Question: how do i make my logo look the most crisp and publish it to the web? I've seen many people who i'm guessing use flash to create some of the crispest images I've ever seen online. It seems as if no matter what format I use (either JPEG or GIF) the image still has its problems.

JPEG tends to get blurred
GIF tends to get pixelated

my website is www.doylestownmenu.com. The "Doylestown Menu" logo at the top of the page is what I'm referring to in this question. How can I make that image virtually flawless around the edges?

Not sure what software you are using and to get that outline I am guessing you had to do a freehand crop.

I am far from very experienced but I have found that if you create at 2-400% of what you want the finished product to be and then resize it down it tends to make a sharper smoother image.

Also same them with little or no compression.

Went back and took a second look, you could also try "softening" the edges.

BTW

Also same them with little or no compression

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Also save them with little or no compression.

The image you're asking about should work better as a gif I would think. You generally want to use gifs for images with solid blocks of color with sharp distinctions between different colors. Think of cartoons.

Jpgs are better when the colors vary more and the line between different colors isn't as clear or distinct as in photographs.

You sometimes need to try both though to see which one looks better. The problems you're having could just be in the settings you have in your image editing program. You may have to experiment with them a little to find the best way to save your images so they look the way you want.

I'm not sure if you've managed to work things out already. The image seems to look ok to me at the moment.

About Gif images, yes they should be used for graphics with solid and few colors. I can see making your graphic a gif. However you may still get some of the pixelation on the edges because its not square and rigid. JPG's are good for images, like photo and graphics with lots of lines and color. My suggestion to you, if you want crisp graphics: use PNG (portable network graphics). The most crisp graphics I have ever seen. How you see it as your designing it, thats how it will display. Also the file size is very small. Check out Macromedia Fireworks 8 for your designing.

If you have a detailed image, such as a photograph, then optimised JPEGs are the way to go. The compression method can be tailored to suit your needs by balancing image quality and file size.

If you have an image which is made up of defined areas of solid colour, and you would like to make the background transparent, then GIFs should be used.

If, in this case, you want to make a relatively simple image appear with no deformation of pixelation then use PNGs. They use a similar technology to GIFs, and can capture crisp edges without creating a huge file. But, they are only useful for images which aren't comprised of too many elements, as file sizes rise pretty steeply with more detail.

Ive been using the .PNG format for all of the pictures for my sites...would I be better off using Optomized JPEGs? Thanks...just found this site a few minutes ago.

You are limited to only 256 colors in a GIF file. JPG with few exceptions is a safe choice for web graphics, including photographs. PNG is gaining ground given its lossless file format, but for the greatest compatibility with browsers past and present, use JPG.

Of course, if you need transparency, JPG is not an option.

For your specific graphic, save the image as a JPG an ensure that you have anti-aliasing enabled during the JPG conversion process.