Javascript Menu by Deluxe-Menu.com
AddThis Social Bookmark Button
transparentAllFreelanceWork Icons Top Graphic Design Forum & Discussions Our Sister Site - Graphic Design Community & Networking for Designers Our Sister Site - Digg for Designers Tag Favorite Design Sites Graphic Design & Graphics News Blog Our Sister Site Graphic Design Community - Graphic Designers & Web Designers Chat Our Sister Site Graphic Deisgn Community's Graphic Designers Gallery our sister site graphic design community - Graphic Design Events including Design Competitions and Competitions Clipart, Graphics, Stock Photography and Illustration Articles and Resources Design Education and Schools Free graphic design templates layouts and skins Graphics, Design, & Layout Software Articles & Tips Graphic Design Business and Careers and Jobs Articles and Resources Graphic Design Layout and Design Articles and Tutorials Search or Browse More Graphic Design Resources in our Directory



  • Search Design Schools and Classes
    Search for Graphic Design Schools and Classes
  • Graphic design templates
    graphic design templates stocklayouts Creative Graphic Design Templates

    Take a look at these creative templates for brochures, flyers, newsletters, stationery, postcards, ads, menus and posters for a variety of businesses. If you're faced with time limitations, budget constraints or simply need new creative ideas, let these designs do the work.

home > Graphic Design Articles > Graphics Software > Adobe Photoshop > PHOTOSHOP FILES & FORMATS : psd .. pdd .. jpeg .. jpg .. gif .. png .. eps .. tiff .. tif ..


PHOTOSHOP FILES & FORMATS : psd .. pdd .. jpeg .. jpg .. gif .. png .. eps .. tiff .. tif ..

by Shaun Pearce

If you are an Adobe Photoshop user then I am sure there have been times that different file formats wouldn't open up in Photoshop. This article covers all of the popular file formats and what formats Photoshop will recognize and open up or save as, and what the pros and cons are of each of these graphic formats.

GRAPHIC DESIGNERS FROM OUR GRAPHIC DESIGN COMMUNITY

 
DryLCE graphic designers from community Design Facet graphic designers from community JKnapp Spotlight graphic designers from community
achristopherdrown Spotlight graphic designers from community JKnapp Spotlight graphic designers from community graphic designer from our design community - aliencat

People often ask me: What image file formats will Photoshop open or save in? What are the advantages/disadvantages?
Photoshop has the capability to open and save many different graphic files. Here are some of the most popular ones.

Note: When you open an image file other than a Photoshop one, that image will default to the background layer.

.psd, .pdd, .eps

Photoshop File. This format preserves the information in all the layers. If you're going to continue working with a picture, this is the best format to use. File size can be quite large, however. Note: It is advisable to save your work in the most up to date Photoshop format available. For example: if you have Photoshop CS and are sent a Photoshop 7 file, you should save it as a Photoshop CS file to preserve any elements that may not be supported by Photoshop 7.

.jpg, .jpeg .jpe

This format compresses the images, so that information (details and color subtleties) are lost. You can choose how much you want to compress the image. Good format for use on the web. Small file sizes. Millions of colors.

.tif, .tiff

Common in use with early scanners. Will produce high quality images, but very large files. Not for use on the web.

.gif

Pronounced both "Gif" and "Jif", this file is one of the most popular for web graphics as it loads quickly. 8 bit format (256 colors max.). It has possibilities for transparent color and animation.

.png

New format for use on the web that is intended to replace both gif and jpeg. Compressed, millions of colors, transparencies. It compress in a different way than jpeg, and has advanced possibilities, such as alpha channel (opaque or partly transparent colors). The only trouble is: Internet Explorer doesn't support these! In 8 bit (256 colors) mode it compresses better than gif.

.bmp

Windows bitmapped image. Used by Microsoft Windows applications. Good quality, large file size. Not for use on the web.

.wmf

Windows MetaFile. Useful for clipart, and can be used to make large area, small sized background files.

.pcx

Older general purpose format. Practically obsolete now. Not for use on the web.

.psp

Internal format for Paint Shop Pro, useful if you want to swap files between these two applications.

.pcd

Kodak PhotoCD format, used with Photo Developing - although most photo processors will save your photos as jpegs if you ask them to.

.pdf

Portable Document File. Adobe's file system that allows electronic cross platform sharing of documents.

So what's the best format for web graphics: gif or jpeg?

The general rule of thumb is to use gifs for diagrams, line drawings, illustrations, and images that contain large areas of flat color, and jpegs for photographs and images with continuous color tones. The jpeg format has a very good compression rate, but compression reduces the quality of the image, so it's best to experiment with the tools in Image Ready until you have the optimal quality/file size. The gif format, on the other hand, has a smaller file size - but a limited range of colors

Shaun Pearce
Shaun Pearce is a writer and video maker. His latest production "Photoshop Master" shows you how to get the most from Photoshop, and can be downloaded from www.learnphotoshopfast.com.


Oct 6
Web Based Image Editors - Online Photoshop Alternatives for Image Editing
With Adobe recently launching their online version of Adobe Photoshop - Adobe Photoshop Express - you might be wondering if there are other quality image editors online. You don't have to wonder anymore. We have put together a list of more than 30 web-based picture editors that are great alternatives to Photoshop Express. I am not saying that any of these online image editing tools are better than Photoshop Express, but they are all quality tools that can be used to create great image effects.


Sep 30
Freelance Graphic Design Jobs and Web Design Jobs - We?re Rolling in Them
We have set up a script to take the freelance design jobs from dozens of freelance sites, graphic design forums, web design forums, job boards, and graphic design job sites. This script is set to automatically update this job board several times a day so you can be assured that you are looking at regularly updated freelance graphic design and web design projects on this aggregator.


Sep 25
Fonts FAQ - Answers To Your Questions About Fonts
I get questions about fonts all the time and I wanted to write a post that would help many of you. Today I am answering many questions about fonts that will help you in your daily graphic design tasks.


Sep 20
Productivity Tools for Efficient Graphic Designers to Automate Design Process
You will find that a lot of these tools can automate your graphic design process by actually doing the tedious repetitive tasks that slow you down. There are a ton of tools listed here, so make sure to bookmark this page.


Sep 11
Logo Design Process of Inspirational Graphic Designer Jon Sandruck
Logo Design Process of Inspirational Graphic Designer Jon Sandruck Do you want to learn about the logo design process from a logo designer who is going to have two of his logos to be included in the inspirational Logo Lounge 5? Then please welcome the very talented Jon Sandruck. Today Jon Sandruck is going to detail [...]


Sep 8
Most Unique / Silly Shopping Bags Ever Designed - Inspirational Graphic Design
I have collected more than a dozen of the coolest shopping bags that I have ever seen. The creativity that was put into designing these bags could be put towards any graphic design project, and is not only limited to shopping bag design. These graphic designers thought outside the box (or bag in this situation) and I would love to have you submit some designs that you think showcase the same creative thinking (designing).


Sep 2
Collection of Free Photoshop Pattern Sites - Start Downloading Those Patterns
If you are a Photoshop guru, then you are probably always on the lookout for new free Photoshop stuff. Well, we try to do that legwork for you. On this page you will find a nice roundup of free Photoshop pattern sites. Click through to these sites and download some of those free patterns. Have fun.


Sep 1
Huge Roundup of Typography Blogs, Resources, Articles, Galleries, & Tools
A collection of Typography blogs & resources, Typography articles, Typography showcases, and Typography tools and then categorized them for you in this article.


Aug 30
A Roundup of the Best Photoshop Logo Design Tutorials Online
I have collected the top Photoshop Logo Design tutorials online and listed them for you below. There are also plenty of Web 2.0 Logo Design tutorials as well.


Aug 28
Best Cool, Clever & Unique Billboards and Outdoor Advertising Part II
This part II of a never-ending series of the coolest outside ads, billboards, and public advertising.