Beginner Best file type for prints

Messages
11
Edit My Images
Yes
Can someone advise what is the best file type for printing a photo? Is it Tiff or PNG?

I have a 42mb file (Tiff) would this be good for printing and say framing?
 
I have a few 45 x 30cm prints from 6mp, 8mp & 12mp jpegs from bridge cameras and dslrs that look fine, even from pretty close up. The quality of the picture (sharpness/exposure/colour etc) has more to do with it than file size or type. People kept telling me this and until I printed some out I didn't quite believe it.
 
thanks. I might just got to jessops with my sd card and order a print and see how it looks.
 
Here is one pic I'm going to test out with a print. I think some of the edges are a little sharp so might look rubbish

george.jpg
 
Can someone advise what is the best file type for printing a photo? Is it Tiff or PNG?

I have a 42mb file (Tiff) would this be good for printing and say framing?
You should ask the printer, not us!

When I have had photos printed I have supplied jpegs which I would have thought to be generally usual.
 
A jpg in srgb at 300ppi for the print size would be fine, and is what many printers require. As John says, ask the printer!

Overall, though, going from file to print can be a minefield, and you haven't really told us much - so I'd suggest that you do some legwork yourself and search this forum for threads about printing, from which you can extract information that you think is relevant.
 
Last edited:
Can someone advise what is the best file type for printing a photo? Is it Tiff or PNG?

I have a 42mb file (Tiff) would this be good for printing and say framing?

thanks. I might just got to jessops with my sd card and order a print and see how it looks.

Most high street printers require JPEG's.
Here is one pic I'm going to test out with a print. I think some of the edges are a little sharp so might look rubbish

george.jpg

There's a lot of 'halo-ing' around the sharp edge of the buildings where you've gone giddy with bringing the out the sky detail. Personally that would bug me if I did a large print for my wall, you may be Ok with that, depends how you're intending on presenting the image.
There's also a few dust spots in the sky you might want to remove.
 
Photo labs have a list of acceptable file formats. You should ask them which file they recommend most. Just as long as you save the image in the proper settings per format based on the print size, medium, and other attributes you're aiming for.
 
Back
Top