If you are using GIMP to create images or pictures for the web, then this GIMP plugin comes really handy.  It is called Save for Web plugin. Normally, when you save your images (pictures, photos) in GIMP, it produces images of large file size even 100s of  kilobytes.  However, hosting images of such large sizes on the web is not optimal as it slows the loading of  web page.

Save for Web GIMP plugin will not only help you optimally reduce the size of your image, it provides a very nice interface where you can preview the optimized image clarity and its size prior to saving it.

Features of Save for Web GIMP Plugin

• Save optimized images in multiple formats namely JPEG, JPEG 2000, PNG-8, PNG-24 and GIF.
• Live preview of optimized images.
• Real time calculation and display of image sizes while optimizing the images.
• Resize and Crop the image right from within the Save for Web dialog.

Using Save for Web GIMP plugin, I was able to reduce the size of a PNG image from 350 kb to less than 1/10th the size ~ 32.1 kb making sure there was  negligible loss in quality. This GIMP plugin is that good.

How to install and use the GIMP plugin

First download the plugin from GIMP Registry website .

Unpack it and copy it to your GIMP plugins folder.

Now when you start GIMP, you can save images optimized for web by clicking “File > Save for Web...” option as shown in the image below.

How to open Save for web gimp plugin

The next image describes the Save for Web plugin interface.

Save for web GIMP plugin dialog

Note to Fedora users

If you are using Fedora or any other Linux, you will have to download the source, compile, and install the program yourself. However, the good news is it is very easy and require just a few additional steps.