How to Save a Photoshop Image to an Alternative File Format

Original NEF format.

When you save an Adobe Photoshop image, it is by default saved as a PSD file. This is the native file format of Photoshop. You may want to save the image in an alternative file format, such as TIFF if you are printing the file or JPEG if you are sending the file to a screen. The Save As command allows you to choose from nearly 20 different file formats for your image.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Adobe Photoshop 6.0 or later running on a Mac or PC
• Copy of an image

1. Save As menu.

   Select the "Save As" command from the File drop-down menu. The Save As menu allows you to specify your location from the top drop-down menu. You can then select the file format from the drop-down menu and change the name of the file if you prefer. In this case, choose JPEG. You may also choose "Save As Copy," which will keep your original intact. The ICC profile is the profile selected under Adobe Gamma. In this case, the default is the ICC profile for a Nikon camera. To save without a profile, remove the check from the selected profile. To change the profile, exit Photoshop and use Adobe Gamma under Control Panel. When you have made your choices, click "Save."

2. JPEG options.

   When you click "Save," the JPEG Options window will open. You can specify the file size and quality level you need (the higher the quality, the larger the file and the smaller the compression). Medium-size files are fine for Web applications. Click "Preview" to see your file displayed when complete. After making your choices, click "OK."

3. Saved image.

   After clicking "OK," your image is displayed in Photoshop. If you have given an alternative name or selected "Save As Copy," your original file is still intact. Notice there are a lot of functions that cannot be used on a JPEG file. You should only save to an alternative file when all editing to the original Photoshop file is completed and saved.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are going to print your image, save it as a TIFF file.

• If you are going to use your image in a page makeup program like Quark, save it as an EPS file.

• If you are going to use the image as an icon, save it as a GIF file.

• If you are going to use the image on a website, save it as a JPEG file.

• Compressed file formats like JPEG and GIF cannot be edited after they are saved. Make your editorial changes and color corrections before saving to an alternative file format.

• Save your PSD file as your archival file for making future changes.

Resources

• Adobe Photoshop
• Adobe Photoshop Elements 8: Optimized File Formats for the Web