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Can you tell me what is the best image format for printing?

We have to distinguish between raster and vector images before we can discuss specific file formats. Retail graphics and web graphics use raster images, which are made from pixels. When zooming in, the photos become more pixelated, but they are the only option. As for vector images, they are created with geometric shapes. The detail of the images can be preserved as they are enlarged to any size. Text, animated characters, and logos benefit from vectors.

RAW images provide the best photo resolution, but most printers won’t accept the large file format. The TIFF / TIF format is recommended instead. Because the original RAW file is not compressed, this raster format is popular in the photographic and publishing industries. It’s a lossless format. For printing photos, TIFF files produce the highest quality images.

Vector images are probably best printed in PDF format. Prior to printing, vectors must be converted into raster formats from EPS (Encapsulated PostScript). Export the vector image as a PDF after resizing it in Illustrator or Photoshop. As far as printing is concerned, this format is universally accepted.

CMYK vs. RGB

If you wish to save a raster image as a CMYK or RGB image in your editing software, you can make this selection in your editing software. Printing in CMYK uses four ink colors (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black). A combination of red, green, and blue creates RGB color. CMYK is designed for printing, while RGB is for digital media.

Using other image formats for printing

In terms of image formats on the web, JPEG is the most popular. JPEG is a lossy format. Raster (compressed) image format. If you are exporting a JPEG file through your image editing software, you can adjust the compression level to reduce file size. In print projects, JPEGs are excellent when the compression setting is low.

A PSD file is a file format that Photoshop is used to store its documents. For editing images before exporting them, this is an excellent starting point. The majority of printers will not recognize PSD files, so you will need to convert them to TIFF or JPEG before printing.

Illustrator uses AI as its default image format. Designed primarily to edit vector images, AI files can be exported in many different formats (for example, PDF). PDF, TIFF, JPEG).