Using compression

The most common file format used for photographs and pixel artwork is JPEG. When you save a JPEG file you have to make a decision on the amount of compression to apply. If you plan on printing 11"x17" or larger size prints, we recommend setting the compression quality setting to the equivalent of 9 or 10 (on a scale from 1-12, with 12 being no compression) as used in Adobe® Photoshop®.

Our experience and research have proven that setting compression quality higher than 10 does not provide for any increase in quality while generating significantly larger files. And while compression quality setting of lower than 9 is commonly used by many users, our evidence shows that depending on the subject, particularly large prints made from those files may show artifacts. Of course, if you never plan on printing anything larger than 11"x17", then you can use compression quality setting of 8 with excellent results.