Hi Res image formats for cover images

[#1]

Currently the cover wizard only supports PNG, JPG, and GIF formats. These are low resolution formats that do not present well when expanded to larger book size covers.

Higher resolution images like DIB would provide a much better cover image and better book presentation.

Why wouldn't we want the very first thing people see of a book (yes, some do judge by the cover) to be the very best quality from an image color and clarity perspective?

I suggest the wizard be upgraded to support higher resolution image formats.

[#2]

The format under which an image is saved does not limit its resolution. Yes, JPG and GIF are bad ideas for uploading your covers for different reasons — GIF is limited to a 256 color palette, and JPG is a lossy algorithm, which can blur or "noisify" certain regions if used with the incorrect settings. However, PNG is a perfect format for distributing small or large images, low or high resolution. You could be better off if you could send a vectorized image (i.e. a SVG-like format). However, an SVG is not formally an image, but the instructions on how to draw it.

[#3]

There is nothing at all wrong with jpgs. I get excellent results with them. Just set them on the lowest compression. I have never seen this "blur or "noisify" certain regions ", just what incorrect settings causes that?

What you are suggesting gwolf is well out of date. However, you are right about resolutions.

[#4]

Hi TPop, thanks for the suggestion. As stated below, you can absolutely get a high resolution cover with the formats we provide, but providing additional format support is absolutely a good idea and one we can consider for the future. Thanks for using Lulu!