor, Metadata++
(The freeware was updated at the beginning of the month and I use it on copies of my photo files that I am transmitting and not on the orginals!)
On Wikipedia Metadata++ has every green light checked when compared to other EXIF metadata viewer/editors
Comparison of digital image metadata editors - Wikipedia

Edited March 13, 2022 by HyReZ

[Rick Brewster]

Generally any sort of comprehensive compression optimization is best handled by a separate program. Usually that type of optimization is CPU-intensive and can take quite awhile even for small images -- and can take minutes on medium-size images. Paint.NET needs to keep its save/compression options such that they are useful for rapid iterations on the image (that is, don't take too long to save so that the user can get back to the image).

 

And @BoltBait is right about the image metadata. Some images come with a heavy amount of metadata, and removing it can save a good amount of space. It totally depends on what you're working with, however.

 

I use a program called PNGGauntlet for squashing down PNGs to be as small as possible. There are likely similar programs (it's based on something called pngout), and maybe for other file types as well.

[Jane Anderson]

Thanks for the tips guys, these suggestions have given some ideas to try.  Like entering the text directly into PaintNet, saving a master copy of the result as png then convert to jpg later.  Excellent suggestion, didn't know Png could do this.  Will definitely download PngGauntlet.  Did try Metadata but black interface is not so good for me to see.

I opened a jpg photo in PaintNet, added a name and saved as Png file size 493k.  Opened into PhotoRar and it suggested 18k which was still very good.  I turned the compression down to 7% and it gave 72k.  

Then I got the idea to open the photo/with/name I had saved in Paint.Net as png and told it to save as jpg.  Then saving with  default clicked, the result was very good and only a 20k difference from PhotoRar.

I especially like the fact that PaintNet shows the results while choosing a compression, and also shows the file size while using the slider.  Well done. I think I am going to being using PaintNet a LOT.

The only suggestion I have to make it better, when typing in a name on a photo, capital letters like "A" and "S" are quite a bit stairsteppy.  It is noticeable only on extreme zooming in higher than 200% so isn't really an issue.  However I did check the same letters in Word and they were very smooth.  So I tried copy and paste to PaintNet and it wasn't as clear as word.  Tried anti-alias and the smooth/sharp, it's ok.

Other than this, I am really glad I discovered this terrific  program.  And with users stwpping up to help makes it even better.

Thanks again Everyone!

[HyReZ]

1 hour ago, Jane Anderson said:

Did try Metadata but black interface is not so good for me to see.

You can go to settings in Mettadata++ and uncheck Dark Mode

The only suggestion I have to make it better, when typing in a name on a photo, capital letters like "A" and "S" are quite a bit stairsteppy.  It is noticeable only on extreme zooming in higher than 200% so isn't really an issue.

This jaggy effect is inherent in all bitmapped raster file types and is called 'Pixelation'. It is especially prominent in smaller images that are magnified. I work with larger images and have to reduce the image size when displaying on the web.

However I did check the same letters in Word and they were very smooth.

Windows use TTF (TrueType Fonts) and or OTF (OpenType Fonts). I think they are vectorized fonts using XML that scale up without causing pixelation until the fonts are converted to bitmaps when saved as an image file in software, such as Paint.NET.

 

 

Edited March 14, 2022 by HyReZ