A method selecting a quality parameter for use in compressing a digital image, the method comprises the steps of creating a plurality of quantizer parameter sets, each having a corresponding quality parameter; compressing the digital image with the plurality of quantizer parameter sets for providing a corresponding plurality of compressed file sizes; creating a rate-distortion curve from the plurality of quantizer parameter sets and the corresponding compressed file sizes; providing a maximum and minimum quality parameters; providing a target compressed file size; and selecting a quality parameter based on the rate distortion curve, the maximum and minimum quality parameters and the target compressed file size.