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Why is my image quality reduced?

Axmann8 12 years ago • updated by 张未来 11 years ago • 3
When i try to upload a 2.13 MB image to Imgur, the quality is reduced. Is there a way to have Imgur retain the original image quality? Please explain how to do this, in detail. Thanks.

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Sarah 12 years ago

There are two types of compression for images: lossless and lossy. Lossless compression will reduce the file size without making any visible changes at all. It simply gets rid of unnecessary data that's causing the image to be bigger, but the image will look exactly the same. Lossy compression reduces the size of the image much more than lossless, but it can also change the appearance of the image.

Imgur uses both types of compressions. Every image that goes in is compressed by lossless compression because there's no reason not to. It reduces the size of the images with no downside. Lossy compression is only used when the image is above a certain file size (5MB for pro, 1MB for standard).


So, your image is mostly like experiencing lossy compression and therefore losing a the original quality. You can upgrade to a pro account to avoid this with images up to 5MB. 

Answer
Answered
Sarah 12 years ago

There are two types of compression for images: lossless and lossy. Lossless compression will reduce the file size without making any visible changes at all. It simply gets rid of unnecessary data that's causing the image to be bigger, but the image will look exactly the same. Lossy compression reduces the size of the image much more than lossless, but it can also change the appearance of the image.

Imgur uses both types of compressions. Every image that goes in is compressed by lossless compression because there's no reason not to. It reduces the size of the images with no downside. Lossy compression is only used when the image is above a certain file size (5MB for pro, 1MB for standard).


So, your image is mostly like experiencing lossy compression and therefore losing a the original quality. You can upgrade to a pro account to avoid this with images up to 5MB. 

arron wall 11 years ago
Yup indeed, I agree with Sarah. I think your image had been processed by lossy compression and therefore losing a the original quality. Btw, I am testing about another image compression SDK offered by another Imaging Toolkits--YG these days. Do you have any ideas about it? Or any good suggestion? Thanks in advance.



Best regards,
Arron
张未来 11 years ago
As for the types of image compression, I prefer to lossless compression, like using PNG image. This will not influence the image quality during image compression. That is to say, your image quality will be the same as your orignial image.

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