Understanding digital photo file formats
No matter what you like to do with your digital photos, you need to choose the right format to edit, print, and share them.
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Introduction
If you look at the file name of any of your digital photos, you'll notice something like ".jpg" at the end. That indicates the format in which your file has been saved. Each file format has a purpose. Learn about the preferred formats for saving and working with your photo files—whether you want to edit them, post them online, share them via e-mail, or print them.
What kinds of files does my digital camera create?
JPEG has become the standard file format for digital cameras because of its small size.
Most consumer point-and-shoot cameras only have one format option and that is JPEG (denoted with the .jpg file extension). You usually have the choice of a low, medium, or high-quality JPEG.
JPEG has become the standard for smaller cameras because it has the highest compression. In other words, it squeezes the information from your photo into a smaller file size than other formats, which allows you to take more photos.
Learn more about our digital camera offerings.
Understanding file types: RAW, TIFF, JPEG, GIF
If you are editing your photos using a photo software program, you have many options when it comes time to save your pictures. You’ll also run into the following file formats when you are scanning and saving photos, or archiving and organizing them with photo-management software. Here is a handy guide to understanding available file formats and how you use them.
| RAW | TIFF | JPEG | GIF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What you use it for | Professional-grade cameras offer a couple more compression formats, like RAW. The RAW file format is best for archiving because it is the purest unaltered format available (retains the most digital information). | The TIFF file format is ideal for editing and making large prints because it still retains a large amount of image information (almost as much as RAW). | For most printing jobs and sharing through e-mail and over the Internet, JPEG is the perfect file format. | Commonly used for Web graphics with a limited color range rather than photographs. |
| Benefits | No compression has been applied. Every bit of information collected from a camera’s sensor has been preserved. | TIFF supports layered files, which allows you to edit images in software programs like Photoshop. TIFFs retain color information while being much smaller than RAW. TIFF files can be saved with very little compression making it ideal for printing large sized high-resolution images. |
JPEG has the highest compression of the three and therefore offers the smallest file size. It is also the most common file format in use. Just about every photo-editing or photo-organization program supports it. |
Because they use fewer colors, GIF file sizes are very small, which makes them perfect for online use. |
| Drawbacks | RAW image files can be very large, easily upwards of 40 to 50MB per photo with a high-megapixel camera. Professional photographers are often the only ones with enough space to dedicate to such oversized files. Once a RAW image has been manipulated, a copy has to be saved in another form, such as a TIFF or JPEG. |
Though they are smaller than RAW files, TIFF files are not small. Depending on the resolution of your camera, you could easily end up with files in the 5 to 15MB range. TIFFs are not widely supported by Web browsers, which makes them a poor choice for online use. |
Unlike RAW and TIFF formats, a JPEG will degrade each time you save it. This is known as a “lossy” type of compression. That’s why it’s important to save a high-quality original and then edit copies of that file. | GIF files don’t support as many colors as other types of file formats. |
| Print directly from your camera’s memory card with an HP printer? | No. RAW files are very large and would need to be resized and saved as a JPEG or TIFF file to edit or print directly from your HP Photosmart printer or All-in-One. | Yes. You can edit and print TIFF files directly from your HP Photosmart printer or All-in-One—no PC needed. Though keep in mind that TIFF files are more suited to editing with photo software on a PC. | Yes. This common photo file format is supported on all HP Photosmart printers and All-in-Ones. | No. The GIF format is not supported by HP Photosmart photo printers and All-in-Ones. It is not a good format for photo files. |
| Learn more | Learn more about scanning photos for making enlargements. | Get tips for resizing photos to share via e-mail and online. Find out about all the ways you can print a photo. |
Find a photo printer
For high-quality prints of your digital photos, try HP Photosmart photo printers, such as the ones below. These versatile e-All-in-Ones also feature the mobile printing technology HP ePrint, and HP Print Apps for access to select online content. 1,2
HP Photosmart 5510
e-All-in-One Printer
$99.99
- Print, scan, copy
- 2.4" touchscreen
- Memory card slots for easy photo printing
HP Photosmart 6510
e-All-in-One Printer
$149.99
- Print, scan, copy
- 3.5" touchscreen
- Memory card slots for easy photo printing
- Auto-engaging photo tray
HP Photosmart 7510
e-All-in-One Printer
$199.99
- Print, scan, copy, eFax3
- 4.3" touchscreen
- Memory card slots for easy photo printing
- Auto-engaging photo tray
- Lab-quality photos from 5 individual inks
- 25-page automatic document feeder
Visit the HP Photosmart printer buying guides to see the entire selection of HP Photosmart printers and All-in-Ones.
Learn more
- What file format should you use when you scan photos? Learn this and get other tips in our introduction to photo scanning.
- Discover how to choose the right photo paper.
- Visit the HP Digital Photography Center to find additional tips and advice for printing better photos.
Submit your ideas
We're always looking for new ideas to share with others. Do you have any creative suggestions to share with other readers? If so, please take a minute to submit your ideas to us.
- 1Requires an Internet connection to the printer. Feature works with any connected Internet- and email-capable device. Print times may vary. For a list of supported documents and image types, see www.hp.com/go/ePrintCenter. And for additional solutions, see www.hp.com/go/mobile-printing-solutions.
- 2Requires a wireless access point and an Internet connection to the printer. Services may require registration. App availability varies by country, language and agreements. For details, www.hp.com/go/ePrintCenter.
- 3Web-based fax service requires an Internet connection to the printer and registration with third-party service. Up to 20 inbound and 20 outbound pages a month. Additional terms and restrictions apply; see www.hp.com/support.