formats that are suited for the kind of image you are saving. It should be kept in mind though that when you are to choose the format for your image, you need to take into consideration both the images quality and document size.

Photographic images could be saved in different document formats. Of course the understandible choice answers questions about compatibility. The format of choice is one that does not lose color quality, contrast or file size. TIF or EPS files are examples of lossless file formats. They are designed to print clear and crisp at a resolution of 300dpi at their final size in the layout. JPEG/JPG or GIF files are examples of lossy document formats. They were originally designed for easy document transmission and internet utilize, not for printing. When a lossy document format is saved over and over again, the jagged edges are exaggerated. The process creates extra pixel garbage that you do not want printed. Therefore, if you start with a JPEG document that then needs edits, save it as an EPS or TIF file. This way, additional data will not get lost and the quality of the original JPEG image will be maintained.

Each document format is planned for a distingguished purpose. It must be understood where they are used best for you to build full use of their individual potentials.
For images intended for print the fundamental requirement is efficient color support. It is by furnishing this that the TIFF format, with its support for RGB, Lab and especially CMYK color models, established itself. However, theres much more to successful print than just storing pixel values. In particular its important to recognize that photographic images are unlikely to be printed directly from their originating bitmap editor, but instead must fit into a wider print-oriented workflow. This immediately requires additional functionality such as DTP-based color management and compositing capabilities.

The PSD format can support all the advanced features such as duotones, clipping paths and channels but it also offers one feature that no other document format does. While every other format must be flattened on export, PSD is the only format that supports layers. Any program that supports PSDs directly might then leverage this layer understanding as Adobe ImageReady and Deneba Canvas show.

PNG is a format that may efficiently and losslessly handle images ranging from bi-level line-art through to state-of-the-art 48-bit photographic images. The format doesnt just support a transparent key color as GIF does but also, through its alpha mask, offers true variable transparency. Likewise the format doesnt just support color profiling but also enables gamma understanding to be embedded so that colors might be kept consistent across different platforms such as the Mac and PC. The format is also easily extensible as Macromedia has (rather confusingly) shown by building PNG the native format for its largely vector-based Fireworks code .