Screen Capture

Bmp is out, way too big. Depending on the screen, save it either as a gif or jpeg. If is has little color in it, mostly text, save it as a gif. If a lot of color, save it as a jpeg as a general rule.

Yep, the rule of thumb, sort of, is that whenever there is gradient color, like in photos and some graphics, JPG is better suited.

If there aren't wide, gradient color changes and there are only a few color, use GIF.

I always have better luck saving website screens as GIF's, since GIF handles HTML text and lines a lot better. JPG can get fuzzy, and bigger.

If you are using PS 5.5 or greater, "Save for Web" will usually give you the best idea of what compression to use.

Hope that helps

Actually, I'll save all my screen captures as BMP and then optimize as either a jpg or gif for the web. Your choice depends on the image as has been noted. Ususally, I find that you are more likely to wind up with a jpg from a screenshot however.

Never use bmp for web pages. I'm on DSL and they're still very slow. Plus they don't look very good at all.

Sometimes I will save as jpg and gif and see which looks the best on some graphics. Depends on colors. Some will give you basically the same look but a smaller file size. That way you can "pick and choose".

bmp is not for web use at all. It is good for printing. Takes years to print out but the quality is better or for printing on fabrics better then jpg.
rinnando