Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Which image file format is best?

C

c073186

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 2, 2007
821
3
If I want to save a Photoshop file in a different format so that I can send the picture to a person and have him print it, which file format is the best in terms of quality?
 
Quality? No (reasonable) limit on size? A .tif should do the trick. If it's got type done in Photoshop in it, maybe a PDF. Have you asked them?
 
Blue Velvet said:
Quality? No (reasonable) limit on size? A .tif should do the trick. If it's got type done in Photoshop in it, maybe a PDF. Have you asked them?
Click to expand...

Welcome back, BV ...

Second the vote for TIFF files. Eliminate the layers (if there are any) by unchecking the layer option in the Save As dialogue if the recipient doesn't need to edit at their end, and turn on LZW compression if size is still an issue.

I've just saved a 90mmx90mm 300dpi RGB Photoshop with four layers using the following options:

Layers preserved, no LZW:4.2Mb
Layers perserved w/ LZW: 880Kb
Flattened, no LZW: 3.5Mb
Flattened, w/ LZW: 244Kb

Note that all these options are lossless beyond the active choice to retain or discard layer info. The actual image quality will be unaffected.

Historically, I have encountered printers whose RIPs have thrown major wobblies confronted with LZW TIFFs. This was several years ago, but turned out to be such an issue that I've avoided LZW ever since.

I suspect that technology has moved on a bit since then, but if you use LZW to keep the file size down and there are printing issues at the recipient's end, getting them to open the document and re-save without LZW should be your first thought.

Hope that helps ...

Cheers!

Jim
 
c073186 said:
If I want to save a Photoshop file in a different format so that I can send the picture to a person and have him print it, which file format is the best in terms of quality?
Click to expand...

For most practical purposes a JPG with a quality setting over 10 is good enough. Any other format is going to be huge. In theory a tiff format file is beter but also it is 10X larger and the difference in terms of how it will print is not detectable. tiff really is best only if the file is to be edited or adjusted. But if it is printer-ready than jpg is OK.

You said "best". So it would be best if you ask what size the image will be printed and then re-sampled to that size at 300 DPI. SO if the image needs to be 6 inches wide send a file that is 1800 pixels wide.
 
TIFF for Print
TIFF for geospatial
PNG for Vectors
TARGA for Broadcast
JPEG for Photos
Animated GIFs for that 1996 feel ;)
 
c073186 said:
If I want to save a Photoshop file in a different format so that I can send the picture to a person and have him print it, which file format is the best in terms of quality?
Click to expand...

Send how? On CD by mail or over the Net? As long as you both have a fast connection like cable or DSL you could send it as a tiff. That would be the best quality but will be a heckofa big file.
 
ruskiwi said:
Send how? On CD by mail or over the Net? As long as you both have a fast connection like cable or DSL you could send it as a tiff. That would be the best quality but will be a heckofa big file.
Click to expand...

Not if - as I've shown above - you use the LZW algorithm when saving. The compression is really quite impressive, with the sole proviso that it might need re-saving at the recipient's end without LZW depending upon the preference/requirements of whoever is going to do the final output.

Cheers!

Jim
 
c073186 said:
If I want to save a Photoshop file in a different format so that I can send the picture to a person and have him print it, which file format is the best in terms of quality?
Click to expand...

I normally ask the printer what format they would prefer, just about every printer I've dealt with is different in one way or another and depends on the required output (ie magazine or photograph).

I would probably send a flattened photoshop file (a copy of the original and to maintain fonts) or a high res pdf assuming they can open them.
If not it would be tif before jpeg.
 
What's the difference in PNG and TIFF as it comes to quality? If both are lossless, as it appears, why would one be preferred over the other?

Not a designer here, just interested.
 
TIF is more widely accepted by printers.

Some earlier versions of DTP software would only accept TIF image files, thankfully those days are well behind us now but some printers still prefer what they have used for years.

(I have been doing a little photographic work for the National Trust and their graphic designer (in her mid 20's) will only accept TIF image files)
 
So it's not like they use different color models? (I suppose both formats support plenty?)
 
Most printers will tell you to send a non compressed .tif file, as compressing with lzw compression kills the quality & many rip's have trouble with them.
LZW is NOT lossless, you lose quite a bit of information, which is why you get a file that is 10x less.
JPEG is also lossy, and if you zoom in in photoshop to 200% you see a dramatic difference.
I stand by .TIF as the format to send, I am a print guy primarily, and 200,000 printers can't be wrong.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back