diff --git a/src/assemblicon/highlevel/sink/tempart_sink.py b/src/assemblicon/highlevel/sink/tempart_sink.py
index 4a5831d..6eaba66 100644
--- a/src/assemblicon/highlevel/sink/tempart_sink.py
+++ b/src/assemblicon/highlevel/sink/tempart_sink.py
@@ -24,9 +24,16 @@ class TempArtSink(Sink):
         return Address(AddressDomain.Temporary, *self.__comps)
 
     def push(self, env: Environment, art: Artifact) -> None:
+        """
+        Save given artifact to temporary directory.
+
+        The artifact is explicitly saved with the intermediary (faster)
+        encoder configuration, because temporary artifacts are transient
+        and usually get re-loaded and re-encoded later.
+        """
         p = self.push_hint(env)
         LOGGER.info("Saving temporary artifact: %s", p)
-        artio.save_artifact(art, p)
+        artio.save_artifact(art, p, for_intermediary=True)
 
     def repull(self, env: Environment) -> Artifact:
         """
diff --git a/src/assemblicon/lowlevel/artio.py b/src/assemblicon/lowlevel/artio.py
index 040c17d..5c55033 100644
--- a/src/assemblicon/lowlevel/artio.py
+++ b/src/assemblicon/lowlevel/artio.py
@@ -42,9 +42,65 @@ def load_artifact(p: Path) -> Artifact:
     return PIL.Image.open(p, "r", ["PNG"])
 
 
-def save_artifact(art: Artifact, p: Path) -> None:
+def save_artifact(art: Artifact, p: Path, for_intermediary: bool = False) -> None:
+    """
+    Save given artifact as PNG file.
+
+    The PNG encoder settings are selected in tiers by artifact size:
+    smaller artifacts are saved with lighter compression while larger
+    ones are saved with stronger compression. This tiered configuration
+    exists to strike a balance between final artifact file size and
+    assembly speed, since strong compression is slow and only pays off
+    on large images.
+
+    :param art: The artifact to be saved.
+    :param p: The path to saved PNG file.
+    :param for_intermediary: Whether this artifact is saved as an
+        intermediary. Intermediaries are transient and will be loaded
+        and re-encoded later, so they are always saved with the
+        balanced, faster configuration regardless of their size.
+    """
     LOGGER.debug("Saving artifact: %s", p)
-    art.save(p, format="PNG")
+
+    # compute optimize flag and compress level based on artifact size.
+    optimize: bool
+    compress_level: int
+
+    if for_intermediary:
+        # If this image is saved for intermediary,
+        # we use default balanced config.
+        optimize = False
+        compress_level = 6
+    else:
+        pixels = art.width * art.height
+        if pixels >= 1024**2:
+            # >= 1024x1024, super large icon,
+            # use best compression config.
+            optimize = True
+            compress_level = 9
+        elif pixels >= 256**2:
+            # >= 256x256 and < 1024x1024, large icon,
+            # use max compress level.
+            optimize = False
+            compress_level = 9
+        elif pixels >= 64**2:
+            # >= 64x64 and < 256x256, medium icon,
+            # use higher compress level.
+            optimize = False
+            compress_level = 8
+        elif pixels >= 16**2:
+            # >= 16x16 and < 64x64, small icon,
+            # use higher compress level.
+            optimize = False
+            compress_level = 7
+        else:
+            # < 16x16, very small icon,
+            # use default balanced config.
+            optimize = False
+            compress_level = 6
+
+    # save as PNG with computed optimize flag and compress level
+    art.save(p, format="PNG", optimize=optimize, compress_level=compress_level)
 
 
 def dup_artifact(src: Path, dst: Path) -> None:
@@ -124,7 +180,7 @@ def link_artifact(src: Path, dst: Path) -> None:
             f'No common directory between "{src}" and "{dst}", '
             f"can not create relative symlink."
         )
-    
+
     # SAFETY: the symlink target must always be stored with POSIX
     # separators ("/"). On Windows, "relative_to" yields a
     # backslash-separated path, and "symlink_to" stores the target string