The Wednesday Format: PSD, Photoshop’s Native Format

The PSD (Photoshop Document) format is becoming the most utilized format especially amongst the Creative Suite users

Over are the times when designers need to store two versions of the same file. With the ever increased support of the PSD format across DTP softare, saving copies of files in flattened TIFF or EPS files is superfluos. The high-end layout applications have a very strong support for the PDF format, to the point where they can toggle layers and channels on and off, manipulate clipping paths and so on. Desipte the fact that TIFF files could support layers from version 6 of Photoshop onwards, the PSD file has replaced its use almost in its entirety. Factually for anyone using the Creative Suite or QuarkXPres 6.5, there is no reason to use TIFF files anymore.

PSD VS TIFF

PSD has various advantages over the TIFF format. TIFF is a standard file format, i.e. a format that is more or less universally readable by graphics software. PSD is Photoshop’s native format, but its use is spreading wide and so is its support, though sometimes opening a PSD file in non-Adobe applications will often flatten it and might also generate other unexpected results.

When importing TIFF files into a layout application designers often have to use clipping paths to get rid of backgrund and can’t cross-fade two imported images together because any transparency, partial or total, will be rendered as white.

Especially when imported in InDesign, PSD files don’t need clipping paths. Transparency, partial or total, is fully supported, making it real easy to cross-fade images or create other effects.

The PSD format supports the following:

• alpha channels
• clipping paths
• layers
• paths
• spot channels
• vector type

WHEN AND WHY USE PSD

Due to the versatility of the PSD format, its employment spans through several disciplines of design. PSD files are factually used for printing purposes, offset or in-house, as web templates due to their easy costumization, for photos and so on. The only format that cannot totally be replaced by PSD is the AI (Adobe Illustrator) format. Even though vector data (type) is supported by PSD, its support for that kind of data is not as complete as the AI format. PSD files are also often rasterized once imported into layout applications. If you are looking for a file format that supports both vector and raster data alike and gets little to no rasterization when imported into a layout program, you should go for PDF files.

For those who want to know the technical specifications of the file have a look at this file format summary on FileFormat.Info.

Related articles:
The Truth About JPEG
The Role of TIFF in Desktop Publishing
PDF: History, Features & Co.
Desktop Publishing with Photoshop PDF