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DPChallenge Forums >> Hardware and Software >> Difference between image formats?
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03/27/2007 12:33:39 PM · #1
This may have been asked mefore but I can`t find the right thread, so if someone knows where I can find a thread and can show me the link I`ll be very greatefull :D

Anyway, if there is not, I would like to know wich is the difference in saving your file like a .psd, .bmp, .gif, .jpg, .pct, .tiff, wich one is better? for what kind of jobs you use them? wich one has more quality? why are they so many?

Thanks in advance!
03/27/2007 12:44:58 PM · #2
Originally posted by Gaby_G:

This may have been asked mefore but I can`t find the right thread, so if someone knows where I can find a thread and can show me the link I`ll be very greatefull :D

Anyway, if there is not, I would like to know wich is the difference in saving your file like a .psd, .bmp, .gif, .jpg, .pct, .tiff, wich one is better? for what kind of jobs you use them? wich one has more quality? why are they so many?

Thanks in advance!


PSD = Photoshop native format - preserves layers and other PS features, keeps quality, best for ongoing editing

BMP - original reaster format,

GIF - original compuserve format, litited to 256 colors, good for logos and line art, lean and sharp.

JPG - most popular compressed format, full tonal range. losses quality the more you compress it. Format required for DPC entries

PCT - not used much anymore, don't know much about it

TIFF - some compression, no loss of quality, best for printing.

I hope this helps

Message edited by author 2007-03-27 12:45:16.
03/27/2007 12:50:39 PM · #3
TIFFs are either uncompressed or compressed with LZW (similar to ZIP) lossless compression; 100% of the data is restored when the file is uncompressed.

I believe that starting with PS CS TIFFs can retain layers and alpha channels (selections), though I don't use this feature.
03/27/2007 07:42:56 PM · #4
and don't forget PNG (Portable Network Graphics), kind of a mix between jpg tiff and gif as you can compress it but keeps it's sharpness and quality. Not sure why you don't see more of these though.

Here is a great place for help
03/27/2007 08:06:30 PM · #5
Super question and scarbrd gave you a super answer. I cannot think of much to add except you should always process in tiff if possible as it is a 16 bit process and retains more detail than 8 bit jpg.

.gif is super for sharp lines (line drawing ... text ... etc) while .jpg is a small file size and more suitable to soft tones blending that you find in photos.

Basically ... I just said what scarbrd said with a few more words.
03/27/2007 08:12:58 PM · #6
Originally posted by sabphoto:

and don't forget PNG (Portable Network Graphics), kind of a mix between jpg tiff and gif as you can compress it but keeps it's sharpness and quality. Not sure why you don't see more of these though.

Here is a great place for help


Well a PNG photograph is much larger then a JPEG, but comparable to a Tiff's size sometiems better. It also supports 16 bits per channel like Tiff. PNG also supports gif like transparency and though unsupported in old versions of IE PNG does alpha transparency.

PNG is actually superior in screen shots. A screen shot saved as a PNG from its bitmap or printscrn original is 4 times smaller then a JPEG screenshot.

Tiff's open in photoshop a hell of alot faster though. Photoshop CS2 has very sucky handling of PNG's. Very noticible in larger scans.

a scan example would be say:

8x10 @ 2400 DPI in BMP = 1.6 Gigabytes
8x10 @ 2400 DPI in PNG = 120 Megabytes
8x10 @ 2400 DPI in JPG = 53 MB (a guess) but has quality loss

Message edited by author 2007-03-27 20:15:27.
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