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What’s your type?

For many people, knowing when to use a certain type of graphic or image file is a confusing matter. Most of us have heard of “JPEG files” and maybe the “GIF format”, but what about EPS and TIFF? When is it appropriate to use certain file types and not others? This is a brief guide explaining what each kind of file is and when it is appropriate to use it.

When people refer to a “file type” they are most often talking about the letters which come after the period in the name of a file. This is also known as a file extension. For example “filename.doc” has a “.doc” file extension which is most commonly associated with the Microsoft Word program. Most common file types for graphics and photos are .jpg, .gif, .png, .tif, and .eps.

JPEG files (Joint Photographic Experts Group) are most commonly seen with a file extension .jpg or .jpeg. Both refer to the JPEG (pronounced Jay-Peg) format. This is a compressed format that is best used for on-screen application, such as in PowerPoint documents and on the Internet. Its purpose is to provide a high quality image with a small file size. On the web, JPEG files have been formatted to 72dpi which means there are 72 dots-per-inch, which refers to the resolution. This resolution may be acceptable for printing documents for personal use, but is not high enough quality to use for professional printing such as on business cards, brochures, books, and any other printing for circulation.

Best used for: On-Screen PowerPoint presentations, web sites, emails, and other situations where a small file is needed.
Not ideal for: High quality printing projects like brochures, business cards, book covers, etc. unless you can verify that it is a high resolution image (200+dpi). In that case, JPGs are acceptable for print use.

GIF files (Graphics Interchange Format) are seen with a file extension .gif. The GIF format was created exclusively for use on the web and is known for its ability to animate and also retain transparency. GIF files are limited to 256 colors and are best used for graphics with a small number of colors such as a logo. They do not reproduce photos well, unlike the JPG format which handles far more colors.

Best used for: Web sites, emails, and other situations where a small file is needed with limited colors.
Not ever used for: High quality printing projects like brochures, business cards, book covers, or any printed materials using CMYK color.

PNG files (Portable Network Graphics) are seen with a file extension .png. This format has been recently created as an alternative to the GIF format. Although it does not allow for animation, it handles a wider range of transparencies and colors, often with far better compression. It is becoming widely supported in most every modern web browser.

Best used for: Web sites, emails, and other situations where a file is needed with transparency, large number of colors and a small file size.
Not ever used for: High quality printing projects like brochures, business cards, book covers, or any printed materials using CMYK color.

TIFF files (Tagged Image File Format) use the extension .tif or .tiff and is pronounced TIFF. TIFF is an uncompressed format that is suitable for high quality printing and is the most universal and widely supported format across all platforms (Mac, Windows, Unix, etc.). The only drawback is that the file sizes are much larger than JPEG files. For example, TIFF files have a resolution of 300 dpi which is more than enough resolution for most printing needs, but can be rather large (1MB+).

Best used for: High quality printing of brochures, business cards, book covers, published articles and other print materials.
Not ideal for: Web sites, PowerPoint presentations, files that need to be emailed

EPS files (Encapsulated PostScript) use the extension .eps and is pronounced as an acronym (E.P.S.). This format is unique in that it is a PostScript file that is resolution independent. Since it is based on vector points and not pixels, it can be scaled to any size with out any loss of quality. This makes the EPS format one of the most versatile formats for graphic designers and desktop publishers to use. It is commonly used with graphic programs like Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, and other vector-based programs.

Best used for: High quality printing of brochures, business cards, book covers, published articles and other print materials.
Not ideal for: Web sites, PowerPoint presentations, Word Documents

By Dave | April 23rd, 2008 | Comments

Creating a PDF file

One of the easiest ways to transfer documents from person to person or from your desktop to a printer is through the use of PDF files. From Adobe, the creator of the PDF format:

“Invented by Adobe Systems and perfected over 15 years, Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) lets you capture and view robust information—from any application, on any computer system—and share it with anyone around the world. Individuals, businesses, and government agencies everywhere trust and rely on Adobe® PDF to communicate their ideas and vision.”

There are many benefits to using this type of file. PDFs are multi-platform which means that they’re viewable on Mac, PC, UNIX, mobile and many other formats. This is really handy if you use a Mac and need to send a file to a PC user! Another key benefit is that they maintain the document’s integrity. All of the fonts, images, and graphics will remain exactly how you created them, regardless of what application you used to make the file. This has been a huge benefit to the printing community because you can submit a file without worrying about font problems or embedded images. PDF files are also searchable and can even be made secure, requiring a password to view them. One thing to be aware of is that the contents (text, etc.) of a PDF cannot be edited once it is made, so you cannot send a rough draft as a PDF file and have others edit it and send it back.

Another great benefit of PDF files is that they can be compressed easily to make a large file more manageable. For example, say that you have a Powerpoint presentation that has a number of photos that you’ve taken. Files like this can often be 10+MB large and this is often large enough to shut down some email boxes! By saving to a PDF file, you can shrink the file down to 1-2MB which is a much more reasonable size.

How to make a PDF file:

This process is slightly different between Mac and PC computers. I am definitely more familiar with the Mac platform, so I encourage the PC users out there to post suggestions in the comments below!

On a Mac, PDF creation is built into the operating system. If you are in Microsoft Word or Powerpoint, go to the File menu and select “print”. In the print dialogue box, there is a button that says PDF. Click on it, select “save to PDF” and you’ll be asked to give the file a name. Type in whatever you want to call it and press “save” and you’re all done! Apple has also included a great PDF application call Preview in with the operating system that allows you to read these files.

creating a PDF on a Mac

On a PC, there isn’t a native way to create a PDF file straight out of Word or Powerpoint. The best way to allow easy PDF creation on a PC is to purchase Adobe Acrobat Professional. It can be a bit pricey, but it will give you all of the features that you could ever want.

There is also a program that has come highly recommended to me called CutePDF Writer. This will allow you to set up a PDF printer on your machine and print PDF files out of most print applications. If you have any experience with this, be sure and share your thoughts in the comments below!

So, that’s a brief overview of PDF files. Here at the Center for Research on Learning, we post almost all of our document online as PDF files to make them available for people to download. Even if you’re not planning on ever creating a PDF file, it is easy to read them from any machine. Adobe has provided a FREE PDF reader called Adobe Acrobat Reader and it is available for download at their website www.adobe.com.

By Dave | April 15th, 2008 | Comments

A Word About Printers: Part 2

When taking a file to be printed (at either type of printer), you might find yourself trying to understand a different language when asked about what kind of options or “specs” that you’d like. To make the process easier for you and the printer and to help reduce costly mistakes, I’ve listed a few things below that you need to know before taking a job to a printer.
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By Dave | April 11th, 2008 | Comments

A Word About Printers: Part 1

Hello! This is Dave Gnojek and I’m the Graphic Designer for the KU Center for Research on Learning. I’ve been talking with Aaron Sumner for a while about getting together so that I can share some of my thoughts on design and how it fits into the work we do here at the CRL. The Stratepedia blog seemed like the perfect venue for this and so, from time to time, I’ll be posting about things related to design that everyone can benefit from! For this post, I’d like to start discussing printing and how to understand some of the issues that might arise when you contact a printer.
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By Dave | April 9th, 2008 | Comments
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