What is the Best File Format to Save Your Photos In? PSD * TIFF * JPEG * GIF * PNG

With so many image file formats available—BMP, EPS, JPEG, PNG, and GIF to name a few—how do you determine which is right image format for your email? Each format produces variances in file size, compression, and quality. To make things more confusing, support for specific file types can also vary between email clients. In this post, we’ll weigh the pros and cons of the three most popular file formats for email: JPEG, GIF, and PNG.

An important concept which distinguishes many image types is whether they are compressed. Compressed files are significantly smaller than their uncompressed counterparts, and fall into two general categories: "lossy" and "lossless." Lossless compression ensures that all image information is preserved, even if the file size is a bit larger as a result. Lossy compression, by contrast, can create file sizes that are significantly smaller, but achieves this by selectively discarding image data. The resulting compressed file is therefore no longer identical to the original. Visible differences between these compressed files and their original are termed "compression artifacts."

Here are a few of the most common formats and why you may or may not want to use them:

Small Formats

JPEG

JPEG images (short for Joint Photographic Experts Group) are “full-color images that dedicate at least 24 bits of memory to each pixel, resulting in images that can incorporate 16.8 million colors,” and are frequently referenced by their file extension, JPG. JPEGs are also “lossy,” meaning they retain all color information, but compress file size by selectively discarding data—and that compression can result in a loss of quality. In most design programs, you can choose the degree of compression you wish to apply to individual images—just be aware that by doing so, you also will alter the image’s quality. As a result, if you choose the maximum quality option, your image will most likely be indistinguishable from your original photograph, albeit with a correspondingly larger file size.

• The Joint Photographic Experts Group format is the most common type. It is viewable by all and can be used for print and the web.  

• When saving as a jpg, you decide what quality you desire (In Photoshop for example a level 1 is the lowest quality or a 12 which is the highest quality)

• The biggest downsize is that the jpeg format is loss.  Each time you open and save, the image compresses and you lose a small amount of information

• Another downside is that layers are flattened upon saving so you lose the ability to go back to past edits to tweak.

GIF

GIF stands for Graphics Interchange Format and is “one of the file formats used to display indexed-color graphics and images in HTML documents on the web.” This means that a GIF will only display a maximum of 256 colors; as a result, GIFs are great for images with simple illustrations and blocks of colors, like logos and icons, but probably not the best option for photographs.

• The Graphics Interchange Format is good for web graphics with animation but NOT recommended for photos.

• The file size is very small so these files load fast on the web.

• The downsides are limited colors and does not handle photographs well.

• Lossless format so you will retain information from your images as you re-open and re-save.

PNG

PNG stands for Portable Network Graphics, they offer a wide range of attractive features, including a full range of color depths, support for sophisticated image transparency, better interlacing, and automatic corrections for display monitor gamma. PNG images can also hold a short text description of the image’s content, which allows Internet search engines to search for images, based on these embedded text descriptions.

• The Portable Network Graphics format also creates smaller file size but without the quality loss of a GIF.

• Useful if you need to maintain transparency.

• Often used for graphics instead of GIF.

• Lossless format so you will retain information from your images as you re-open and re-save.

• You can share these files on the web.

Large Formats

PSD

PSD files are layered image files used in Adobe PhotoShop. PSD, which stands for Photoshop Document, is the default format that Photoshop uses for saving data.  PSD is a proprietary file that allows the user to work with the images’ individual layers even after the file has been saved.

When an image is complete, Photoshop allows the user to flatten the layers and convert the flat image into a .JPG, .GIF, .TIFF or other non-proprietary file format so it can be shared.  Once a PSD image has been flatten by conversion, however, it cannot be converted back to PSD and the user can no longer work with the image's layers. It is important, therefore, so always save the .PSD file and not overwrite it during conversion.

• You will want to save as a Photoshop PSD when you have many layers that you want to preserve.

• Saving this way will retain adjustment layers, your masks, shapes, clipping paths, layer styles, blending modes.

• Useful if you need to maintain transparency.

• PSDs are often large in size, especially if you edit with many layers.

• Only those with Photoshop, Adobe products or certain other graphics programs will be able to view them.

• Unless you are printing from an Adobe application like Photoshop, or possibly another graphics program, you will need to save in a different format for printing, such as at a professional lab.

• You cannot display on the web in this format.

TIFF

TIFF stands for "Tagged Image File Format" and is a standard in the printing and publishing industry. TIFF files are significantly larger than their JPEG counterparts, and can be either uncompressed or compressed using lossless compression. Unlike JPEG, TIFF files can have a bit depth of either 16-bits per channel or 8-bits per channel, and multiple layered images can be stored in a single TIFF file.

TIFF files are an excellent option for archiving intermediate files which you may edit later, since it introduces no compression artifacts. Many cameras have an option to create images as TIFF files, but these can consume excessive space compared to the same JPEG file. If your camera supports the RAW file format this is a superior alternative, since these are significantly smaller and can retain even more information about your image.

• This targeted file format is the highest quality and is excellent for print as there is no loss in quality.

• Retains information in layers, depending how you save it.

• The downsides are the extremely large file size and you cannot display on the web in this format.

• Lossless format so you will retain information from your images as you re-open and re-save.

Like to learn more? Contact one of our friendly staff at Liberty Entertainment Group for pricing and more information.

Call:    Main   (213 )422-2878    Voice  (323) 305-4676     Email:   info@libertyentertainmentgrp.com

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