The Tools Libraries of Image Formatting

One type of image format will not serve all digital and print purposes. Each format has different characteristics that will help determine how suited it is for a particular purpose. For instance, with graphics being used in print, a high resolution format should be used such as .TIFF and .EPS. These are the best formats for images being used in desktop publishing because they provide the highest quality with the lowest amount of hassle.

When dealing with online publishing, the best formats to use are .GIF and .JPEG. These provide high quality while keeping file size small so the page load time is reasonable, as is file sizes. GIF files are best known for their ability to be animated and they have the option for transparency, meaning they can be placed against any background. JPEG’s are best for photographs online.

Other image formats include .PSD and .AI which are used by Adobe’s Photoshop and Illustrator, respectively, and .PNG. PNG files are becoming an increasingly popular choice for web graphics. Each graphic format has its own compression rates and settings that may be changed around until the best graphic quality is achieved.

About’s Graphic Software Channel provides information about how to change between different graphic formats, and helps in choosing the appropriate file format.

Adobe’s Guide to Converting Images shows the display differences between photo formats.

Graphic Art and illustration courses to manage your images like a professional graphic designer.

Photoshop Support provides a collection of various Photoshop graphic tutorials to show different techniques and effects.

Your HTML Source presents an in depth guide to image formats.

Web development course offered by professional web design schools.

LabNol shows how to choose an image format for screen shots.

Image Formats presents detailed information on multiple image formats.

Picnik is an online image editor for file conversions and adding cool effects.

Free PDF Convert allows images and other files to be converted to PDF for free.

Resizr is a free online tool to re-size and edit images that can then be posted to social networking sites or sent via email.

YouTube has a video tutorial of how to create a thumbnail image gallery using Flash.