what's sizzlin'?

sizzlepig blog - latest news, updates, goings on, etc.

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Draft and Final Images

Right next to the process button, you may have noticed a little toggle switch that allows you to choose between the two modes for images processing on sizzlepig: Draft and Final

You can move between modes by sliding the switch up or down.

In Draft Mode (default):

Image outputs are watermarked.

Image outputs don’t count against your sizzlepig plan’s image allowance.

In Final Mode:

Image outputs are not watermarked.

Image outputs count against your image allowance.

When using cloud storage, any draft images in your selected output folder will be replaced with final images, without watermarks.  

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sizzlepig:

Latest image size requirements from Alibaba, Amazon, eBay, Newegg, Rakuten and Sears.

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Sell More: Retail Product Photos  for Marketplaces & Storefronts

How does a piece of $1.92 trillion sound?  That’s the amount predicted by Statista for Global retail sales in 2016.  How can you play stronger?  

Product photos.

eBay states that their sellers with better product photo quality can increase sales on their site by 5%.  

Imagine if you can increase sales by 5% in eBay, and in Amazon, and in Sears and every marketplace....

Tips 

First impressions count.

Make the main product image the absolute best it can be.  If you have to prioritize your time and investment, this needs to be #1.

Only use high quality photos - they give off the impression of high quality products. The reverse holds true - low quality photo =  the impression of poor quality products.  

Invest in a photographer - this is their speciality.

Test your images on a mobile device - make sure they look crisp.

Sizes matter.

Pay attention to the width and height requirements - never submit anything lower than the requirements.  

Weight is the opposite, never submit anything higher than the limit.

Let them explore.

Show off every angle possible.

Provide detail shots.   

Give the largest files allowed so that the ‘zoom’ features can be used.  

It’s all about the Product.

Emphasize the product and nothing else - make the product at least 85% of the entire photo. 

White background.  

No text.  No borders.   

Make them all at once.

Create a template in sizzlepig™ with the specs and requirements for each marketplace.  

Create a new project using your new marketplace template and create & customize all final images for each storefront in one go.

Note:  Use Box, Dropbox or Drive as your input / output folders.  Any new products added to that folder will be monitored and your saved settings will automatically be applied.

More marketplace specs and details:

Alibaba 

Amazon

eBay

Newegg

Rakuten

Sears

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Top Image Trends

Infographic: Shutterstock's 2015 Creative Trends

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How much does it cost to reach 1,000 people?

Would you rather pay $32.00 or $.25 to reach 1,000 people?

(prices in above chart by moz.com, Brian Carter)

Most likely, it's $0.25 cents.

All social media channels have ads and paid spots (or will), and, depending on audience and goals, they all can help drive results.

Facebook just has the biggest bang (and we mean BIG bang) for your buck right now.  1.2 billion active users (monthly), incredible data (as in everything but the kitchen sink kind of data) and crazy results make Facebook ads a must. 

According to Brian Carter on moz.com,

“Facebook Ads are the biggest marketing opportunity ever."

They can reach as many people or more people as radio or TV, and in whatever country.

The minimum spend is just $1 per day.

"In other words, Facebook ads are mega-awareness raising, have good targeting, require very little commitment, and are unbelievably affordable."

What about organic reach you ask? The fact is organic reach is projected to bottom out.  They are projected to work at 0% in the near future.  Zero percent.  

Social@Ogilvy recently reported

“…organic reach dropped from 16 percent of followers of brand pages in 2012 to 6 percent in February 2014.”

 “…is on it’s way to hitting 0% “…”

For information on Facebook's rationale for paid vs. organic, read Facebook's Brian Boland blog.

So...bottom line, start making some ads.  

Consider in your planning the three main elements that can make them incredibly successful:

The Target (who will see)

The Creative (what they will see)

The Call to Action Buttons (what you want them to do)

We're going to cover off in more detail each of these areas in upcoming posts - for now we've included a Facebook document with the current ad placements and specs.   

Remember as you plan to make the creative relevant, as custom as possible, to each of your targets.  One of the many benefits of digital marketing is the ability to serve different assets and versions (tens, hundreds, even thousands).  You can't do that in TV, or print or radio.

Some of our Clients have used sizzlepig to save lots of time and make more Facebook ads than they originally planned.  They inspired us to make some blueprints with the sizes built in...check out our video on how to make lots of images for Facebook ads fast using our new templates. 

  (click on the chart below for this spreadsheet available on Google Drive)

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So what’s the difference between sizzlepig and css/js resizing, sprites, admin cropping, etc?  There are a lot of free tools, why is this such a big deal?

Short answer - there are a lot of big differences and some are more important than others depending on the needs.  

Steps were removed from the old process of resizing and the process (and the results) are faster, higher quality and easier - creating higher quality work and efficiencies.  And…you SEE your work BEFORE it processes, and, it processes very fast.  

Other big differences:

Batch to Batch sizing

Unlimited images to unlimited resizes.

Set up a blueprint for all of your resizes in one place, with different compressions for each size.

Set your crop and scale by size and then fine-tune resized images, in real time.

Change the compression of all images in a series with one step.

Add a new size to a set of images and will automatically process, name and save to Dropbox, Drive, Box.

Folder Monitoring for Retouches, New or Replacement Images.

Every setting and adjustment is saved and the folder is constantly monitored to look for new images or edits to originals.  All settings are applied to new or replaced images and placed back in the folder.

Visual Control

Completely visual tool - not action-script based.

Can see your edits in real-time.

Designers can now create different aspect ratios for a set of thumbnails without having to do a ton of extra work.

Multi-screen Output

Outputs for retina display and standard in one step.

Ubiquitous Integration

Cloud, Enterprise servers, media libraries, DAMs, etc. Accessible from anywhere, easy to share with large group of people out of office network, available on any device.

File Management

Can change the name of all processed files with one click.

Quickly audit images/names/edits/version.

There are different use cases for different needs - shoot us a line if you have questions and we’ll be happy to talk about if sizzlepig would benefit you and your team.  We can say that our customers are giving some pretty stellar feedback and saving a ton of time - letting them do the work they actually enjoy (which isn’t resizing images).

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down and dirty pixel conversion

We have had a lot of requests for DPI, Inches, and other such tools within sizzlepig. So, just to back up a bit, we originally launched sizzlepig targeted more to the digital side of things, and we were keeping drop downs, menu items etc. to a minimum. That being said, we of course may add these items in the future. If you would like these as features within sizzlepig let us know - the squeaky wheel gets the grease!

In the meantime, I'd like to share with you a few simple ways to get what you need out if sizzlepig without needing new features added. Here's a few ways to do it:

Photoshop File>New

Simply creating a new file in Photoshop is basically a PPI and pixel calculator. (I won't get into DPI, PPI. LPI and all of that, in fact I'm not even sure if it matters that much - most people mean PPI when they say DPI anyway). In this example, I'll use the standard 5x7 inches @ 300 PPI as an example. So here goes:

Open Photoshop

Select File>New

Make sure inches is selected for Width and Height in their respective drop down menus.

For width, type in 5

For height, type in 7

For PPI, type in 300

Now, for the magic calculation, drum roll please:

Change one of the drop downs, say width,  to pixels. Say what? It shows the amount of pixels! (Note: If height didn't automatically change to pixels, change that drop down to pixels).

Now you have the pixels you need to type into sizzlepig width and height field. Ta Da! Your file is the correct size. You don't even need to save the file, just put those numbers in sizzlepig or jot them down somewhere and hit cancel in Photoshop to close the new file window.

For existing files, just go to Image>Image Size and, if it is defaulted to inches, just change the dropdown to pixels.

Another super secret way is to click on the text in the lower left area of Photoshop, where it says Doc: xxM/xxM Just click on the words, not the right arrow: older versions of Photoshop you have to hold down option I think (Mac).

Art Directors Toolkit

So, this utility has been around forever. And it's still extremely helpful. It's 20 bux from code line, not too bad:

http://www.code-line.com/software/artdirectorstoolkit/

It has a width and height in inches (and everything else) and DPI dropdown. Directly underneath them reads out the pixel amounts. There you have it.

Other links:

If you want to find out more about DPI, check out this simple article:

http://www.focus97.com/blog/photography/dpi-dots-per-inch-explained-how-much-do-i-need-and-what-is-it-anyway/

But really, this is all you need to know. Remember, DPI doesn't even matter for website and device images. it's all pixels, baby.

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Fine Artist, video and hey Thanks!

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Award Winning Fine Artist Creates How To Video for Digital Photography Image Resizing with sizzlepig

Thank you Jeff Gaydash for taking the time to make this great "How To" video with sizzlepig, Box and your fine art.  Jeff published on YouTube yesterday.  

He uses the tool to resize images for his web gallery.  We couldn't help but check out his art, take a look for yourself it is breathtaking and soulful.  

We are flattered that he took the time make this video.  He's a busy guy. His series, A Threatened Legacy:  Epilogue, was recently awarded the Silver Award in the 2013 PX3 Prix de la Photographie Paris in the Professional Fine Art Category for Architecture. His work was competing with thousands of photography entries from over 85 countries.  (Could you imagine what scripts could do to his pieces?  Ugh, gasp, sigh!) 

He's also known as a pioneer in printing technologies and uses the Piezography printing system, producing the finest black and white digital prints available.  You go Jeff! 

I bet he didn't even know yesterday was our one year birthday! More on that later but thank-you again for such a thoughtful gift.

We love to see all the different ways our sizzlepig friends use the service. We created to tool to make life better for anyone dealing with images.

How do you use the tool to make your life better?  

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'Tis the season, are your images ready for m-commerce?

It's that time of year where every major, minor and middle retailer is scrambling to secure their share of the Holiday e-commerce pie.  

eMarketer projects Nov and Dec online sales to hit $61.8 billion.   16% of this billion dollar spend is expected to come from activity on our smaller digital screens. 

mCommerce sales are expected to grow by 67%.

tablet Commerce sales are expected to grow by 89%.

Smartphone and tablet use is only going to grow.

“Tablets are particularly significant for m-commerce sales...growth in tablet-based online sales should top 87 percent."   (eMarketer)

InternetRetailer.com's Bill Sawicki published a report and stated "It’s fair to say that in 2014, the predominant way consumers will spend time with e-retail is via mobile."  

And an article by Chuck Jones, a contributor on Forbes.com, posted his findings, "MCommerce is on a Tear" showing the climb.

So, what to do?  Don't hang your head in defeat if you think you aren't ready, take a deep breathe and then get moving.   

Concentrate on what you have right now and finesse elements to work harder.  Improve what you can over the next 3 weeks.

Focus on areas where you can make an impact and product photos make a significant difference.

The 2013 Holiday E-Commerce Preparedness Checklist, published by Practical E-Commerce, suggests a series of questions to help you focus. 

Specific to product images:

Is the image clear and in focus?

Is the product properly lit?

Does the photo show current packaging?

Would the image make you want to buy the product?

If you have to answer “no” to some of these questions, consider updating product images before the Christmas shopping season.

Images need to work on every screen, in every size, for all required resolutions and for horizontal and vertical displays.  When a tablet or a smart phone is tilted, the image size needs to adjust as does the image crop and focal point.

Resizing images for the perfect crop and scale for each size can be a time consuming task. That is why we created sizzlepig, to take the chore work out of image resizing, and let Designers have full control of their images. However, even with sizzlepig, not everyone can fit image production into their resource pool and timeline, especially during the holiday retail rush.  

We've extended our offerings to help Brands and retailers get up to speed fast with our Image Production Service. The same team that built sizzlepig for themselves will happily get your images ready for Holiday sales.  Our team will optimize all of your images, in all of your sizes and for all digital screens.  

Images are one part of the solution, a solid digital communication strategy is imperative.  Take the time in 2014 to plan a holistic digital marketing communication plan to succeed in all e-commerce and be prepared for the next Holiday with a solid mCommerce experience.

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Digital Marketing just got a little easier.

We all strive to be more effective in digital marketing.  We look at people, process and product to see what can be done to increase the profit.

Digital production teams are responsible for making content and / or experiences in less time, to function and display on more screens, with more variables, for more placements and with little to no waste.  Those that pay people want them to be happy and stay with the company. 

Teams have to now plan beyond one execution and figure out why and how each piece can be sliced, diced and recycled to be used in as many places as possible, inside and outside of their own organization. These teams have to be faster, better, and smarter and have to have the right tools and the right environments to be able to prepare, share and support the efforts of all.  

sizzlepig has removed steps in the digital image production process, saving customers time and money. We at Grit made the tool to help our own digital production work.  We understand first hand the challenges with digital marketing.

Box has provided a robust cloud environment for safe collaboration, content storage and workflow management and is also saving customers time and money.  Box understand that people and content are what makes their business successful.

sizzlepig joined Box in September and together provide the tool set for teams to process, optimize, share and repurpose their images and photos. Now, the people doing the work can take steps out of their process, share easier and faster with their own colleagues, partners, agencies, groups and with 3rd parties.  The company is able to increase production throughput while gaining efficiencies, and ultimately increase their profit.

Create all needed images for all placements and sizes - email, landing pages, social, web, apps and more to reduce redundant work.  

It's easy to try out, let us know if you miss all the steps that are gone.

Set up your files and invite your team.  Don't forget your tags.  

    We like to have a final approved folder and a production folder with the processed images.  You can set it up however it works best for you.

    No more guesswork and long waits.  

  Go check out your Box folders....it's all there.

And of course, if you have any questions on how Box and sizzlepig can help your team, we'd love to chat.

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No Dropbox Required - Direct upload now available

We realize that many people who would use sizzlepig™  do not have access to Dropbox, and not everyone is an Enterprise user who can work with an API or a custom installation.

To make it easier for everyone to save time resizing images, we recently released the ability to upload images to sizzlepig™ directly from your desktop.  

You can upload multiple images, create multiple resizes of those images, and download the images in a zip folder that you can save anywhere.

There is still an advantage to Dropbox and the Enterprise installations, in that you can replace images that have been retouched and retain any fine-tunes you made to the original images, but if this isn't an option for you, direct upload is still saving users up to 78% of their image resizing time.

Find out how much time you could save resizing images with our new image resizing calculator.

Try out image resizing with sizzlepig™ with 100 free resizes through March 1, and unlimited draft resizes.  

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Create retina resizes on sizzlepig

We are happy to announce that the sizzlepig has come out of beta with some brand new features that will help you batch resize images for your digital projects even more quickly than before.

Duplicate your resize as a @2x image

Retina displays are increasingly common.  It is important to show your images to their best advantage.  Now you can use the blueprint settings to create a retina version of each of your resizes.

Any image size that you mark in your blueprint with "Create a 2x image" will automatically create each image as both the standard and the @2x version.  

standard image:

@2x version

Crop, Scale, and Fit Within Changes

We've added some additional features that allow you to set how your images will be cropped. These features are located within the blueprint.  The first dropdown lets you choose from 3 types of cropping: ‘scale’ (default), ‘crop’, or ‘fit within.’

'Scale' will scale down the image so the entire image fills the specified dimensions. It will cut off any remaining image automatically.

'Crop' will leave the image at its original(100%) size. This is particularly helpful when cutting off just a bit of an image, or if you know you are zooming in really close on a particular detail of an image.

'Fit within' will fit the entire image within the specified dimensions. The height or width of the final image may be smaller than the blueprint image size. This is a common method for many blogs, particularly Wordpress. The great thing about using sizzlepig is that it will allow you to adjust this if you’d like.

The second dropdown contains a 9-square grid that will allow you to choose what area of the image you would like to show up. Click on one of the areas of the grid. It is most useful when using the ‘crop’ selection. 

Choose from:

top left

top center

top right

center left

center (default)

center right 

bottom left

bottom center

bottom right

NOTE: These are not available when ‘fit within’ is selected, since the entire image will fit within the specified dimensions.

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sizzlepig™ for the Enterprise

When we created sizzlepig™  for our own internal needs, we didn’t dream that in the first months users from over 99 countries would visit the site.  We knew it solved our challenges, and we now know it's not just us.  We’ve had lots of inquiries and questions around how sizzlepig™ can be used at an Enterprise level for Global offices.  We thought we’d try to address a few below.

Why Dropbox?  Only Dropbox?  

Enterprise solutions do not require the use of Dropbox.  We started out with Dropbox integration to get the ball rolling and to share files with our Clients.   sizzlepig™ is a cloud tool.  Images come in through 'input' folders and are retrieved through 'output' folders.  We know that many Clients have security needs and contracts that require other file share methods outside of Dropbox.  sizzlepig™ itself fits in the middle of the file input and the file output.  How a file is fed to sizzlepig™ is actually not as relevant.  

Ideally, the folders with the assets, regardless of where they pulled from, should have the ability to be monitored to track any updates.  One major benefit of sizzlepig™ is the re-touch component - where a folder is constantly monitored and any new images or edits to existing images are automatically processed with the saved crops, compressions, etc.  

Some Clients like to use “hot folders” that are fed through a VPN.  Some Clients would like integration with their Digital Asset Management (DAM) system, such as Xinet, or their CMS tools, such as Adobe CQ5.  

Only web and responsive?  Can I use for all my production?

We know that Agencies and in-house teams need to align operational elements as much as possible to gain efficiencies.  Brands need to be represented in an optimized and consistent manner, regardless of delivery channel. Shared assets and shared production practices by aligning as many operational elements as possible is now a necessity.  Images for web, mobile / tablet (responsive), apps, direct mail, email, social media, direct mail, online media, print, and more need to be repurposed and we are working on enhancements to offer this type of true produciton bliss.  sizzlepig™ is now able to support all digital asset needs and is being extended to other production areas.

How much does it cost for an Enterprise?

Well, what are your needs?  Here’s a simple general answer:  the use by many on a team, regarless of location, producing tens of thousands of image outputs, the investment may be a fraction of one FTE per year.  The savings could range from 65-85% in fee.  Those allocated hours could be applied to do more work.  To think strategically.  To focus on creative.  For image edits, savings extend into 85-95%.  

We can do a quick analysis on potential time and cost savings by understanding how you would use this tool and how it would tie into your workflow.  Please reach out to us. Enterprise packages start at $500 / month.  Factors such as input and output integration, customized requests such as administrative components and image hosting needs can play a role.  

So, what’s next?

We are adding many new features to sizzlepig™ to support our Clients’ requests.  They want to not only show innovation, they need to prove value each and every day.

If you have any specific requests on how sizzlepig™ could benefit your team or process, please reach out.  We are prioritizing all requests to best meet the needs of our Enterprise users.  We will be posting more as we continue to add features to create true value to those who strive to represent each pixel as it was intended.  

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Art Direct Your Responsive Images

Lots of mobile-first responsive sites are using scripts and services that blindly scale each image to the dimensions needed for each breakpoint. These blind-sizing tools can be effective given the right set of circumstances, such as consistent focal points in the images and image sizes with a matching aspect ratio. They are relatively easy to implement in a website, however they have some drawbacks when it comes to the final design and effectiveness of the images, proving the need for art direction in responsive image handling.

 Jason Grigbsy introduced the art direction use case for responsive images in his post: A framework for discussing responsive image solutions, identifying the need for creative control of individual images as a prevalent challenge in responsive design.

Grigbsy provides an example of how scaling of images can detract from the overall impact as the image gets smaller. Automatic cropping of images also can have a detrimental effect. Take a look at the images pulled from an online newspaper. The cropping works well if the image is perfectly centered and matches the aspect ratio, but when the focal point is off a bit, you can see the result. 

In the full size image, you have a shot of the volleyball and the name of the gym.  

It isn’t until you actually scale the site down to tablet and iPhone size that you see the full action of the image, better conveying the story.  

Image is Copyright © The Berkeley Beacon 2012 

When to use Art Directed Images in Responsive Design:

Effective web design considers the use of images as important as the copy. A solid design optimizes the images to best convey the desired message to the users. Art direction of responsive images in the content becomes necessary to effective design when:

1. Site design requires different aspect ratios at different responsive breakpoints.

2. Images have variations in focal points.

3. Images have variations in subject/composition (like in news sites, where one story may have a close up of a dog and the next a wide angle image of a crowd)

4. Site design requires @2x images for retina displays.

5. When the original images are different ratios in size.

6.  When the focal point of an image gets too small to be meaningful.

7.  When a particular part of an image makes more sense to be highlighted.

How sizzlepig helps with the art-direction use case:

The sizzlepig team members are (obviously) huge fans of art-directed images. There are a lot of ways to create art-directed resizes, but with the ability to control the final output of each image, with out running a script that can produce the same blind-sized results, sizzlepig definitely has an advantage over other image resizing programs.

What sizzlepig doesn’t do is place your art directed images in your website. There are a number of services and a lot of code that can help you effectively implement images for responsive design, whether you are using art directed images as part of your design or just scaling.  

Quick sizzlepig tip: Try out different crops. It is so simple to change an image crop that it is easy to see if changing a focal point of an image generates more interest, or works better with the design.

How to implement responsive images:

Check out the following resources when deciding which implementation solution will work best for you:

http://css-tricks.com/which-responsive-images-solution-should-you-use/

http://blogs.adobe.com/webplatform/2012/09/19/responsive-images-for-html5/

http://www.w3.org/community/respimg

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What others are saying...

As we open the Beta site, we are really fortunate that some very busy people have taken the time to try out sizzlepig and post their thoughts.

We made sizzlepig to solve our own pains with image resizing.  

We really appreciate the time and effort from people like Amit Agarwal (@labnol), Jack Bremer (@jack_bremer), Marc Köhlbrugge (@marckohlbrugge), Matt Weckell (@thewallbreakers) and others.

See some of their posting below and please keep sharing your thoughts.  

Resize Multiple Images Without Any Software  (labnol.org, India)

Sizzlepig:  Awesome Image Resizer (thewallbreakers, NY)

SizzlePig: ridimensionare immagini in serie, image editing e fotoritocco via DropBox (maestroalberto, Italy)

User Guide 3:  Sizzlepig (whatsmac.tistory, Korea)

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Love the Feedback

sizzlepig been in the private beta for a few weeks now. We are happy to say that we have people using the site and resizing images from around the world. 49 different countries, plus 19 visitors from the lovely land of “not set” – which according to the map feature in the Google Analytics live stream is somewhere off the west coast of Africa.

Some of the feedback we’ve received was immediately put into use in the form of Private Dropbox Folders and the sample project. Some feedback has been incorporated into things we are planning for the near future, including multiple requests from around the world for advanced cropping and scaling features.

Other feedback has lead to in depth discussions of how others see sizzlepig fitting into their business, and how we can help support that.

The beginning of a new friendship

Jack Bremer from 3B Digital in London liked the idea of sizzlepig but hadn’t yet tried it out, he wasn’t sure if it would be complicated, and had set it aside to look at later.

Lucky for all of us, twitter served its purpose.   @jackbremer favorited an @sizzlepig tweet, @sizzlepig sent him a DM and a new connection was made. 

Within 48 hours of that initial connection, we were discussing the possibilities of API integration, and Jack was trying out sizzlepig on his own.  

sizzlepig was no longer an idea to him, but “brilliant for image processing”. He liked enough that he scheduled a call with us to discuss his feedback and made a screencast that is essentially an image sizing tutorial, showing all of the features and benefits of batch resizing using sizzlepig, and posted it on YouTube.

Same tool, different potential uses.

As a company, Grit Design has been focusing on how the designers and developers of websites can use sizzlepig to quickly output resizes of multiple images to multiple sizes, saving time in their workflow.

 Our discussion with Jack from 3B Digital gave us a different point of view – how the designers and developers can use sizzlepig to directly benefit their clients.

 Jack saw potential benefits in using sizzlepig to enhance the client’s content management experience by providing a simple, controlled workflow to input images and output the perfect resizes for their sites.

This feedback in turn leads to new possibilities for future interface and integration plans.

 Your feedback leads to new possibilities for the future

Dropbox integration was the first step for inputs and outputs. Simple and easy, no coding, just connect and go.

But Dropbox doesn’t work for everyone as a long-term storage solution. APIs and services through Content Delivery Networks would allow users to directly connect to their own image directories without the need to copy and paste files.

Talking with Jack Bremer and others have led to more detailed considerations for building these integrations.  Including considering different end users, for example, the clients instead of the creative team.

 As we’ve mentioned, we love to get feedback from users. We also love to hear why people haven’t tried sizzlepig yet. Please take a few minutes and drop us a note letting us know what you think, and if you have any questions we’ll be happy to talk or chat!

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New features in sizzlepig

We just launched our first set of functionality upgrades to sizzlepig based on feedback from our beta testers - the ability to use only a Private Dropbox folder (vs. Full Access to your Dropbox) and the ability to play with a sample project right from the start.

Private Dropbox Folder Option

With the private Dropbox folder option, sizzlepig creates a new Folder (Apps/sizzlepig) in your Dropbox. 

Select the Private Folder option when linking your account to your Dropbox, and add your image folders into Apps/sizzlepig on Dropbox to get started. 

Using the private folder controls which content sizzlepig can see. The advantage is that you control which of your folders that sizzlepig can see.  The disadvantage is that you cannot directly share folders from Apps/sizzlepig to other Dropbox users.   (For more information on how to share visit the FAQs) 

If you have already set up with the Full Access Dropbox and wish to switch, simply remove sizzlepig from your application settings on Dropbox.com.  Log into sizzlepig.com and reconnect to Dropbox from your projects page.  

Sample Project

Not everyone has a folder of images sitting on their Dropbox just waiting for a tool like sizzlepig to come around.  

We want everyone to get a chance to experience the joy of image resizing with sizzlepig, so we created a sample project for you.  With this sample project you can get a good idea of how sizzlepig saves your workflow for repetitive use to create multiple image sizes, crops, and resolutions all at once.

Click on the sample project and let the images load into your dropbox.  From there you can try out the blueprint - change image sizes and compressions and add in a few new images sizes while you are at it.  Make sure you try out the ability to fine tune images and make changes to cropping and scaling. 

Once you have processed the sample images, make sure you try out one of our favorite sizzlepig capabilities - handling retouched images.  Go ahead and edit one of the sample images and drop it back into the sample folder (keep the image name the same).  Any edits to scale and crop that you had made to the original image are retained for the new image.  No rework!