Old 12-10-2006   #1 (permalink)
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Best format for images?

Hey guys, Ive always wondered what is the best image file format that there is for each purpose. forexample what is the best image format that is good for art, Jpeg, Tiff, and so on. Can a eperienced person help me out.
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Old 12-10-2006   #2 (permalink)
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It really depends on what you're working with. JPEGs are good for photographs and images with lots of colors. GIFs are good for images with less colors. If you're going to make text as an image I wouldn't use JPEGs. They tend to get fuzzy and don't look very good. Go with GIFs when using text as images. PNGs are also becoming very popular. However, if using transparency with PNGs some browsers don't work with it, such as those versions of Internet Explorer 6 and under.
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Old 12-10-2006   #3 (permalink)
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If your graphics are destined for the web, then you're stuck with GIF, JPG or PNG as Jacorre has already explained. The only thing I would add is that if you are planning on printing your images (rather than displaying them online) you should use a lossless format like TIFF. Personally, I shoot all my photos in RAW format before manipulating them in Photoshop and saving them as PSDs, as this gives the most control over the final image.
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Old 12-10-2006   #4 (permalink)
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I save most of my black & white images as BMP as you can take the image up to 32bit.

For animations or transparency images go for GIF but this format is not suitable for complex and detailed images, or photographs.

If you do a lot of vector work, always save your files in EPS, due to exporting them into other programs for additional editing. Just make sure you're working in the same format (e.g. CMYK) in all programs once exporting and importing.

JPEGs are mainly for photographs and complex images.

PNGs...they're best for low quality simple images due to the low bit, but if you use a complex or main image, stick with JPEG. PNGs also have transparency, but the quality is restricted on greyscales for example. If you use these for complex images and large images, be warned because they can be larger than JPG in size.

If you are working with both Mac and PC, I find the best image format to use to keep the quality the same is PCT/PICT, as the RGBs can be saved as 16-32bits. Another commonly used format for this is RAW. The modern method is mostly TIFF, as they can be compressed without loss of quality and also saves any transparent frames. If you're using a printer, make sure you either contact them before hand and find out which of the above formats they use, or batch the same image in the above formats, just to be sure.

Sometimes you'll come by people using older comps and methods and if you deal with animation in greyscale always have PIXAR backups, just in case. It's always best to have everything you need saved, if you are doing any collaborations, or working with the 'older generation' of designers.

To present an image to someone, always try to get in the habit of using PDF as it's a universal image storage medium.
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Old 12-11-2006   #5 (permalink)
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And just to confuse the matter even further...you can use Photoshop to convert camera-specific RAW files to DNG (digital negative) format, which has all the benefits of Camera RAW but is a more universally compatible file type for archiving purposes.
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