jenniferp
SWF Writers
Posts: 111
Joined: Mar 29, 2012 6:47:30 GMT -8
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Post by jenniferp on Jan 13, 2015 21:20:50 GMT -8
So, my next book is ready to go with an announced release date of February 6. I'm going to be gone the second half of the month.
I tried to put it up for pre-order - but my cover image is "too large." The image is 11.6MB, smaller than the cover of book one. (And a long way from the 20MB limit). I dropped a message to Smashwords tech support.
I tried saving the file to force it to recognize the file size correctly. I tried two different browsers. The file was generated by the same software (in fact, these covers are nearly identical except for color), in the same format. There's no reason for this and it has me tearing my hair out - I'm not going to get a simultaneous release across retailers if I don't get the book uploaded before I leave on the 21st.
Any ideas or am I stuck waiting for Smashwords to bother to get back to me?
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Post by Ted on Jan 14, 2015 0:05:17 GMT -8
Some drawing programs have a compression option when exporting images. You might want to see if increasing compression doesn't decrease quality of final image.
You've probably already checked the DPI of the image. My experience is you don't need more than 100 DPI for digital viewing. 300=600DPI or greater for print output.
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jenniferp
SWF Writers
Posts: 111
Joined: Mar 29, 2012 6:47:30 GMT -8
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Post by jenniferp on Jan 14, 2015 5:39:32 GMT -8
Ted, the image is about 200 bytes SMALLER than the last cover I uploaded. If I mess with the quality there may be a noticeable difference between the two. That's the thing that's driving me nuts.
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serbanvcenache
SWF Writers
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Post by serbanvcenache on Jan 14, 2015 7:29:05 GMT -8
Try converting the PNG into a JPEG.
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jenniferp
SWF Writers
Posts: 111
Joined: Mar 29, 2012 6:47:30 GMT -8
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Post by jenniferp on Jan 14, 2015 7:34:00 GMT -8
Nice thought, Serban, but it is a JPEG.
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serbanvcenache
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Post by serbanvcenache on Jan 14, 2015 9:17:48 GMT -8
Well, I'm at a loss then. I'm currently cooking up new cover images with a friend for my works and the PNG for the 1st is just 4,36 Mb. You sure the resolution is not higher than 1600x2400?
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Post by Ted on Jan 14, 2015 9:25:40 GMT -8
Well, I'm at a loss then. I'm currently cooking up new cover images with a friend for my works and the PNG for the 1st is just 4,36 Mb. You sure the resolution is not higher than 1600x2400? 1600x2400 refers to Dimensions in pixels and not Resolution. |
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jenniferp
SWF Writers
Posts: 111
Joined: Mar 29, 2012 6:47:30 GMT -8
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Post by jenniferp on Jan 14, 2015 9:31:40 GMT -8
The thing that makes it bizarre is the 11.8 cover for Mother worked fine. The max is supposed to be 20. I can't even tell what the Meatgrinder is reading the file size as - which might be helpful.
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serbanvcenache
SWF Writers
Posts: 712
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Post by serbanvcenache on Jan 14, 2015 10:24:09 GMT -8
Well, I'm at a loss then. I'm currently cooking up new cover images with a friend for my works and the PNG for the 1st is just 4,36 Mb. You sure the resolution is not higher than 1600x2400? 1600x2400 refers to Dimensions in pixels and not Resolution. |
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Post by Ted on Jan 14, 2015 11:38:10 GMT -8
I see what techtaget means by Resolution for a Display monitor and that is the industry standard. "...resolution is the number of pixels (individual points of color) contained on a display monitor, expressed in terms of the number of pixels on the horizontal axis and the number on the vertical axis."
But images and monitors are two different things.
All of my drawing/graphic programs use Width and Height for defining the number of pixels for each Vertical and Horizontal dimension of the graphic image, and Resolution is referred to as DPI - how many Dots Per Inch desired for the resolution of the graphic image.
So images being exported, or worked on or whatever, within the graphic programs can have a Width (Horizontal axis) and Depth (Vertical axis) of 1600 by 2400 and a DPI of 80, 100, or any number which will provide the image with the most clarity without making the image so large it takes forever to load on a screen.
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Post by Julie Harris on Jan 14, 2015 12:51:57 GMT -8
Jennifer,
When you say the image is too big, is it the image size or the file size that's the problem?
An image that's 11 mb in file size can either be a wee postcard with an image resolution of 1200dpi OR a poster large enough to cover a wall with a dpi of 72 or under. So file size really doesn't help tell us the image size.
If your image has the same properties ie dimensions/dpi-resolution as the previous cover, rename it something completely different and upload, crossing fingers appropriately.
However, resize the image if its dimensions are over 1600 x 2400.
What graphics program do you use? With some of the free ones it's impossible to tell what dpi an image is.
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Post by Ted on Jan 14, 2015 17:33:50 GMT -8
If Jennifer is using a PC she can right-click on an image file to popup a window which will have - down at the very bottom of the list - Properties.
Click on Properties will open the Properties window which has 3 tabs. Click on the tab titled Details. It will display both dimensions and separate width and height dimensions, horizontal resolution, vertical resolution, and bit depth.
MAC's may have same or similar capabilities.
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