image format for chopz and stuff

[Stonebow]

Just out of interest what format do you think is best for storing chops.

Im pretty new to photoshop and was just using the default psd format but now have changed to png as I heard it was better, I know IE6 and versions below has issues with png's and transparancy if placed via html and wondered what others use.... Is it a case of 6 is behind the times and stick with png for the way forward as others will catrch up, or use the older gif format for compatiability...

[bc_2005]

I always just use jpg. lol

[Stonebow]

But if the chop is placed on transparent background wont the transparency be lost under jpg... ?

One of the reasons I was asking was I am thinking of putting some chopz online for safekeeping and wanted the transparency so I could use them as required in later stuff

[bc_2005]

Originally Posted by Stonebow

But if the chop is placed on transparent background wont the transparency be lost under jpg... ?

One of the reasons I was asking was I am thinking of putting some chopz online for safekeeping and wanted the transparency so I could use them as required in later stuff

oh for transparent or animated I use Gif

[Darink]

I use psd or layered tiff for storage on my hard drive. If I plan on publishing to web I will use png or jpeg. Png is a good format for storage for certain things. But .psd remains my overall preference.

[Stonebow]

Thanks for the feedback all, so no hard rules as to which is the best format , just down to personal preference then.

[TomWatts]

"The GIF format can have a maximum of 256 colors. GIF files support transparency and animation, and work best with graphics that have large areas of the same colour, JPEG format works best with photographic images or images that have more than 256 colours and gradients, images saved in JPEG format are compressed, which means that image information will actually be lost, causing the image to degrade in quality.
PNG format is similar to the GIF format in that it supports transparency and works best with solid-colour images but it’s superior to the GIF format as it has the ability to support true levels of transparency for coloured areas. Transparent PNGs
are currently not in widespread use on the Web because older versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer do not support them; however, they’re often used in Macromedia Flash movies. PNGs can produce a better quality image at a smaller file size than can GIFs."
thats a webmaster's point of view but it comes down to what ever floats your boat

[tx51210]

If you are talking about storage and preservation, the psd format is the best for a wide variety of files. This preserves the layers and editable information that can be lost when flattening for other file formats.

The compression that some file fomats use that make them good for use on the web will actually deteriorate your image as you open and close them for future editing.

It really boils down to preservation vs reducing file sizes. Hard drive space is pretty cheep, so I tend to keep the original files and often go back to those to use in creation of new artwork using some part of the original layers.

[Alan2641]

I keep PSD and backup to DVD's as required to keep my hard drive clean that way i can alway change to another format from the original work weather its a format change or reusing some of the layer work.

[Dookie]

PSD or PSB for sure. They both keep all alpha(transparency) info, as well as layers and such. Use an archiver (ZIP or RAR) if space is an issue, you can often cut the size by more than half.