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Why does WP reduce the quality of my header img?

  1. sdrane
    Member

    Andy: I am sure you may have taken care of this, but I'd still like to clarify something about the 75% quality setting. As far as I know, there is no quantitative concensus about what 75% really means. In fact, 75% on Paint Shop Pro equals 25% on the IJG scale, so I would just like to verify which software you are using to determine the quality.

    Since equinox's 60K (lossless compressed) file went to 15K (lossy compressed), I would assume that you are using something similar to 75% on the IJG scale. Also, if possible, JPEG2000 will probably be better than JPEG at reducing the bit rate with a more graceful degradation in picture quality.

  2. veltis
    Member

    I have to say I can understand equinox's frustration--tweaking pixels in Illustrator and finding them all, well, pixellated after upload, is very annoying. I found some magic upload trick that improved the quality slightly, but I don't remember what it was--perhaps I used jpg instead of gif.

    I'd also like to put in a vote for a no-crop, use the original image option...

  3. timethief
    Member

    Yeah, I've been, I've seen and I sympathize.

  4. equinoxstudios
    Member

    timethief, i've tried different file types and it's the same result all the time.

    and i have been doing other things, but i would really like to have the header unedited

  5. britishbullblog
    Member

    @equinoxstudios

    What image editing software are you using to create the header?

  6. equinoxstudios
    Member

    Xara Xtreme (vector)

  7. equinoxstudios
    Member

    Any news on this issue?

  8. equinoxstudios
    Member

    I just saw the announcement about the custom header improvement.

    Still doesn't work for me.

  9. podz
    Member

    equinoxstudio - could you send the file(s) to support@wordpress.com?
    We can then see just what and how this is happening so our advice can be specific.

  10. timethief
    Member

    @podz
    There's a second thread on this same topic here http://wordpress.com/forums/topic.php?id=3884&replies=8

  11. equinoxstudios
    Member

    file sent as requested

  12. endlessodyssey
    Member

    Super-annoying. But hey, it's a free service so you can't really complain, can you? I still liked it a lot better when my header was crisp & clean, though... Well, well, whatever.

  13. wsilva
    Member

    Sorry for bumping this, but the image uploader is making a mess out of any attempt to have a decent vector-styled header by bleeding and boxing everywhere. I expect the images to be slightly compressed, but right now this is silly and makes it look very amateurish.

  14. ebonyivory
    Member

    I'm bumping this topic too, as I'm having this issue as well.

    I've reduced my image size and uploaded, only to find that even at 50kb, the final WP image is still even more horrid in quality than the 50kb.

    I've used PNGs, JPGs, and GIFs, and ALL of them lose quality once I upload, crop, and save.

    After some research, I've come to realize that this is a WP issue, so I went ahead and used my original PNG file and uploaded, figuring if it was going to take a percentage off either way, might as well take it off the best image?

    I can definitely understand complaints about enormous image files, but maybe you can ask people to limit headers to 100kb or something instead of using percents? Because even at 50kb, I STILL lost quality because it's still taking a percentage off and it's super frustrating.

    I'm using the exact same theme on my newest blog and it's sad to see its sister blog looking all decked out while it's looking like... well... errr... yeah. ^^;;;

  15. risenphoenix
    Member

    http://wordpress.com/blog/2006/09/09/custom-header-improvements/

  16. ebonyivory
    Member

    Thanks for the link and yeah, I saw it, but I'm still having issues. I think I'll resort to filing a question with support. :)

  17. timethief
    Member

    @ebonyivory
    Do you have another blog that is not linked to your username? The one that is linked to it "Dusk" does not allow for a cutomized header as far as I know or has that changed?

  18. ebonyivory
    Member

    @timethief:

    Yeah I do. I'm sorry, I guess I should have linked or at least mentioned which layout I'm using. :)

    I'm using Neat! on the two following blogs:

    http://gekidasa.wordpress.com

    and the newest one with the same layout like gekidasa is:

    http://xiangyata.wordpress.com/

    On gekidasa, the header is fine because I created that journal several months ago. It's xiangyata that has the header problems because it was created yesterday and has the new header rule/restriction. ^^;

    Thanks a bunch!

  19. eiliky
    Member

    Hello there... i have the same problem with the custom header, i`ve tried using both jpeg and png24 and the upload tool converts the files to lower quality jpegs. Check my blog and give me some advice please!

  20. tyfns
    Member

    After seeing the poor image quality of my header *after* the alleged improvements to the the "custom image header", I shudder to think what it was like before.

    Can someone peek at my header and tell me if this is the best that can be expected?

  21. wsilva
    Member

    Well, in your case you can simply use text. Half the style goes flying from the window, but at least it's better than have the bastard offspring of the "JPEG IS A BITCH" image.

  22. tyfns
    Member

    You're right - I could use text (and it looks as though I'll have to), but this blog needs to share a visual style with the branded website, and using whatever font the user happens to have installed on their computer doesn't really work.

    I'd just gotten my hopes up after reading about the "new and improved" custom image software.

  23. equinoxstudios
    Member

    Seeing as I started this thread, I have to make an appearance :) Apparently this is becoming a hot issue once more, and I hope the WP staff will get around to _really_ fixing it this time.

    Some acceptable solutions would be:
    - Make a cap on the allowed file size for the uploaded file, making the user responsible for the end result;
    - If a file is bigger than the size cap, then have WP resize it;
    or,
    - Have an option for off-site headers (suggested before, might be harder to do, but it would be a *very* nice option).

    Having WP auto-resize is simply not working out for a lot of people (maybe not a lot ;)) who need higher quality headers, myself included.

  24. eiliky
    Member

    I agree with equinox... it`ll be a great ideea to upload my header somewhere else

  25. wsilva
    Member

    Same here, but perhaps would be too much of a stretch to adopt. I'd be just as happy with allowing PNG or GIF images with a matching size as long as they are under 50 or 75kbs, for instance.

  26. eiliky
    Member

    well i just want my header look how is supposed to look... it`s not that hard to save it as a jpeg with ~ 15 - 25kb!

  27. timethief
    Member

    This is just a reminder in case someone forgot. I assume you have all sent in feedback requests and are now waiting staff to get back to you, right?

  28. snobkels
    Member

    I have having the same problem. I dont understand why it is making it such bad quality. Whats the status on this?

  29. drmike
    Member

    Um, have you read the thread?

    There is no status. Most folks are using header images that are too large.

  30. snobkels
    Member

    No I used photoshop and made it the exact size they want.
    But it still make me resize it and then the quality is horrible.

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