PNG vs GIF....Formatting issues for databases ;-)

[Deaf Action Committee]

SignWriting List
November 30, 2003

Dear SW List Members!
I decided to open this information to the SW List, since I know the PNG
format is now becoming popular. Someone suggested to me that I should
be using PNG instead of GIF, for the small symbols and signs that are
stored in SignBank and SymbolBank...The goal is to get the smallest
size file possible, because we "embed" the symbols into the database,
which means that the larger the file, the bigger and fatter the
database becomes...so of course, ...if... I could get a PNG to be a
smaller file than a GIF, that would be a great idea...

Unfortunately, no matter what I do, PNGs are always larger on my
computer...A programmer was kind enough to send me information on a web
page, where I could download a PNG PlugIn for Photoshop...so I did
that. You might want to download it, since it is free:

SuperPNG Download
for Mac and Windows
http://www.fnordware.com/

But even saving at the smallest choice, when using SuperPNG in
Photoshop, my GIFs are still smaller than PNG...Take a look at the
attached GIF (smile), in which I captured the information on the exact
same sign..the sign for ABBREVIATE was saved as a GIF and a PNG...you
can see that the GIF is  4 KB, while the PNG is 44 KB....

So why is PNG smaller for other people, but not for me? ...smile...Just
curious...Val ;-)



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