What is the best image format to save screenshots from desktop programs?

[masu]

personally I think PNG is really good, but it takes a lot of space.

JPG takes less space but the text quality is not good

[jgpaiva]

I think i've read somewhere that png doesn't lose quality and has compression, so it seems to me that it is the best format o use.
I have my sc configured to take screenshots on png, and when i want to send the picture to someone, i just do "save copy as" in jpg format
The only problem is having to delete the first screenshot, but i don't think i'll die for a few seconds (or will i? )

[f0dder]

PNG, converted to 256 colors *without* dithering. Disable background images before taking screenshot.

[mouser]

screenshot captor has a little trick:
you can use the name field at the bottom, to RENAME and CONVERT image formats.

if your name field for a picture says "mypic" and it's saved as a png, you can rename it to 'yourpic' by simply typing "yourpic" in that box and hitting enter.

you can rename and change format at same time by simply specifying an extension: so just type "yourpic.jpg" and it will convert the file to jpg, save it with new name, and delete original.

[jgpaiva]

Mouser: good to know that!
I already knew that the file name could be changed there, but i didn't realize that it would also change the format...
Great feature! 

[OGroeger]

@Mouser:

this is so cool, i hope you accept another donation. 

[hgondalf]

PNG, converted to 256 colors *without* dithering. Disable background images before taking screenshot.

This dithering/anti-aliasing thing is a problem.  When creating images for print presentation, dithering causes unwanted effects in the final output.  This occurs in any area on the graphic that has a smooth blend of colors, such as Dark-blue fading to Light-blue, as in title bars on dialog boxes in Win 2K, or the 3D ("plastic") title bar in Win XP and beyond.  For regular photographs, this presents no problem. But for screen captures of dialog boxes with text areas, the output is not so good when viewed onscreen, and still worse when printed. You end up with moiré patterns.

The effect is also pronounced in text. Anti-aliasing creates a very fuzzy outline.

To get a non-dithered image, save it as a PNG, at 256 colors, as mentioned by  f0dder above.  You can also save it as a GIF with the same format. Or even BMP. The PNG can be marginally smaller than GIF. But some older page formatting software can’t handle PNG.

To get non-aliased text, turn off the “smooth edges of screen fonts” in My Computer > Properties > Advanced > Settings.  And in Display Properties > Appearance > Effects, un-check the “use the following methods to smooth screen fonts.”