Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Photoshop is a feature-rich and truly enjoyable program, but
it is frequently not the end of the road for a designer or artist.
Most often, professionals (and even hobbyists) will need to save
their files for use in other software packages and environments.
Whether it's a JPEG for a website, an EPS for a professional
printer, or a PNG file for video editing, Photoshop can create it.
In fact, Photoshop supports more than 20 file formats by default.
Additional formats used by cameras or other software packages
can be added via plug-ins. Not all formats will work with every
color space or image type, but each has a special purpose. Let's
explore some of the most common formats you'll encounter. Bold
items in the following tables are supported features.
From the Save As dialog box, you can
select from several file formats. Certain
ones may be unavailable due to bit
depth or image mode.
Photoshop (.psd)
Layers
8-bit
16-bit
32-bit
Bitmap
Grayscale
Duotone
Indexed Color
RGB
CMYK
Lab
Multichannel
Note that not all color spaces work in 16- and 32-bit modes.
Photoshop format is the default file format. This format supports
all Photoshop's features. It's a good idea to save your design files
in this format for maximum editability. Additionally, many other
software packages recognize Photoshop layers.
NoTe
Many Formats to
Choose From
If you need to explore additional
formats, you'll find further informa-
tion in the Photoshop Help menu.
CompuServe GIF (.gif)
Layers
8-bit
16-bit
32-bit
Bitmap
Grayscale
Duotone
Indexed Color
RGB
CMYK
Lab
Multichannel
The online service provider CompuServe originally developed the
Graphics Interchange Format (GIF). This format displays 8-bit or
indexed-color graphics and images in HTML documents on the
Internet. You'll hear the file called both “giff” and “jiff”; both are
