I've lost count of the times where I've come across a website that takes an age to load up, only to discover the reason being the webmaster hasn't optimised (or maybe not knowing how to) their images.

Most major paint packages like Photoshop and Fireworks do provide users with this option, but in some cases don't quite provide an advanced level of control. One piece of software, which I have used extensively in manipulating graphics for websites is Xat.com's image optimiser.

What does it do?

The image optimiser is a program that provides the ability to further compress/optimise web graphics (GIF, jpg and png formats), thus making the files smaller and therefore improving how fast they are downloaded and displayed in your browser.

Installing the program is easy, and with clearly laid out menus and understandable help files (including an online tutorial) it's fairly straightforward to get to grips with all its features.

How does it work?

The software provides two main modes of operation:

* FULL Image Compression

This will compress your images by a specified amount. With jpg images, you have a scroll bar from 0 (small file) -> 100 (large file). The default setting is 70%, which usually provides a good compression without any major loss of image quality.

When you open an image it shows the original and the optimised (preview) version. By experimenting with the ratio of compression it's possible to gain further savings in file size. As you apply more compression, at the top of the preview you will see the % compression that has been applied and the file size. The more you slide the scroll bar towards 0% the more blocky your image will appear, due to the inherent nature of the jpg compression algorithm.

If this happens, then simply move the scroll bar back to a higher percentage point where you can see that the manipulated version still looks good in comparison to the original.


* SECTION Image Compression

A more advanced method providing you with more control. A little tool palette allows you to select regions of the image you wish to apply more (or less!) compression to. The tools are:

* Freehand selection - this allows you to paint the parts of the image you wish to compress further, giving you fine detail and Maximum control. You can essentially paint around an object like a person in a photograph, making the background more compressed and applying minimal compression to the person’s features, thus attaining higher levels of compression. Savings are great in those types of photos where the object is in focus, but the surrounding areas are already blurry.

* Line selection and Rectangle selection.

Depending on the type of photograph, the amount you can reduce the image file without any noticeable degradation in quality will vary. But when your website has hundreds of images, and bandwidth is at a premium, then the time taken to save even 10-20% can pay off.

Another great idea with the optimised (preview) option is that you can preview the image as different types (GIF, Jpg or PNG) and thus determine which format can offer you the best compression. With GIF images, which have up to 256 colours, you can achieve a smaller file size by reducing the number of colours.

More Options

Other handy features of the software are provided in the form of:

* Digital watermarking - as part of your image you can embed a watermark. You need to register with Digimarc.com to get a creator's id though. My brother uses watermarking on many of his images, some of which have taken 20+ hours to create (for instance, full detailed models of Engines etc...).

* Batch compress – another favourite feature. Click on the open button, use your shift keys to select all the files you want to compress, select the compression quality and hit ok. In a jiffy the program will have optimised all your images.

* Digital camera and scanner interface. Import images from these types of devices. Other options allow you to crop and resize your images. Another handy feature is a little email button, which when pressed loads up your email program and attaches the current image to a new message.

The Verdict

While Xat's features are fairly basic, this is to its advantage. It does what it's supposed to do very efficiently. The only negative aspects are that the buttons might not appear that intuitive to begin with (e.g. the 'compress more', 'compress even more' buttons) and for most people, paint packages these days do most of what Xat’s image optimiser can handle. You could even use NetMechanic.com’s free online image optimisation tools.

Costing $40, the standard version is an ideal tool, which I highly recommend for webmasters who spend a lot of time creating and manipulating images, and who care a great deal for streamlining their sites to enable pages to load as quickly as possible. It achieves this through Section Optimising by providing a greater level of self-control. Remember, visitors are only 1 click away from leaving your site, and a slow loading page is just another reason that person might click on out of there. In many cases, every byte counts.

Xat also offer a professional version including options such as advanced batch processing, thumbnail creations and colour corrections, but at $100 this seems to be a bit too expensive.




Recommended: Yes