When working with a large file in Photoshop, it’s best to save it as a PSD or a TIFF to avoid the loss. Realistically, you only need to save as a JPEG as the last step. TIFF (.tiff) stands for Targeted Image File Format (no, it’s not short for Tiffany) and was originally designed as an interchange format between scanners and printers. Check out our digital art files selection for the very best in unique or custom, handmade pieces from our prints shops. Well you're in luck, because here they come. There are 1179363 digital art files for sale on Etsy, and they cost $3.26 on average.
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Tip of the Month: Issue 5
By Jeremy Tuber
.jpg, .gif, .png, .eps, .pdf, .tif; file format options or a bad accident involving alphabet soup?
Every time a graphic file is saved on the computer, the program saves the artwork with a specific file format. Some formats are high resolution, some are low; some are specific to the native application (like .doc files are MS Word), while others can be used by different computers and different applications.
Just as different software programs are good at performing different tasks, different file formats are good for different purposes. You wouldn't use MS Word to construct a large table of financial data; you'd use MS Excel. The same principle goes for file formats, some are suited for lower-resolution web graphics and email, and others are high-resolution graphics for printing.
Who cares? You should...
This can be down right confusing for a non-expert. In fact, it can be disastrous to spend hours working on a file and have it in the wrong format. Artwork in the wrong file format might be:
- Rejected by a printer
- Incompatible with a computer
- Result in slower download times
- Reproduce over the Internet or on print with unpredictable or awful results.
All of these will result in costing your more time and money. The good news is: experienced business savvy designers will know from experience exactly which file type to use for each specific circumstance.
For those looking for a little extra knowledge, or gluttons for punishment, here is a quick synopsis of when to use which file type:
.jpg – 'jay peg', great for web sites and email, this file format compresses continuous-tone images (like a picture with millions of colors) down to a size that can be downloaded of the Internet quickly. The downside to this format is that compressing the image too much will cause it to visibly degrade and look jagged.
.gif – 'gifs', pronounced with a 'G', not a 'J', also a terrific file type for the Internet and emailing. Gifs do an incredible job of compressing images and making them suitable for fast downloads. In contrast to the .jpg, the .gif is not suited for non-continuous color images, but solid colored images (some cartoons or clip art is a good example of this). One added bonus is that the .gif images can be placed on a web page with an clear background, so you layer them on a web page. Sometimes the artwork has a sharp, unattractive border when the image's background invisible, when this happens, go with the next file type, the .png.
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.png – 'pings' or 'p.n.g's:, this format can act as a hybrid between the .jpg and the .gif, it allows users to compress either non/continuous-tone color images, and allow you to put the on a web page with a clear background. .Pngs are usually larger in file size than the previous file formats but they allow people to save artwork to be layered on web pages or other artwork without any sharp or disruptive border. .Pngs are extremely versatile, but they usually result in larger files and longer download times.
.eps – 'encapsulated postScript', these files can be vector or raster - which makes them extremely powerful, this goes beyond the scope of this article. Professional printers and printable advertising media, like a magazine, will typically ask that the artwork be saved as an .eps file or perhaps a .tif. Recently the .pdf document has made some headway into certain areas of printed media as well.
.tif – 'tagged image file format', a versatile color space file format (CMYK, RGB, Grayscale) and cross-platform between Mac and PC. The .tif file format was originally intended for scanning, and a lot of scanned images are saved as tifs. Printers and advertisers will often request or permit final artwork to be designed in a tif.
.pdf – 'portable document format', Adobe's native file format that is read by a program called Adobe Acrobat. Most computer users have Acrobat on their system, if they don't they can download Acrobat Reader for free. The .pdf has a wide range of uses, including a lot of usage on web, interactive forms and they can even be used for printing.
Top 5 Indications You've Used the Wrong File Format:
- The printer you are using starts to laugh at you
- The printer you are using starts to cry in front of you
- Colleagues complain that you are filling up her/his mailbox with large image files
- Prospects visiting your web site indicate your company logo looked out of focus and more like a blob of mustard and relish
- You've decided on which file format to use based on a novel magic 8 ball
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Did you like this article? Email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., feel free to share it with a colleague that would benefit from it. If you need advice or assistance with determining the right file format to use, give me a shout at 480-391-0704, I would be a happy to walk you through it.
Jeremy runs the only business savvy graphic design firm who helps companies build more confidence and credibility into their business identities. “I help you take your business' vision and shape it into a company identity that will make you look better, feel better and have more confidence about your business.”
Like the article? Email Jeremy today at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for your choice of a free insider’s bulletin: “How to Choose the Right Marketing/Design Firm for You” or “Top Ten Questions Designers Don’t Want You to Ask Them”.
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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeremy_Tuber^
The following is a tutorial on how to use Adobe Illustrator to convert a hand-drawn illustration into a digital graphic. More specifically, we will use Illustrator’s Image Trace function to convert a drawing into a vector image. A vector image is made up of a large set of points that can be infinitely scaled (up or down in size) without losing resolution.
To start the process of preparing the illustration for web, take a high resolution photo (8.3 megabytes) with an iPhone 6. We didn’t have a scanner on hand.
Setting up the canvas
In Adobe Illustrator, open a new file with its profile set for Web, its size set to 1280 x 800 pixels, and its orientation set to landscape. This is a big enough canvas to create an image large enough to be set as a feature image on Storybench.
Upload the photo by clicking Place… in the File menu.
Cropping the photo
We want to use the Clipping Mask function to crop the photo and remove all the excess information that makes no sense to trace or even include. In the Object menu, click Clipping Mask and then Make.
Then drag the borders to crop the photo.
Convert to grayscale and rasterize
Next we convert the drawing to grayscale, which I am told makes it easier to trace by the Adobe Illustrator. In the Edit menu, select Edit Colors and then Convert to Grayscale.
Next, rasterize the image so you can trace the image. Click Rasterize… under the Object menu. Select Grayscale under Color Model.
Tracing the image
Now for the fun part. With the illustration selected, click Image Trace in the Window menu.
What To Save Digital Art As
Next, click the checkbox next to Preview. By sliding the Treshold button you can make the lines thicker or lighter.
Next we want to convert the traced image into a vector, i.e. a set of points. Go to the Object menu, select Image Trace, and click Expand.
A closer look reveals the points that make up each piece of the illustration.
Ungroup the points
Next, we want to ungroup the points. This will allow us to move around individual elements or smaller subsets of points, like if we want to move the referee further away from the player. Select Ungroup under the Object menu. Sometimes you may need to ungroup several times.
We can also select subsets of points and regroup them. Once you’ve selected this subgroup (using the Shift key to help), click Group under the Object menu. Here we’ve moved the player away from the ref.
Adding color
Since the football player was modeled after a Seattle Seahawks player, we decided to make him the Seattle Seahawks blue. To copy a color from an image, File > Place… a screenshot of the color on your canvas. (I took the screenshot from a Seattle Seahawks logo).
To make a swatch with this specific shade of blue, we want to open the Swatches box from the Window menu. Then, click the eyedropper tool in the left menu and click the screenshot of the color.
It will show up as the primary color in your swatch box. Click the New Swatch icon which is on the bottom-right, just left of the trash can icon. It will ask you to save the new swatch. Click OK. Now it will be saved on your list of color swatches.
Select the football player by dragging the Selection tool (or black pointer on the top left) across all the football player points. When the player is selected, click the new swatch you’ve just created. Voilá.
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Delete the screenshot of the color and export your image using File > Export…
Some important options here. Make sure Use Artboards is selected to include the full canvas that you have been working on. If it is unchecked, the image exported will only be as tall and wide as the elements you’ve traced, i.e. the player and ref. Click Export. On the following PNG Options box, you have the option of selecting White, Black, Transparent or Other from the Background Color dropdown menu. Transparent is great for superimposing PNGs over other images.
We chose white and ended up with this:
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All images thanks to Luna Bajak.