what software do you use to make a banner

[rverk47]

i am trying to make a nice looking banner for my etsy site..i got one made in a gif format (etsy accepts that format) and attempted to put it onto my etsy site but only the background shows no pictures and no words..the software is banner designer pro..anybody have any advice..

[cadia]

Did you flatten it ( along with the fonts) before you saved it?
I 'm not familiar with the program. Gifs are generally better for vector (line art or non pixel art) than raster ( pixelated art like photos)

[Cosmo]

i am trying to make a nice looking banner for my etsy site..i got one made in a gif format (etsy accepts that format) and attempted to put it onto my etsy site but only the background shows no pictures and no words..the software is banner designer pro..anybody have any advice..

Gifs can be made to show certain colors transparent, which is probably what happened with your file. Don't use .gif unless you have no other choice. See if you can save the file as a .jpg. That should work fine.

Did you flatten it ( along with the fonts) before you saved it?
I 'm not familiar with the program. Gifs are generally better for vector (line art or non pixel art) than raster ( pixelated art like photos)

Gifs aren't good for anything other than animated files where file size is an issue. It's a raster based file format just like JPG, but with smaller file sizes. It uses a limited color palette, so it won't have the depth of color that a .jpg file will. An EPS is probably the best choice for vector files, but no browser can display a vector file anyways, so it won't do any good for web-based applications.

[teachertracey]

I've made many by just using the Picnik site for photoediting. The trick is to make sure your banner is 750X100 without having any warping. I find a photo I liike for the background and then add effects and lettering. So far, it's been a low tech solution for me.

[Hayley]

Renee - if you have trouble saving it to jpg, email the file to me and I will fix it for you. It will have to be Monday tho for my home computer crashed and I didn't get a chance to reload Photoshop on it. Email is: hayley @ envisionsf . com (take out the spaces). Best to pop me a PM to alert me to look for your email for new senders' posts sometimes end up in my junk mail folder.

[cadia]

I would be happy to save your file as a jpg for you.
(though your program may be able to do this)
Look under:
file>
save as >
and there may be other options for you to chose.
You can email it to me at: <newmoon@fastermac.net>

[rverk47]

i have tried to save it as a jpeg but the program won't allow it..i try to get the file to open in another program but it won't open..when i try to open the gif file in another type of program that recognizes gif it is only the background no pic or text..i'm sort of computer literate but certainly have a lot to learn..i contacted etsy and they said that it was not a gif animation file with multiple images..etsy says that it needs to be a single image..not sure how to make this happen perhaps with the transparency thing that is mentioned above..if anyone has any more ideas i really appreciate them..thx

[Hayley]

What program are you using, Renee? Does it have an Export mode? Perhaps it will allow you to export to a jpg? Just a thought.

[teachertracey]

Renee, is that the banner you want to save? Or is it another? The one you have above I saved as a jpeg and sized for Etsy and everything is showing. (I did not keep it though, since it's yours. I just wanted to see if it would work.)

[ruca]

i use gimp, its free & if you try to save a gif as a jpg it automatically asks if you want to export it to make it a jpg (atleast it does on my mac) http://www.gimp.org/

i do have a couple issues with this program, i can't open an image directly with it (if i click on a picture & say 'open with.. gimp') otherwise, i have to open gimp FIRST, then open the image through gimp. i don't know if i'm making sense. :(

[rverk47]

this banner in lwe i made with microsoft publisher but then have to edit and crop in an adobe program then i have to size in infraview..i have it on etsy now cuz i still can't figure out the banner software..i think i just wasted $60 on banner software..ps there is no import or export just a save..thx again for all the suggestions..