Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Experts
Group)
grades the quality of images and discards color and pixel data. Once the image data
is lost, it cannot be recovered.
GIF files are used to display limited (indexed) color graphics on the Web. It is a com-
pressed format that reduces the file size of images, but it only supports a limited
number of colors and is thus more appropriate for logos and artwork than photo-
graphs. GIF files support transparency.
GIF (Graphic
Interchange
Format)
PNG (Port-
able Net-
work Graph-
ics)
PNG was developed as an alternative to GIF for displaying images on the Web. It
uses lossless compression and supports transparency.
PRINT PRODUCTION FORMATS
The Photoshop format (.psd) is the default file format and the only format, besides
the Large Document Format (PSB), that supports most Photoshop features. Files
saved as .psd can be used in other Adobe applications, such as Adobe Illustrator,
Adobe InDesign, Adobe Premiere, and others. The programs can directly import
.psd files and access many Photoshop features, such as layers.
PSD (Pho-
toshop docu-
ment)
TIFF is a common bitmap image format. Most image-editing software and page-lay-
out applications support TIFF images up to 2GB in file size. TIFF supports most color
modes and can save images with alpha channels. While Photoshop can also include
layers in a TIFF file, most other applications cannot use these extended features
and see only the combined (flattened) image.
TIFF or TIF
(Tagged
Image File
Format)
EPS files can contain both vector and bitmap data. Because it is a common file
format used in print production, most graphics software programs support the EPS
format for importing or placing images. EPS is a subset of the PostScript format.
Some software applications cannot preview the high-resolution information con-
tained within an EPS file, so Photoshop allows you to save a special preview file for
use with these programs, using either the EPS TIFF or EPS PICT option. EPS sup-
ports most color modes, as well as clipping paths, which are commonly used to sil-
houette images and remove backgrounds.
EPS (Encap-
sulated
PostScript)
Photoshop PDF files are extremely versatile, as they can contain bitmap and vector
data. Images saved in the Photoshop PDF format can maintain the editing capabilit-
ies of most Photoshop features, such as vector objects, text, and layers, and most
color spaces are supported. Photoshop PDF files can also be shared with other
graphics applications, as most of the current versions of graphics software are able
to import or manipulate PDF files. Photoshop PDF files can even be opened by users
with the free Adobe Reader software.
Photoshop
PDF
VIDEO PRODUCTION FORMATS
TIFF or TIF
See Print Production Formats, above.
TARGA (TrueVision Advanced
Raster Graphics Adapter)
This legacy file format is used for video production. The TARGA
format supports millions of colors, along with alpha channels.
Choosing a file format
In this section, you will save your file to share online and for printing. You will use two common formats,
JPEG and Photoshop PDF.
