Flattened jpegs?

You just need to export as a JPEG from Aperture using the dimensions specified.

I'm unaware of anything related to "flattening" JPEGs. Really I suspect they are speaking to Photoshop, where you would flatten an image with many layers. But this is redundant, because ALL JPEGs are essentially "flattened." The file format does not support layers.

demasoni wrote:
Greetings,

I need to submit images for an initial gallery review and they require "flattened jpegs." I know what jpeg means, but "flattened?" How do I make my images in Aperture 3.0 flattened? I do minor enhancements like saturation and contrast adjustments and some cropping. Are they talking about Photoshop?

They are most likely talking about Photoshop-like concepts... but these even apply to Aperture. Photoshop is, by nature, a destructive editor -- meaning when you change a photo, the original is "destroyed" and replaced with the change. Since this makes a lot of photographers cringe, most people learn to create "layers" in photoshop (e.g. adjustment layers, etc.)

When they use the term "flattened", I suspect they are referring to the notion of collapsing the image back down to just what you see as a finished product and changing it as a JPEG (a JPEG doesn't have "layers").

Aperture, likewise, is a non-destructive editor. It maintains the "master" image and a meta-data list of every adjustment you've made. Take the "master" and re-apply the list of changes and you arrive at a finished result -- but it's not saved on disk as a finished photo... it's saved as a "master" and list of changes.

In Aperture, selecting the image(s) and then navigating to "File" -> "Export" -> "Version..." will allow you to save in JPEG format. This exported file will be saved with all of your adjustments applied as just a single simple JPEG image.

Flattened refers to collapsing the layers of a file (existing in an app that allows layers like PS) to a single layer. Given that AFAIK all JPEGs are by definition flat the statement "flattened JPEGs" is redundant, unless there is a way to save layers in a JPEG file that I am not aware of.

You can in PS save a layered file as a PDF with JPEG compression. My guess is the editors just clearly want flat files, meaning no layers. Lots of layers can make a file very large with no benefit to a recipient that intends no layer edits.

-Allen