nickbreedlove Posted November 26, 2002 Share Posted November 26, 2002 hey all, i work at a photo lab and my boss and i have been back and forth at each other for about a week now.... He's been arguing with me about which file format is the highest quality to store an image at. I told him that a TIFF (Tag/Tagged Image File Format) was the highest quality file format and he keeps telling me that a BMP (bitmap file) is the highest quality. I'm going crazy continually debating this with him...maybe I'm completly wrong...but I'm wondering which is it a bmp or tiff? Thanks,Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
._kaa Posted November 26, 2002 Share Posted November 26, 2002 All lossless formats are exactly the same with regard to the "quality" of stored image. In this respect there is no difference at all between a TIFF and a .bmp file. If you want to split hairs, though, TIFF can store 16-bits-per-channel images and I don't think .bmp can. So if you have a 16 bpc image to start with, advantage goes to TIFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mendel_leisk Posted November 26, 2002 Share Posted November 26, 2002 I'm using uncompressed tiff. Very early on, I tried bitmap, and found when using photo shop clone stamp (prior to healing brush intro) that patched areas had very pixelated edges, whereas tiffs had smooth edges. I'm not pro and don't understand the math/science behind these file formats, just know tiff is highly recommended as lossless and popular. I tried png but passed, it's compression slows image loading and it's "new", so why gamble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mendel_leisk Posted November 26, 2002 Share Posted November 26, 2002 More regarding photoshop brushes with tiff or bmp: brush options with bmp file are different, and I believe unique, with bmp file type. This says to me that bmp is a somewhat special file type. My understanding is that is definetely not a good choice for photographic images. Check out: http://www.scantips.com/basics09.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott_eaton Posted November 26, 2002 Share Posted November 26, 2002 <I>I told him that a TIFF (Tag/Tagged Image File Format) was the highest quality file format and he keeps telling me that a BMP (bitmap file) is the highest quality<P></i>What's heavier: a thousand pounds of bricks or a thousand pounds of feathers????<P>The two file types contain identical information. There are no no lossy compression variants of TIFF I'm aware of so that issue is moot. Same data - different format. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim schwaiger Posted November 26, 2002 Share Posted November 26, 2002 As long as it's a lossless format that preserves all the original information, the quality is exactly the same. Now, which format is better is a different story. BMPs are basically a Windows/PC format while TIFF is more standard on all types of machines. There are different implementations of TIFF for different platforms, but most software will read both Mac & PC TIFF files. PNG is more standardized than TIFF, but hasn't been as widely accepted. If you are achiving images here, picking TIFF is probably a wise choice as its current popularity will probably ensure that future programs will be able to read the files for decades to come. JPEG and GIF are even more popular, but their lossy nature is not good for archiving images. You might also consider saving the original digital format. If it is an image from a digital camera, that may be RAW or High Quality JPEG. From a flatbed/film scanner, you generally get TIFF format (which as stated above, can be 48-bit instead of the standard 24-bit). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark_thomas3 Posted November 28, 2002 Share Posted November 28, 2002 WARNING - if already confused by filetypes do NOT read on! Just for the sake of completeness - having noted that all answers at pn are 100% correct :o) - and for those who like trivia, here's a little known fact.. There is indeed a specification for a TIF file with jpeg compression - I kid you not. Thank your chosen deity that nobody uses the damn thing. For interest sake I tried it once, and discovered that the jpeg-compressed tif, at 50% compression, was actually rather similar in size and quality to a 70% jpeg. Confused and wondering why?? Me too. Forget I ever brought this up. I don't EVER want to see or hear about another lossy tiff.... mt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark_thomas3 Posted November 28, 2002 Share Posted November 28, 2002 Oh, and I'm pretty sure the bmp file spec *does* include 48-bit files, but have never actually tested this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shotbyjamie Posted December 1, 2002 Share Posted December 1, 2002 Doesn't anyone just use psd's? They might not be as universal as tiff's, but I'm pretty sure photoshop will be around for sometime. Maybe it's my Scanwit 2720, but are pepole generating psd's and then converting them to psd's? My scanning software works through photoshop, so they are created as psd's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emre Posted December 2, 2002 Share Posted December 2, 2002 <i>Doesn't anyone just use psd's?</i> <p> There is no harm in using PSD. It is now a <i>de facto</i> standard, and happens to be lossless. I use it for archiving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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