It is always difficult for a beginner or even a experienced designer to send the right file format after designing for a client. In this article, I will try as much as possible to explain the different file formats and when they are required
PNG
it stands for portable network graphics. The file format was created as a replacement for GIF (Graphic Interchange Format). It is a lossless image compression
which means that all original data can be recovered when the file is uncompressed. With lossless compression, every single bit of data that was originally in the file remains after the file is uncompressed. It saves file with the extension .png
Uses
1. It is mainly for images transferable on the Internet and not for print since it recognises RGB colours only and not CYMK.
2. It saves the file in transparent background
3. It is better for print than Jpeg (when needed for print, save the png file without interlacing)
4. It is good storing icons, texts and graphics in a small size file
JPEG
An acronym for Joint Photographic Expert Group. JPG files have 2 sub-formats, JPG/Exif (often used in digital cameras and photographic equipment), and JPG/JFIF (often used on the World Wide Web). The format produces a file that is much smaller than PNG but with lower quality, noise, it is a lossy compression. JPEG images seems to lose quality over time as the image is saved or edited again. It has the following file extensions .jpg, .jpeg,
.jpe, .jif, .jfif, .jfi
One question is, what is the difference between Jpeg and jpg?
The answer is no. Both terms are Interchangeable and mean the same thing.
Uses
1. It is best used for transferring digital images and photographs
2. For realistic painting with several colour tones.
3. It is used when the work has sevaral photographic elements or gradients
It is good for storing photographs since it is smaller than BMP.
TIFF
It stands for Tagged Image File Format. It is a very important file format used by graphic artist, publishing firms and photographers. It is used for raster images. The file extension is .tiff, .tif
It is a lossless file compression hence it maintains quality when the file is saved again or edited
Uses
1. Used in graphic publishing and medical imaging
2. In some photographs since it has higher quality
GIF
An acronym for Graphic Interchange Format. It is a bitmap image format widely used in the world wide web. It has .gif extension. It is not suitable for images with colored photographs and gradients. It uses lossless data compression. The video produced in gif format is short and soundless
Uses
1. For small animation and low resolution video clips
2. For sharp edge line art like logos especially those with low number of colours.
3. It is very popular in social media platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook,Snapchat, Twitter and Instagram to create memes
AI
This is the traditional file format for files created in Adobe Illustrator. It has the extension .ai
It was originally called PGF (Progressive Graphics Format)
It is a vector based format hence the graphics retain their quality with maximum zooming. The file can be editable using Illustrator
Uses
1. They are suitable for print production, used by promotional product company and for sign and banner print.
2. Good for logo design projects
3. For creating editable files using the relevant software
EPS
An Encapsulated Postscript Vector Graphics (Adobe Illustrator) . It can contain 2d graphics, bitmap images and texts. Hence an EPS file can contain both vector and raster files. It has the extension .eps
You can open eps files with Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Indesign and CorelDRAW. You can convert the file to other formats like png, Jpeg and tiff etc. It is editable using Illustrator
Uses
1. They are used to save artwork or logos
2. It is very useful in transferring files between different operating systems like Photoshop and Illustrator
Portable Document Format. A file format used to show documents, text formatting, fonts, graphics and images. It is independent of other operating systems. It is used for transferring files that cannot be edited. PDF can be created with various softwares Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Office, Photoshop, Illustrator, Corel Draw etc
It can be a vector or raster format depending on how it is saved
Uses
1. For creating ebooks and documents
2. For commercial, digital print work and digital publishing
PSD
Photoshop Document file. This is the original format available for Photoshop to save files. It's a raster format and editable using Photoshop. It can store images, shapes, texts and graphics using layers. The file extension is .psd
The file can be opened using Photoshop, GIMP and CorelDRAW
Uses
1. It allows the user to work with the images' individual layers even after the file has been saved.
2. For saving artworks, designs and print work that is needed in editable format
CDR
This is the traditional file format for CorelDRAW. It is a vector based graphics file. The file ends with the extension .cdr
It can be opened with CorelDRAW Graphic Suite, Paintshop and Illustrator from Adobe Illustrator 9
Uses
1. For digital and commercial print production
2. For logo design and other vector works
3. To store files that will be editable using relevant software
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