TIF

The TIF or TIFF format is widely used commercially. It has good support across multiple platforms (i.e. Mac, Windows, and Unix) and it supports most colour spaces, (i.e. RGB, CMYK, and YCbCr.) TIF stands for Tag Image File Format.

 JPG or JPEG

The JPEG or JPG format (often pronounced “jay peg”) is a great format for photo images with small file size requirements. With the JPEG format you can maintain a good level of image quality without a huge file size. This is convenient for web applications where image downloading time is a factor. JPEG uses lossy compression to achieve its small size, meaning that some of the image data will be irretrievably lost. JPEG stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group.

GIF

The GIF or (Graphics Interchange Format) file type uses a CLUT (colour look up table) to keep track of image colour information. Because GIF images are limited to the colours available in the look up table, this format may not be suitable for some images. However, GIF images are great for reproducing graphics like buttons, or dialog boxes, because of the reduced colour requirements of these kinds of objects. GIF images can also have a small file size that makes them ideal for web graphics that require solid colours. (GIF is most often pronounced as “jiff”).

PNG

The PNG image format (pronounced as “ping”) is a recently developed format that currently competes with GIF as a web graphic format, and with TIF as a non web format. PNG stands for Portable Network Graphics.

PSD

The PSD or Photoshop Document format is very useful for storing images as they are being edited and modified. It is very easy to save and use multiple layers, text and other Photoshop effects with this file format. Often, an image file will be stored as a PSD type while it is being edited, and then converted to another type when it is ready for print or the web. PSD is a Proprietary file format developed by Adobe.

PSB

PSB is another Adobe proprietary format that is available in Photoshop CS. It is very similar to PSD, but it can handle extremely large file sizes. Since PSB may not be compatible with earlier versions of Photoshop or other image processing software, It is probably not the best choice where portability is a concern.