What File Types Are Best for Sharing Images?

The modern printing industry receives a lot of digital image files. Our digital printing machines work directly from these files, but even those artists and designers who work in more traditional ways may wish to share a digital copy of their work with us for proofing purposes. There is a plethora of different digital image file types. 

Here’s our guide to the five most common.

• .JPEG – This is the most common file type for sharing high-resolution photographs. You should never have any compatibility problems when sharing a JPEG. However, the file type does have limitations. For instance, it does not support transparency.
  
• .PNG – This file type preserves image quality and can handle transparency. The files tend to be large, because there is less compression than in other file types. 
• .GIF – This is a highly compressed file type designed for sharing images quickly in the days of slow internet transfer speeds. This file type is entirely unsuited to sharing images of a high enough quality for printing as there are only limited colours and the resolution is very low. These days it is mostly used for sharing short animated features on social media.  
  
• .TIFF – Perhaps less well-known outside the world of design than the others, TIFF is probably the best choice for high-quality printing. Maximum quality is retained when an image is saved in a Tagged-Image File Format.
  
• .PSD – Photoshop files can be useful to send if an image is still being worked on or if you're unsure of how to export your file at it's best quality. A .PSD is not an exported or final image and needs Photoshop installed on your device to open it.

Talk to Our Experts

We realise that not everybody is as familiar with computers and files as our digital printing experts. However, we are only a phone call away and we are always happy to share our wisdom. We can answer any questions you have about transferring files or any other aspect of the design and print process.

Call our reception on 01603 488001 or email any queries to sales@col-print.co.uk.

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