Design Tips and Considerations

General Design Tips  |  To TIFF or not to TIFF  

General Design Tips
Various design tips from typography to printing to graphics and more with step by step instructions.
(http://www.eyewire.com/tips/design/)

To TIFF or not to TIFF . . .
     Different file formats and how they affect your job

TIFF and EPS files are two major graphics formats found today. These formats are used exclusively for the print media. They cannot be used for the web.

TIFF stands for Tagged Image File Format. EPS stands for Encapsulated Post Script. The differences arise in that one stores information in a "tagged" format, while the other "encapsulates" it. While these two files contain the same information, their uses and maneuverability are different.

Black/white, grayscale, and RGB or CMYK color graphics/photos can be saved in either format. TIFF grayscale files, though, can be changed to any spot color in most desktop application. TIFF files are also generally smaller than EPS. TIFFs can also be converted to a "lossless" compression method called LZW. This makes them generally easier to use than the EPS format. This compression does not, however, work with every printing device.

EPS files on the other hand support JPEG compression which is lossy. This means some of the file data is actually lost in the compression, which may cause printing problems. EPS files, however, support clipping paths to a higher degree than TIFF files. They cannot be changed to any spot color after importation. When using EPS files, make sure they contain the final colors.

In making the final choice, consider the factors of size of the final graphic, the printing device used, the need for editing the spot color of the graphic and the use of clipping paths.

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