WinZip 12 Squashes JPEGs Even Smaller

The latest version of WinZip can crush even highly compressed JPEGs down another 20 to 25 percent in file size without degrading image quality.

As anyone who’s ever zipped up a couple megabytes’ worth of high-res JPEGs can tell you, there’s not a whole lot that can be done to make that most compact of image formats any smaller, even with the magical ZIP format. WinZip claims to have changed that with the latest iteration of its software though, which it says can squeeze JPEGs down another 20 to 25 percent in file size.

WinZip 12.0, released Thursday, offers the first additional JPEG compression in the industry, allowing users to zip up even highly compressed images and shrink their file sizes without degrading image quality. To complement this ability, the Pro version of the software also adds direct zipping from a camera, making it easy to pull images straight to a ZIP file and send them off in an e-mail.

The latest version also includes a handful of other upgrades, like support for 7Z archives, CD/DVD .ISO and .IMG disk image files, and more sophisticated security features for encrypting and passwording ZIP files.

The Standard version of the software with some limited features is available for $30 while the Pro version goes for $50. Existing WinZip users can snag either for a 50 percent upgrade discount.