Hi guys. Considering TIFF format supports practically every Photoshop aspect, what's the purpose of saving in PSD format? Does it have any advantage over TIFF? Thanks.
Take your pick. They both support anything you can do in Photoshop.
I started using PSD and have just continued. Now it's rapidly becoming moot, as my files are often too large for both, so that I need to use PSB anyway.
If you're into compression (I'm not) they use somewhat different algorithms, so you'd have to try, balancing file size against open/save times.
For distributing images I would choose uncompressed JPGs, they are significantly smaller than TIFs (useful for using in long photo-heavy InDesign documents), the quality of TIFs over JPGs is imperceptible for most uses and the format (unlike TIFs) can be used on websites and be sent to photoprint companies.
Just remember that every time a jpg is resaved, it applies the compression algorithm again, increasing undesireable artifacts. I work almost exclusively in print, and I use tiffs for anything smaller than what requires a psb.
Seeing that a file is PSD/PSB one knows that it is a master working file. Although TIFF may technically be a layered working file as well, it is also a final file format used in the print industry where it is often flattened. Therefore TIFF may be more ambiguous, does it contain layers or is it flat? Does the TIFF use lossy JPEG compression that may be inadvertently compounded with multiple open/saves?
PSD only supports 2GB sizes, while TIFF supports 4GB. PSB covers this and more.
Several Adobe apps handle PSD layers interactively. Definitely Premiere Pro, and I imagine also After Effects. It never occurred to me that TIFF files would not work in the same way as I have always used PSD and PSB but it figures. I have always thought of TIFF as something of an affectation, probably used by people who refer to their photos as Fine Art.
For most purposes, TIFF is just as good, saves most if not all Photoshop features such as layers and effects, and offers more compression options.
One reason to use PSD is if you need maximum control over the Photoshop file from other apps. For example, InDesign and After Effects let you control layers in Photoshop files, but if you used TIFF, the layers aren’t accessible from those apps. In After Effects, it’s the difference between being able to animate individual layers in a single Photoshop document, and not being able to.
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