I am making a simple banner ad in paint shop pro. What format should this be saved as......Jpeg? Jif ? PNP ? or Bitmap ? What format are bannar ads ?
Here is a with a bunch of different sizes for banner ads. http://www.iab.net/standards/adunits.asp As for the format, it would really depend on the image. Saving the same image as GIF and as JPG can produce different file sizes. Save each one and look at the file size and quality of the image. Then pick the best one. JPG is better for images that have lots of colors, like from cameras. GIF is better for images with less colors. But like I said, just save the image in both formats and look for yourself. You will see the difference in quality and in file size. You should be able to select the better one once you see them.
For your original, I'd probably suggest a bitmap (.bmp), as I don't believe it's a lossy format (gif might not be either, but I'm not positive). To publish to the web, typically .gif or .jpg, and as Slapyo said, you're best to try each. What I've found is that images using just a few solid colors (for example a white background with solid color text and a simple hand-drawn image), a .gif often works best. Something more complex usually works better as a .jpg. Also keep in mind that if you want an animated banner, such as a banner that flashes or otherwise changes, I don't believe a .jpg will work, and you'll probably have to use the .gif format (although that was a few years ago, it may have changed).
gif is "lossy" as it's limited to 256 colours. However, some good results can still be attained on low to medium colour images and the file sizes are small (unless it's an animated banner). It's best to make a template ad as a .psd if you have photoshop, otherwise .tif. .psd is great because it can handle layers. If you don't have photoshop you can still use .psd with gimp (www.gimp.org). For high colours, compare .png and .jpg versions of your banner. Once nice benefit of .png is that, like .gif, it can handle transparency and, unlike .gif, it's a high-colour format.
You would need to use GIF for animation ... or you could use Flash to create something. JPG doesn't support animation.
While working and after finish work save it as a tiff. Best format for keeping files without any loss in quality. If your banner have more gray fields try gif. Also for animated banners gif is must. For lots of colors use jpeg but not more than 60% compresion.
If you have photos of people or lots of effects such as shadows, glow etc., go in for jpg. If you have plain colors (without much effects applied to them) and illustrations instead of photos, go in for gif. Either ways, when you choose to save your pic. go to File, Export as and choose gif. You will see an immediate preview of how your banner is going to look like. If you see spoiled colors, choose export as jpg and see how it looks there. Keep comparing and you will know what to choose.
.gif format mainly used for special purpose. If you want to save a logo or an image without background (Transperant background) use .gif format. You can eliminate background by disabling the eye icon of background layer. This is not possible with jpeg format. Transparent background images/logos/icons/buttons can be directly used on any backgrounds. For bannesr you can chose any format.
for internet use, go for gif - mainly due to size considerations... however, if your banner has photograph like features, go for jpeg...
Well it depends on the image too. Use which is lower in size. Generally smaller ads are better in GIF format