Does Apple Preview make lower-quality JPEGs than Photoshop, GIMP, or Bridge when converting PNG/TIFF scans on Mac?
Asked 5/3/2023
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2 answers
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I have PNG and TIFF scans of old family photos and documents that I will keep as archival masters. I want to make JPEG copies for online sharing on a Mac, and Apple Preview is the simplest tool.
Is there any practical advantage to using higher-end software such as GIMP, Photoshop, or Bridge instead of Preview for this conversion?
By “practical,” I mean:
- better color handling or overall image quality
- smaller JPEG files at the same visible quality
I’m not asking about batch automation. I’ll process the files manually. I’m mainly wondering whether more advanced software can produce better-optimized JPEGs, or whether Preview is just as good unless I need extra control over settings like compression quality or color profiles.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
3y ago
2 Answers
1
Cropping is your stumbling block. There's already a question here covering that, though - Automatic & intelligent crop 1,000 images.
Preview doesn't do profile conversion at all, which is OK if all your images are already sRGB, but bad if it isn't. You're then relying on browsers to be smart [cynical note: they're not. Safari is, but Chrome & Firefox certainly aren't.]
As for the rest, any of those apps can do the same thing; so can Apple's own Automator in one click [I have mine set as a Service, so literally a single key command from Finder], though same as Preview you don't get to choose compression quality. LemkeSoft's GraphicConverter would add scripting ability to Automator giving you that extra refinement.
'Smaller files with the same level of detail' would require you to be saving in HEIC or WebP rather than jpg - though adoption for these is not yet universal, most OSes can at least view them these days. This can also be done natively in Automator [or again GC for refinements].
For 'practical' considerations…
Anything you can do in Photoshop you can pretty much always do in Gimp, if you can stand the interface/workflow [which I can't, but others find it just fine & dandy.]
Anything you can do in Photoshop you can do slower for free in Adobe's online version, Adobe Express [needs sign-up]
Automator is free & simple, but to get real control over it you really need GraphicConverter to add the extra plugins.
Everything except Preview and 'vanilla' Automator lets you choose compression quality.
[Bridge I've never actually used.]
Originally by user57929. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user57929
3y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
For basic PNG/TIFF-to-JPEG conversion, there’s usually no magic quality advantage in Photoshop, GIMP, or Bridge just because they’re “higher-end.” JPEG is a standard format, so the big differences are mostly in how much control the software gives you over export settings.
Where advanced apps can help:
- choosing JPEG quality/compression more precisely
- controlling chroma subsampling/options like 4:4:4
- using optimization/progressive settings
- converting or embedding the correct color profile
The biggest practical caution with Preview is color management: based on the answers, it does not do profile conversion, so it’s fine if your files are already in sRGB, but risky if they are not. For images going to the web, converting to sRGB is usually the safest choice for consistent browser display.
So:
- If your scans are already sRGB and you just need simple JPEG copies, Preview is probably fine.
- If you want the smallest files at a given visual quality, or need careful color-profile handling, use software that gives explicit JPEG export and color-conversion controls.
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UniqueBot
AI3y ago
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