Why export settings matter
You can draw a beautiful episode and still lose some of its impact in the last step. A file that is too small looks blurry, one that is too heavy may load slowly, and a cut in the wrong place can split a panel in half. Exporting is a technical job with a few repeating decisions, and getting them right once means you can reuse a template every week.
One caution applies throughout this article. Every publishing site or service sets its own requirements for image width, height, file size and format, and these change over time. Always check the current rules for wherever you upload. The principles below are general.
Resolution and width
Most vertical comics are viewed on phones, where the image is scaled to the width of the screen. That means width is the number that matters most. Many sites ask for a fixed width or a range, and some also limit the height of each image or the total file size.
General guidance:
- Work larger than you export. Drawing at a higher resolution than the final width gives you room for crisp lines after downscaling, and leaves options if requirements change.
- Match the required width exactly when you export. Letting the site resize your image can produce softer results than doing it yourself.
- Avoid enlarging. Scaling a small image up never adds detail.
- Think about dots per inch carefully. For screen delivery, pixel dimensions matter far more than the DPI number stored in the file. DPI is mostly a concern for print.
If you plan to print the comic in the future, keep your layered master files at a higher resolution and export separate screen copies from them.
Slicing a tall canvas
A long episode is often one very tall canvas, but sites rarely accept a single image of unlimited height. You usually cut the episode into several slices, each within a maximum height, and the platform stacks them seamlessly.
Tips for clean slicing:
- Cut inside the gutters. Place cuts in empty space between panels so no artwork is split. How gutter space is used also affects pacing, so a cut that lands in a deliberate pause rarely hurts.
- Avoid cuts through speech bubbles, text or faces. If a slice boundary sits inside art, a tiny misalignment or a gap between images can show as a line.
- Keep widths identical. All slices should have exactly the same width, or the stack will look uneven.
- Use consistent slice heights where possible. Equal slices make files easier to name and check.
- Mind the first and last slices. The start and end often benefit from a little padding so the episode does not feel cramped against the interface.
Many drawing programs have a slice or guide feature that helps you export from a tall canvas. Others require you to cut manually. A short script or batch action can save time if you do this every week.
Color mode and profiles
Screens use RGB color, so digital comics for screens are generally exported in RGB. CMYK is the color model used in most print workflows, and its range differs from RGB, which means bright screen colors can look duller when converted. If you do both, keep your working file in RGB and convert only for print.
You will often also see a color profile mentioned. sRGB is the common standard for web and phone viewing. Exporting with a profile that does not match what the site expects can shift colors a little. When in doubt, sRGB is the usual safe choice, but check requirements.
Grayscale or black-and-white episodes can be exported in grayscale, though some sites prefer RGB regardless. If your palette is carefully planned, view the export itself to confirm nothing shifted. The choices you make while picking color palettes will only carry through if the export preserves them.
File format and compression
- PNG keeps sharp lines and flat colors cleanly and does not lose quality when saved, though files can be large.
- JPEG makes smaller files and works well for painterly or photographic images, but strong compression can add visible blotches around lines and text.
Many creators use JPEG at a high quality setting or PNG depending on site limits and file sizes. Test both on a sample page. If you are over the size limit, reduce the compression gently rather than shrinking the dimensions.
Naming, ordering and metadata
- Use clear numbered names, such as episode number plus slice number with leading zeros, so files sort correctly.
- Keep a consistent folder structure so you can find a past episode quickly.
- Strip or avoid leftover layer data and private metadata if you do not want them embedded.
- Consider whether to add a signature or small credit line in the art itself, according to your preference and the site’s rules.
Check before you press upload
Run through a short checklist for every episode:
- View on a phone-sized screen. Text that looks fine on a monitor may be tiny on a phone, so check phone readability directly.
- Scroll the whole stack. Look for seams, misaligned slices, missing pieces and blank gaps.
- Check contrast. Review your page for readers with color vision differences; our article on color blindness explains design checks.
- Check accessibility extras. If the site supports image descriptions, prepare them. The idea behind alt text is to give people who cannot see the images a way to follow the story.
- Confirm file sizes and dimensions. Compare them against the site’s current limits.
- Check the order. Make sure slices appear in the intended sequence.
- Read the text one more time. Typos are much easier to fix before posting.
Keep the master safe
Always keep your original layered file after exporting. If you need to fix a typo, change a slice or re-export at different settings, the layered file is what lets you do it. Saving it with the export settings noted, for example in a text file in the same folder, makes your next episode faster too.
A repeatable export routine is a small habit that quietly protects the quality of every episode.