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BEST PRACTICES & STRATEGIES
Choosing the
right image
formats for
marketing emails
Pictures speak louder than words. In any case, they Conclusion: The GIF format is recommended for sim-
draw attention and are an important element to activate ple graphics, such as logos. Transparent GIFs are par-
users in email marketing. No wonder though that imag- ticularly suitable for placement on changing back-
es are a fundamental part of designed HTML mailings in ground images, for example, a header that changes in
email marketing. each issue of a newsletter. Animated GIFs are an alter-
native to video mails, but not yet supported by many
Good that there are various file formats to choose from, clients. However, since GIF compresses lossless com-
which are all more or less suitable for email marketing: pression, the file size has to be taken into consideration
JPEG, GIF, EPS, BMP, PNG, PSD, etc. - the list of file in any case.
formats for graphics could go on and on. The formats
vary in file size, compression, and among others in their PNG (Portable Network Graphics)
representation through the popular email clients.
There are two types of PNG formats that are both com-
The most common formats for HTML mailings in email pressed lossless: PNG-8 and PNG-24. While PNG-8
marketing are JPG, GIF and PNG, which is why I want only allows 256 colors, PNG-24 can present several
to explain them a bit more in detail in this following arti- million colors.
cle (or you can immediately check out the nice info- PNG allows transparent surfaces as well, but can’t be
graphic of WhoIsHostingThis? for a clearer picture, too)
animated. Some older browsers (e.g. up to Internet Ex-
JPEG (Joint Photographics Experts Group) plorer version 6) cannot display PNG correctly.
The name JPEG (file extension usually JPG) describes Conclusion: PNG-24 is particularly suitable for images
various types of image compression. Among them are with a lot of colors that have artifacts in JPG format. As
as well lossless methods, but usually compression PNG is lossless compression, image files are larger
methods are used where there is deterioration in quality than JPG. This can lead to delays in the presentation -
compared to the original file. In popular image editing
software (e.g. Photoshop) the degree of compression, especially if the email contains multiple images.
hence, the file size, can be determined. The more an
image is compressed, the greater the loss of quality.
These are shown in the so-called artefacts, various
forms of image distortions such as blurring or blocking
artifacts. Most visible, however, are artifacts in images
with sharp edges, e.g. in texts. Therefore, a major ad-
vantage of the JPEG format is the high color depth, as
JPEG images can display up to 16 million colors.
Conclusion: The JPEG format is suitable especially for
images with many colors, such as photos. Users can
expect that pictures in email are loading without any
delay. Especially for users with slower internet connec-
tions (especially mobile users) highly compressible file
formats, such as JPEG, are therefore suitable. For im-
ages that have many sharp edges, especially images
with a lot of text, a different file format should be select-
ed, as it possibly fits better.
GIF (Graphics Interchange Format)
GIF is a lossless compressed format, but can only dis-
play a maximum of 256 colors. Besides colors, GIFs
can contain transparent surfaces as well, which means
that GIFs can be placed, for example, in front of other
graphics without the edges of the GIFs being visible
Furthermore, GIFs can be animated.
16 Asian eMarketing November 2014 - Cross-, Multi-, Omni-Channel & Everywhere Commerce
Choosing the
right image
formats for
marketing emails
Pictures speak louder than words. In any case, they Conclusion: The GIF format is recommended for sim-
draw attention and are an important element to activate ple graphics, such as logos. Transparent GIFs are par-
users in email marketing. No wonder though that imag- ticularly suitable for placement on changing back-
es are a fundamental part of designed HTML mailings in ground images, for example, a header that changes in
email marketing. each issue of a newsletter. Animated GIFs are an alter-
native to video mails, but not yet supported by many
Good that there are various file formats to choose from, clients. However, since GIF compresses lossless com-
which are all more or less suitable for email marketing: pression, the file size has to be taken into consideration
JPEG, GIF, EPS, BMP, PNG, PSD, etc. - the list of file in any case.
formats for graphics could go on and on. The formats
vary in file size, compression, and among others in their PNG (Portable Network Graphics)
representation through the popular email clients.
There are two types of PNG formats that are both com-
The most common formats for HTML mailings in email pressed lossless: PNG-8 and PNG-24. While PNG-8
marketing are JPG, GIF and PNG, which is why I want only allows 256 colors, PNG-24 can present several
to explain them a bit more in detail in this following arti- million colors.
cle (or you can immediately check out the nice info- PNG allows transparent surfaces as well, but can’t be
graphic of WhoIsHostingThis? for a clearer picture, too)
animated. Some older browsers (e.g. up to Internet Ex-
JPEG (Joint Photographics Experts Group) plorer version 6) cannot display PNG correctly.
The name JPEG (file extension usually JPG) describes Conclusion: PNG-24 is particularly suitable for images
various types of image compression. Among them are with a lot of colors that have artifacts in JPG format. As
as well lossless methods, but usually compression PNG is lossless compression, image files are larger
methods are used where there is deterioration in quality than JPG. This can lead to delays in the presentation -
compared to the original file. In popular image editing
software (e.g. Photoshop) the degree of compression, especially if the email contains multiple images.
hence, the file size, can be determined. The more an
image is compressed, the greater the loss of quality.
These are shown in the so-called artefacts, various
forms of image distortions such as blurring or blocking
artifacts. Most visible, however, are artifacts in images
with sharp edges, e.g. in texts. Therefore, a major ad-
vantage of the JPEG format is the high color depth, as
JPEG images can display up to 16 million colors.
Conclusion: The JPEG format is suitable especially for
images with many colors, such as photos. Users can
expect that pictures in email are loading without any
delay. Especially for users with slower internet connec-
tions (especially mobile users) highly compressible file
formats, such as JPEG, are therefore suitable. For im-
ages that have many sharp edges, especially images
with a lot of text, a different file format should be select-
ed, as it possibly fits better.
GIF (Graphics Interchange Format)
GIF is a lossless compressed format, but can only dis-
play a maximum of 256 colors. Besides colors, GIFs
can contain transparent surfaces as well, which means
that GIFs can be placed, for example, in front of other
graphics without the edges of the GIFs being visible
Furthermore, GIFs can be animated.
16 Asian eMarketing November 2014 - Cross-, Multi-, Omni-Channel & Everywhere Commerce
