Saving combined images as a single jpg file

I use Word97 to create a calendar. Each month consists of two to four
jpg photos, which I combine by using the Insert/Picture/From File
command. (The photos have been first cropped and color corrected using
Irfan viewer.) I then save each month as a .doc file, print it on 8.5 x
11 paper, and take 12 prints to Staples, where they stick them in their
color copier and make them into an 8.5 x 11 calendar.

I lose quality at two points: my inkjet printer and the color copier. I
want to bypass these quality losses by save each month's multiple images
as a single jpg file, which I can then burn onto a CD and have made into
the calendar directly from the CD. (OfficeMax offers that option.) How
can I do that?

It's very easy to combine the images with Word. Perhaps there are better
programs designed to do this and save the results as a single jpg file.
Can you suggest any?

Is there a more appropriate newsgroup to ask this question?

Thanks.

Ray

Word is absolutely the wrong program for this. When you put an image into
Word it gets converted to WMF (all images within Word are handled the same
way). Almost any graphic editing program will do it better. Prowl the garage
sales: I recently saw an old version of PhotoShop for $5 -- out-of-date,
perhaps, but more than ample for what you're doing.


"Ray K" wrote in message
...
I use Word97 to create a calendar. Each month consists of two to four
jpg photos, which I combine by using the Insert/Picture/From File
command. (The photos have been first cropped and color corrected using
Irfan viewer.) I then save each month as a .doc file, print it on 8.5 x
11 paper, and take 12 prints to Staples, where they stick them in their
color copier and make them into an 8.5 x 11 calendar.

I lose quality at two points: my inkjet printer and the color copier. I
want to bypass these quality losses by save each month's multiple images
as a single jpg file, which I can then burn onto a CD and have made into
the calendar directly from the CD. (OfficeMax offers that option.) How
can I do that?

It's very easy to combine the images with Word. Perhaps there are better
programs designed to do this and save the results as a single jpg file.
Can you suggest any?

Is there a more appropriate newsgroup to ask this question?

Thanks.

Ray