Export vs. Save As - why different?

[NerdyMomBriggs]

Hi,

I'm using PSE5. I have a bunch of PSDs that I wanted to upload as JPEGs, some with photos, some with just artwork. I used the Export to New Files command from the File menu in the Organizer, chose the highest quality, and got my JPEGs. Just for the sake of comparison, I then went into the Standard Editor, and did a Save As on each PSD to JPEG, again with highest quality.

The results? The Save As produced larger file sizes (and I'm guessing better quality, because of more data) than the export function.

Why would this be?

Thanks,
Robin

[TonyW]

Well I don't know the answer but I did check it out with a JPEG file. Using Export at maximum quality it saved as a JPEG file the same size as my out-of-camera original. When I did it through Save As in Editor it increased the original file size by about 20%. So I came to the conclusion that even though there's apparently more data it can't be any better quality than my original.

Tony