Common Image Formats and Best Uses

BMP The default image format used by Microsoft and by Windows' built-in Paint accessory. Like JPEGs, they are raster-based, meaning they use thousands or millions of pixels to compose an image. Typically, BMPs do not use compression - resulting in very large file sizes.
Best Uses: BMPs are not used for many purposes and should probably be avoided unless you just want a quick way to save images to your local machine for personal reference.

EPS Encapsulated Post Script files are one of the industry - standard formats used in professional printing. Many commercial graphics applications - including Adobe Photoshop - and Adobe Illustrator - will output EPS files.
Best Uses: Ideal for printing vector-based graphics, such as logos or other jobs that don't contain many photographs.

GIF Commonly used on Web pages, Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) use lossless compression, they don’t noticeably degrade the original image, however they only use a palette of 256 colours and are unsuitable for photographs.
Best Uses: Best suited for Web graphics with a limited colour range, such as site navigational buttons and headers. Less colours than other formats make them smaller, meaning they'll load faster in a Web browser.

JPEG Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) files use lossy compression, there's little difference between a moderately compressed JPEG and the original, but a heavily compressed JPEG will appear very blurry.
Best Uses: As the "P" in its acronym implies, the JPEG format is optimized for use with photographs, particularly those to be posted on a Web site as the lossy compression algorithm helps achieve an economical file size.

PDF  While it's more of a general file type than a dedicated image format, Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF) can be put to good use in both print and Web-based projects.
Best Uses: Because of it's flexible control over file sizes and compression, the PDF has many uses. Becasuse it preserves vector and text data, it can be used for final artwork to print from or as final artwork as a download or mailer.

PSD PSD (Photoshop Document) is the proprietary file format Adobe Photoshop uses to save projects, which can contain can any combination of photographs, graphics, and text. File sizes can be very huge. Finalized PSDs are usually flattened and saved as another format, such as a TIFF, before being sent to a professional printer.
Best uses: PSD preserve the work done to artwork, so it’s best kept alongside final artwork, in case of changes.

TIFF Though Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) files can be saved completely uncompressed for maximum quality, you can also apply a lossless compression algorithm to decrease file size. Like PNGs and GIFs, the TIFF format supports full 24-bit colour.
Best Uses: Because TIFFs offer a high colour depth and an uncompressed option; they are a superior format for printing high-resolution photographs or other pixel-based (raster) images. The vast majority of free and commercial graphics-editing applications allow you to save images in the TIFF format.

 

 

 

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