What is the difference between JPEG, PNG, PDFs, and TIFF files?

JPEG (.jpg)

Best for:

• General photos 
• Complex images with lots of colors
• Easily shareable due to small file size
• Website images to maintain speed (less lag when browsing your site)

Compression:

• Small file size means lower image quality (it throws away some data to shrink the file)

Not ideal for professional art prints, but fine for general prints.

PNG (.png)

Best for:

• Graphics, logos, or artwork where sharp lines and transparency matter

Compression:

• Keeps all the detail, but files are bigger
• Limited to how it handles large files 

Supports transparent backgrounds. Useful when designing products and graphics.

Does a good enough job for printing line art, flat colors, and small paintings.

PDF (.pdf)

Best for:

• Documents that need to look the same everywhere (invoices, brochures, forms)

Can hold: text, images, and even vector graphics, all bundled together.

It’s more about presentation and portability than just an image format.

TIFF (.tif)

The gold standard for fine art printing. Use TIFF if you are aiming for museum-quality prints. 

Best for:

• Fine art paintings
• Professional photography 
• Supports high bit depth
• Handles color profiles best
• Big file sizes, but best for color accuracy 

Which Printing Service Is Right for You?

JPEG / PNG for general printing:
If you’re preparing simple prints, cards, or stationery, JPEGs and PNGs work fine. For help bringing your designs to life, check out our Stationery Printing Service

TIFF for fine art prints:
Artists and photographers should choose TIFF files for archival-quality results. That’s exactly the standard we follow in our Archival Grade Printing Service