File Types

JPG- This is used when dealing with image file types. It is most common image format for camera's, and is mostly used for websites or within e-mail messages as the files are so small. They are not very good for printing and cannot be resized or changed without loosing a lot of quality, however most programmes are able to display, use and save this file type.

GIF- This is similar to jpg and is used when dealing with image file types. This is also a raster file. They are highly compressed files, which unfortunatly means they shudn't be used for graphics with gradients such as photo's.

PNG- This is mostly used to store graphics for web images and the final distribution of images as the files arn't compressed as much as jpg's. This is also a raster file. This supports true colour which is 16 million colours, a real qadvantage. Unfortunatly some programmes to do not run this file correctly and tend to save and print darker than they should.

PSD- This was created by and is used in Adobe Photoshop. This is a vector file and is great for use of Adobe programmes although not many other programmes recognize it.

TIF- This is an image file type, and is a raster file. When you save this file there is no loss of quality. A disadvantage is that the files tend to be very large. The smallest file is still to large to send as an e-mail.

BMP- This is an image file format used to store bitmap digital images. This is a raster file This works well with windows programmes, however is uncampatable with other platforms.

AI- This is an Adobe illustrator file which is a graphics design programme. This is a vector file. A ai file is usaully an original file so you know it was originally used for developing your design. This cannot be brought into other applications unfortunatly.

EPS- This can contain both vector and bitmap data. If the file only contains vector data it can easily be enlarged or reduced without loss of quality.