Just to be Sure: is this the right way to do Image Prep?

[bcolby99]

I am going to start getting my Images together properly tonight and was re-reading the sticky How To: Image Prep. Is everything still current on how to do it correctly for version 1.5? Just checking before I follow everything from previous versions. Our website is www.baystatetoolsupply.com and I have only set up a few categories to see how things look (no product images yet). If you look under category measuring/inspection, you will see what I have done so far and the images are not uniform in width/height. I have not set up any _med or _lrg files yet. I have 4 vendors and can only retrieve product images from their respective web-sites and product pictures sizes are going to vary. Will I have to edit each image to a uniform size then put into /images and create _med & _lrg image files and put into their respective folders? We will have 5-10K items when done, but about 1K I want to get going with when I figure it out....

Thanks,
Brad

PS - or should I be looking into an add-on (that works) for the image stuff

[kobra]

It is best to standardize on an image size

With 1,000's you might be better off using image handler available in the plugins area
You then need only one image

[bcolby99]

It is best to standardize on an image size

With 1,000's you might be better off using image handler available in the plugins area
You then need only one image

Darn, too many questions for you on this, but standardize image sizes in admin or modify each image file in an editor to all be the same size then upload? Won't that distort?

Was reading up on the image handler (manager?) forum, and it seemed like a lot of problems with it? Maybe easier than the posts I was reading...

Thanks again!

[kobra]

modify each image file in an editor to all be the same size then upload

Yes use an editor

[bcolby99]

Yes use an editor

Ok..will do - thanks again for the insight!

Brad

[bcolby99]

It is best to standardize on an image size

With 1,000's you might be better off using image handler available in the plugins area
You then need only one image

I'm ready to download IH4 but had a quick "STOP" moment. Read all directions, printed and ready to roll. I realize it won't make all images uniform (unless I edit them all) but my question is...does this help that much? I actually have my 1st product up through admin (yay), and it looks ok. But have so many more to go. IH4 is a product for speeding up the site as I add 1000's of more items...but doesn't ZC automatically adjust images to _med & _lrg as I go. Just trying to talk myself out of my first add-on I guess - Thanks again

[RodG]

...does this help that much?

Yes.

Just trying to talk myself out of my first add-on I guess

You've gotta start somewhere. This is one of my 'must have' addons.

Cheers
Rod

[CultureClick]

If this is totally not helpful, I am sorry, but if it helps, well... here is what I do.

My regular sized images are 200 x 300 pixels, the large ones are 400 x 600. I photograph the merchandise or I use a pre-existing photo, for some stuff, and I make the background white. I have Paint Shop Pro, which is inexpensive and does everything I need it to do. There is a function called "canvas size". If I have an image which is the wrong proportions, just give it a huge "canvas size" increase, and then set the crop tool to 400 x 600, click on "maintain aspect ratio", and crop your image - it could be 1200 x 1800 pixels in the original, it doesn't matter as long as you keep your proportions. Then resize to 400 x 600, that's your large image. Then resize that to 200 x 300, that's your regular sized image. It makes life easier.

- large
- regular

Of course you adjust your admin settings for image size.

Yours,

Culture Click the Toddler Zenner

[rstevenson]

I'm ready to download IH4 but had a quick "STOP" moment. Read all directions, printed and ready to roll. I realize it won't make all images uniform (unless I edit them all) but my question is...does this help that much? I actually have my 1st product up through admin (yay), and it looks ok. But have so many more to go. IH4 is a product for speeding up the site as I add 1000's of more items...but doesn't ZC automatically adjust images to _med & _lrg as I go. Just trying to talk myself out of my first add-on I guess - Thanks again

I would definitely install IH. Why? Because Zen Cart does not automatically create smaller images from larger ones. It simply uses the main image for everything, which means, for example, in a product list of dozens of products and therefore dozens of images, your browser has to load all those large images instead of loading properly down-sized thumbnails. This is one of the classic mistakes of new sites.

IH, on the other hand, does create different sized images. It does this on the fly and is very good at it. So you just upload to your site's images folder images which are correctly sized for your large image size, then install IH and follow its setup instructions, and your site will be good to go.

Rob

[bcolby99]

Thanks everyone, really appreciate all the input! It really seems the only way to go for me & other than having to edit all the original images to a standard size, sounds perfect. I'm eventually going to have 1000s of products but probably only have about 300 images or so that I actually have at the time to edit (which is good, I think, as I can then edit as I go). Best sizes for portrait and landscape images? I'm gonna make this happen tonight (that's just a motivational tool to myself;disregard)
Thanks again to all....
Brad