I am using Microsoft Outlook 2007 and I observe that it degrades the image quality of inserted picture.

During insertion of picture it shows the best 100% quality and it stays until we don’t sent the mail. Once we send the mail and check sent item, the sent mail shows degraded image quality. It reduces the overall picture quality and we can find color pixel disturbance.

 

Moreover, it is like if we take any screenshot and save it as PNG format it looks in the best quality same as the picture was and if we take screenshot and save it as JPEG format it degrades the image quality. Similarly during mail composition the image looks in a best quality like PNG format and after sending it looks like JPEG format.

 

Why there is such difference in actual composition and sending?

Hi Hasmukh,

Outlook 2007 and Office 2007 automatically reduce image compression to enable smaller emails / documents. The below link will take you to the office 2007 website which details the compress and how to change the default values.

Full article

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/help/HA101922001033.aspx

Key Section for your problem.

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/help/HA101922001033.aspx#6

Thanks

Wayne

• Proposed as answer by Wayne Harrington Wednesday, May 05, 2010 6:23 AM
• Marked as answer by Hasmukh Ghatala Friday, May 21, 2010 10:11 AM

Description of the problem:

Many times I need to insert in an email a screenshot of some other random application, and I want the receiver to get it exactly as I see it on the screen.

However, the pictures get degraded by Outlooks default configuration.

Pictures are JPG recompressed, downsampled, and as a result, they lose resolution and clarity to the point you cannot read the fine details anymore.

JPG is not a good format for screenshots because is introducing pixel artifacts. It is a lossy compression that changes pixels in the vicinity of edges.  JPG should only be used for pictures taken with a camera.

Screenshots taken from a CAD tool, or any images that are electronically generated, are not looking good when they are JPEG compressed.

Rather, the PNG format will do a much better job and in a smaller file size.

So I would like to suggest Outlook developers to re-examine how pictures are handled when composing an email.

The original idea of reducing the email file size is good, but the implementation can be done better.

This problem happens even when the original is a PNG and is displayed on a screen.  PNG should not be recompressed with JPG, it should be left as PNG.

PNG is a very popular format and I think all email clients can handle it.

What I would like to see done:

What I want is to have the default of Outlook configured to not damage pictures that are pasted into an email.

To get there, pictures taken with a screenshot, and then pasted from the clipboard should be handled based on the original material in that screen.  If unsure or cannot be determined, use PNG, or ask the user.

If they original screen comes from a GIF, TIFF, PNG, BMP or compressed-BMP file, these are all non-lossy and should be handled in PNG format.

Therefore, if the picture being pasted in the email (shown in plain, not attached), comes from the clipboard, it should follow these rules:

• If it is a screenshot of a JPG picture, continue using JPG, while maintaining the original JPG resolution in and compression, even when the screenshot is of a smaller area of that picture.
• If it is a screenshot coming from a  CAD tool, or any other Windows window, use PNG
• If unsure, use PNG, or ask the user

The resolution should be based on the size (zoom level) the user chooses for the picture. For a larger picture, use more pixels, such that you maintain the number of pixels per inch.

Currently, this cannot be configured in Outlook.

More about JPG, GIF and PNG:

http://info.eps.surrey.ac.uk/FAQ/standards.html

Would appreciate if other have feedback on this issue or a reply from MS J

Looks like that link is dead and won't work for 2010 anyway

Here's an archived version for posterity:

https://web.archive.org/web/20090216062154/http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/help/HA101922001033.aspx

The article, titled "Reduce the file size of a picture" has been moved to this address:

https://support.office.com/en-NZ/Article/Reduce-the-file-size-of-a-picture-5ad8ca3d-f251-4d96-a9ae-3e7ee374c91e

• Edited by KyleMit 15 hours 50 minutes ago found better link