Start a new image with a transparent background. Type your words. Make sure anti-aliasing is "ON" probably to smooth. Use the save for web feature to make the GIF. Transparency will be selected.
The trick is that you have to choose a matte color here. It should be near the color that the text will rest on on the page. If the text will be on a background, choose a color averaging the colors in the bg image.
You will get good results every time.
Dennis
Please let me know if your reply has sorted your problem. I am having the same problem and since trying to get smooth non-jagged edged type onto a webpage, whenever I type now, even with anti-aliasing turned on I get jagged edged type. See my post "jagged edged fonts"
roy, why don’t you try don’t reply yourself…
Roy
Your image is a jpg, and he is seeking transparency, thus a GIF (or PNG, but that is a whole other thread). Your problem will not be related to this situation. (See the suggestion I made in your thread).
why don’t you try don’t reply yourself.
that was supposed to read "don’s reply" not "don’t reply". sorry.
Hello Again All- I have tried using an appropriate matte color when saving my transparent .gif for the web, but the results have been disappointing. For the most part, no improvement at all. Could the size of my type be a factor? I’m using fairly small text, anywhere from 10 to 12 points. Also, are some fonts better suited to transparency than others? I have been experimenting with Verdana, Tahoma, and Arial mostly, but once again, the results are consistently poor. Any more ideas?
Thanks Again… D!
Hello Again- This is perhaps a chance to answer my own question: I just spoke to someone who told me that certain fonts, (Verdana for one), are optimized for screen display, rather than for printing. If you use one of these screen-optimized fonts in a transparent .gif, be sure to TURN OFF anti-ailiasing. The results are quite good, even without a matte! There are slight variations from font to font, type size, serif-vs-non serif, etc, etc., but generally, this appears to be a simple and effective way to put text onto a transparent background while maintainign sharp edges. If anyone out there can supply more information about screen-optimized fonts, please post it. Thanks!
DB~
Dennis
Everyone has his/her own opinion over what sharp consists of. I find that without anti-aliasing, most characters develop jaggies that look horrible. To me. I have had other people tell me that these monstrosities <Grin> are exactly what they are looking for.
If you get something that looks good to you without anti-aliasing, go for it. I hope I wasn’t steering you in the wrong directions by recommending it.
Don- I’ve been steering in the wrong direction most of my life, all on my own, so no need to apologize. I appreciate the input, and I’ll continue to experiment with the font thing. Everyone does perceive things in a different resolution I suppose: One man’s "jaggies" is another man’s "voluptuous."
DB~
