Encountered larger file sizes with lossless JXL when working with certain PNGs

I recently ran across a somewhat confusing circumstance while working on a web development project. I made a choice to employ lossless JXL, a promising picture format noted for its effective compression when aiming to optimize the website’s image assets for faster load times and improved user experience.
But as I began converting some PNG files to JXL, I discovered an unexpected outcome: the final file sizes were greater than the PNGs. This was unexpected and made the success of the optimization technique questionable.
Therefore, I’m curious if anyone has run into a similar circumstance and can offer suggestions on how to successfully manage this problem while still aiming for greater website performance.

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Annie, it can be confusing to run across unexpected results when optimizing a website, particularly when trying to take advantage of lossless JXL’s effective compression for picture assets. You encountered an unexpected outcome when converting PNG files to JXL: the converted files were bigger than the original PNGs. This unanticipated development casts doubt on the optimization strategy’s efficacy.

Under such circumstances, it’s critical to understand that a variety of factors, such as the content and properties of the photos, can affect how well image compression approaches operate. Although JXL and other lossless compression techniques are well-known for their efficacy, they might not always perform better than alternative formats for all kinds of images.

Think about examining the characteristics of the questioned photographs to troubleshoot this problem. For photographs with straightforward designs or a small color scheme, lossless formats might not be the best option. Trying different file formats, such as WebP or JPEG, which include lossy compression, could yield better results in terms of file size without sacrificing much on the visual side.

Examine the tool or library that was utilized during the converting process as well. Different tools may apply compression algorithms in different ways, thus experimenting with different tools or changing the settings of the one you already have may have an effect on the size of the finished files.
Recall that achieving a balance between file size and visual quality is a necessary part of image optimization. Even though smaller file sizes help websites load more quickly, it’s still important to make sure the photos maintain a high enough quality. Achieving the ideal ratio of compression to quality is crucial.

In conclusion, it’s a good idea to look into image properties, try out various compression formats, investigate substitute tools, and determine the ideal ratio between file size and visual quality when confronted with unexpected results when optimizing images. The optimization method should be improved and the overall performance of the website should be improved with this iterative approach.

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