converting j peg to jpeg 2000

You can set up a 'workflow' using the Automator application from your Applications folder.

For example:

When Automator opens, it should ask 'Choose a type for your document' choose workflow.

Then under the library in the first column on the left go down to files and folders and click once,

then on the second column got to 'ask for finder items', double click.

This will now show up in the third column on the right, please be sure to check the multiple files

box. The default place to start a search for files is the desktop, but you can change that according

to how you work and as confidence grows. next go back to the second column and navigate down to

'copy finder items' double click this to add to the workflow on the right. The default location to copy items to

is the desktop, but at this point it is best to choose or make a new folder using the drop down menu.

next go back to the first column on the left and click on 'photos', then in the second column double click on

'change type of images'. The default conversion is to Tiff but you can change that to Jpeg 2000 using the drop down menu. The workflow should be ready to run, using the play button on the top right.

Please be sure to experiment before commiting a large amount of files. Always check and remember to save the workflow (the export dialogue under 'File').

Hopefully this will get you started, and after a bit of experimentation you may want to add other options to this, or make your own workflows.

Thanks it should work ok.

Please note. The image i sent with my first reply can be previewed by clicking once on it.

There is however a mistake in that the image has a fourth step in it, but please ignore that. it should just be the first three steps as described.

Please make sure to test it thoroughly before commiting hundreds of files to the conversion,

you won't lose the originals with this 'workflow', but lets just be safe.

Make a folder on the desktop 'Test' fill it with say ten random jpegs (make sure you have them backed up elsewhere), select this folder in the first section under the dropdown menu, navigate down and click on 'other'

then choose the 'Test' folder and then select all the images in that folder. Then in the second section either choose a pre-defined folder as the destination from the drop down menu or, create one under 'other' then new folder and give it an appropriate name. Once all three actions are ready, click the run/play button on the top

right, once the workflow has been run check the two folders. One should have the original jpegs, and the second should have the jpeg 2000 files. you can use the 'results, options and description' buttons in each action to view what is happening. This is just to get you started, in time with experience and confidence you can make your own workflows with more actions etc to suit your needs.

If you have Photoshop you can also set up actions for batch processing files, where you set up an automated task similar to this using the "Actions" window and its recording options.

But for now automator will do.

Good Luck.

Hi leo,

I saw your post this morning and it looked interesting, sat down tonight and came up with the same solution as Eau. I tried Applescript but could not get jpeg2000 to work, someone will know.

It is very straightforward, follow Eau advice about testing and you should have it working in a very short while.

I only tested it with 7 files but it seemed ok.

Always have a copy of your original TIFF's on backup media untill you are confident with the process, in fact if you can afford the media you could keep them safe offline for future use if required.

Take a look at Graphic Converter 9. It can batch convert image formats between folders. Has a nice graphical interface for source and destination folders and target image format (.jp2 is supported).

This tool has been in continuous development for 22 years.

Also, available in the OS X App Store.

hello again, in Rack0s screenshot you can see that his script/action for 'change type of files' is using the Pixelmator application to convert the files, I don't have Pixelmator so can't say if that is where the glitch with converting to jpeg 2000 may have been. I was using the Preview applications 'change type of files' to convert.

From your initial post you pointed out that when you were manually converting you were also able to move the slider to 100%. The option doesn't come up in this batch process but does save the new Jpeg 2000 files

1:1 with the original jpeg. I have also attempted it with tiff files. In my case I was converting 50Mb files

to jpeg 2000. The conversion to jpeg 2000 resulted in files of 3.5Mb. One thing I noted was that it did change the dimensions, from 35cm x 35cm at 300ppi to 145cm x 145 cm at 72 ppi, but keeping the pixel dimensions the same.Viewing both in Photoshop at 'actual pixel size' I was pleased with the result, there was no obvious degradation of the image. So Preview's own conversion is pretty good, of course there are many other apps like Pixelmator or Graphic Converter (VikingOSX) which can batch process files, perhaps easier/ faster and better. So its really up to asking around and getting advice in places such as this, to see which may suit your needs best.

All the best.

I question the premise that .jpg are unstable over time. They may degrade if edited and saved, is that what you mean?

Batch converting from one format to another probably will degrade your entire collection. Leaving them alone and simply viewing them will not.

Hi Eau,

No I used the standard one supplied by Apple, the Pixelmator did not give the option for jeg2000, it was just highlighted in the screenshot, perhaps I should have noticed that.

If the Graphic Convertor 9 or Photoshop is easier to use then I agree go with what suits Leo best, there is usually more than one way to perform the same task.

Regards

Just leave them alone and they will not degrade!! Convert them all and they probably will.

Hi Peter,

I would not argue the point, I don't know enough about it but the question Leo asked was how to batch convert, hopefully that was answered.

He may now reconsider and follow your advice and leave well alone.

At least your input will be food for thought and he as the info to make a reliable choice.

Regards

Oh absolutely, the answers to his question were all great, but the necessity to convert was based on a myth. The OP should research that before committing.

Another good suggestion would be to use Aperture or even iphoto for the entire collection, where all edits are confined to metadata and the original is never re saved or degraded by edits.

I have a large amount of jpeg files which I wish to convert to j peg 2000 because of their better stability over time.

That doesn't make even a slight amount of sense. There's nothing more stable about JPEG 2000 than there is for TIFF, standard JPEG, or any other raster format. You can either open them, or you can't. And the only reason you couldn't is that the files were damaged somehow. And that can't happen by just sitting there. A drive could be 1000 years old, and as long as the drive is still readable (and software still exists to open the files), a TIFF or JPEG will still open just as readily as JPEG 2000 file.

By converting from JPEG to JPEG 2000 you are only succeeding in making your images worse! You're taking a lossy compressed format, opening it, and saving it to yet another lossy compressed format. In other words, you're compounding the permanent data loss.

When you do such a conversion, it isn't just rewriting the JPEG to JPEG 2000 without doing anything to the image. It first has to open the file as an uncompressed image (and no, you don't get the original uncompressed pixels back before it was saved as a JPEG), then save it with yet more lossy compression reapplied as JPEG 2000.

If you want to save your images with the best possible image integrity, but still compressed, then save your TIFFs as a TIFF with LZW or ZIP compression. Both of these compression schemes are lossless. You could open and save a file a billion times and assuming no errors occurred, not one pixel of the image will be the slightest bit different from the first time it was saved. You won't save as much space as even the least compressed JPEG (highest quality), but your images will preserve 100% of their original values.

Hi Rack0

I hope you don't think i was disrespecting your advice, I perhaps read your message wrong in the first place and attributed the glitch to Pixelmator. Apologies for that.

Anyway looks lke our advice has helped in the interim. Along with others advice re different apps, lossless compression when saving as a tiff, etc,etc.

Hope you are enjoying Bank Holiday Monday

All the best

Eau