Image resizing and compression programs
A-review-of-two-free-image-resizing-and-compression-programs
By ImageGenie Staff
This article will focus on freeware image resizing and compression programs.
I have used Irfanview for over 5 years and spent a good bit of time working with PIXresizer during the development work for ImageGenie.net. They are both excellent programs and both have earned their residency status on my hard drive. For the purpose of image resizing both are amazingly fast. They each ripped through a directory with 10 picture files, 16.9 MB, resized and copied the new images to a different folder in less than 10 seconds.
I saw no difference in the quality of the images they produced. What little difference there was in file size is meaningless in the real world.
Irfanview is what I would call a full featured image viewer, manipulator and management program. It offers a viewer with "on the fly" temporary resizing while viewing. It has a slideshow option for selected files or an auto show feature for an entire directory. I find that feature useful when I am viewing some poorly organized clip art collections that I own or for finding a lost image. Since I have other image management and resizing software on my computer I had not really used the resizing and compression features in Irfanview until I started this research.
Even though I have three other commercial image programs on my computer Irfanview is always my program of choice for viewing or moving files around.
When it comes to reducing the pixel count or compressing an image it offers compression from 0-99% and dimension changing on a percentage basis to keep the aspect ratio the same.
The set up section for the resizing and compression is slightly more complicated than PIXresizer.
I am sure it has many other features that I have not yet discovered.
Get it for free here www.irfanview.com/ Home
PIXresizer comes with a standard windows type interface and help file organization. It uses the standard windows type folder tabs to shift between the two modes of operation.
It can resize one picture at a time or an entire directory at once. If you choose to save the new images to a different directory the names will remain the same. If you save them in the same directory it keeps the filename and adds _pixels x pixels (600x400). The option to save in the same directory is only available if you are doing one image at a time. Either way your original file remains unchanged.
When working with one file at a time is offers a simple point and click interface for picture size selections. Custom options are also available is an equally simple to select manner. It offer quick and easy image rotation and there is even a print button.
For JPG photos it offers the option of compressing them from 0-99%. That is the only function that is even moderately hidden. You have to click on the hidden hyperlink in section three.
Working with multiple files is just as easy. Just keep in mind that it will process all the files in a given directory so it is best to move a copy of the files you want to process to a separate directory before processing.
The program author states (quote) PIXresizer was written with ease-of-use and novice computer users in mind. People that want to stay miles away from Photoshop and don't want to know about terms like "Baseline mode", "BitsPerPixel" and "Lossless Transformations". (/quote)
Both of these are excellent programs. You may wish to download and install them both as I have done. If hard drive space is limited, all you want to do is resize some photos or you fit the author's description above PIXresizer is the more logical choice. Based on the programs easy learning curve, ease of use for a dedicated purpose I would have to rate it 5 stars.
Get it for free here: www.bluefive.pair.com/
This article submitted March 10, 2006
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