Sending quality images via email

The Question: Sending quality images via email: We have started to email our press releases rather than send them through postal mail. However, the photos are not being transmitted as high quality. We scan the photo in at 96dpi. I then open it in Photoshop and select Image > Image Size I change the resolution to 300dpi and Save it to Web. I will also adjust the size to 3.0 width before I save it but I do nothing else in this Save to Web window. I open the file again to make sure it is 300dpi -which it says it is. The photo is then attached to an email. However, we have found out that when these attachments are opened by their recipients in Netscape, or saved and opened in Photoshop they appear as only 72 resolution? We need help!!! Thanks Sensotec Marketing

Our reply to a question sent in by: Andrea Guinther
 

Wow. There's so much here, and so much missing I really don't know where to begin.
      First of all, scanning at 96 dpi is intentionally starting out with a low resolution image. Changing the resolution to 300 then makes the image about 33% of the original size. When you save using the "Save to Web" feature and then size to 3 inches, you further mung the pixels in the image.
      Save for Web is the wrong command to use here, and I suspect you probably shouldn't be 'attaching' images to press releases. If you were to actually succeed in getting the high resolution image to the editors as an attachment, you'll have some unhappy editors. (Believe me, I know. I get dozens of press releases. Those with large high-rez images attached are considered nearly the next thing to spam.) Save for Web intentionally samples your image to a very compact package.
      What you would rather do is first establish a target size for the actual finished photograph. Everything else should be built around that plan. So, let's begin by assuming you have an 8 x 10 photo print and you scan it full size at 240 dpi. The resulting photo will be about as high resolution as you need. Unfortunately it will also be about 7 megabytes -- far too large to send as an attachment.
      Say for instance you want the recipient to get good results printing the image at a 4 x 5 or smaller finished size, you can now retouch, sharpen or perform other necessary editing and then raster the image to the final size.
* Select: Image > Image Size.
Now set the size. Click 'constrain proportions' leave it at 'Bicubic' (takes longer but does the best job) and keep the ppi set at 240. The resulting file is the one you want your editors to use.
      Here's where I would depart from the procedure you're currently using. I would save the file first as a dot-psd file, keeping it as a native Photoshop file. Then I would save it as a tif file, and keep the quality setting at the very highest. This is the one for print editors. (Use: "Save As...") Next I would re-open the psd file and this time prepare it for email delivery.
      Return to the Image > Image Size dialog, and place the resolution to 72 ppi. Now you can use your "Save for Web" setting and adjust the controls for a medium quality, for a fast transmission.
      Now when you send the press release, embed the JPG file for viewing, but be sure to include a link to the high-resolution file which you've loaded into a directory on your web site. You're showing the editor what the product looks like while inviting the download of a high-quality version. It's the best of both worlds, and makes for happier editors.

Sidebar tip:

If you have numerous images to produce this way make an action to take the steps for you. If you get the first image exactly like you want it, you can leave that file open in the background. Then when you open the next image to process you open the Image > Image Size dialog and select the original image from the "Window" menu. This automatically enters those specifications for the new file's sizing.
 
Have fun!
 

Retrieved from Photoshop 911: 10/01/2002

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