JPEG vs PNG

[Zach]

hey guys i was wondering which was better for my pics in y'alls opinion

i used to save my post processed photos in jpeg format but i have found that the png file format save much more quality, so i have switched to png as my main format, i don't mind the large file size.

what are y'alls thoughts on this?

[Jonathan Huyer]

I don't know anything about the subject, but I did find this:

[DavidEccleston]

JPEG has lossy compression which throws away data the eye typically doesn't see (unless you really drop the quality slider!) assuming you're not viewing it up close or anything. Every print service in the world will take a JPEG. Bad if you're going to keep opening, modifying, and saving.

PNG has lossless compression, handles transparency, and all sorts of good stuff. Great for editing and re-editing (though you'll probably use psd to keep layers, etc.). You'd have to ask your print service if they support PNG, of if you need to do your final export as JPEG.

[billfisher]

JPEG has lossy compression which throws away data the eye typically doesn't see (unless you really drop the quality slider!) assuming you're not viewing it up close or anything. Every print service in the world will take a JPEG. Bad if you're going to keep opening, modifying, and saving.

PNG has lossless compression, handles transparency, and all sorts of good stuff. Great for editing and re-editing (though you'll probably use psd to keep layers, etc.). You'd have to ask your print service if they support PNG, of if you need to do your final export as JPEG.

Thank you so much for the detailed explanation!

[Minerve101]

Another plus for JPEG is that it is ready to upload to online services or send to someone's cell phone. Usually when I shoot with a two-card camera I store RAW on one card and JPEG on the other to facilitate transfer on the fly.

As a guy who rarely prints bigger than 5x7 inches I have only infrequently seen effects of repeated editing of JPEGs, but it does occasionally get noticeable.

For favorite shots I usually save the RAW and a JPEG, but it would make sense to convert the RAW to PNG for compatibility in the future.

[billfisher]

Photos and images with lots of colors are best saved in JPEG. But you should remember that the JPEG compression algorithm compresses images with loss of quality.
Icons, schemes, pictures with lots of text and images with transparency are best saved in PNG. PNG compression algorithm compresses images with no loss of quality.