HEIC and PS file types are widespread in graphic design and website development. Nonetheless, given the advantages of each format, users should choose the best file type based on their desired features and qualities.
The article highlights and discusses the structural differences and similarities between PS vs. HEIC in structure, storage, compression, file size, image quality, browser support, performance, animation, and transparency support.
When is HEIC better than PS?
HEIC images are smaller, high-quality, load faster on websites, and support animations and transparency, while PS images are larger, less web-responsive, and hardly support animations and transparency.
HEIC is a type of HEIF designed to store images that can be manipulated in size to enhance the online user experience. The HEIC format is ideal for creating live photos and animations. HEIC is a type of HEIF file designed to store images efficiently.
When is PS better than HEIC?
PS images are scalable up and down to fit any screen size but retain image resolution and high-quality levels, while HEIC images are raster graphics and become blurred, indistinct, or pixelated with upward or downward scaling. This makes PS file type suitable for graphic design projects such as artwork, logos, print layouts, and image editing undertakings like cropping, resizing, and color correction.
Comparison Table
| Element | PS | HEIC |
| Transparency | Does not support transparency. | Supports transparency. |
| File Size | Larger files than HEIC files. | Smaller files than PS files. |
| Image Quality | High-quality images. | Excellent quality images compared to PS images. |
| Performance | Larger and less web-responsive than HEIC. | Smaller and highly web-responsive than PS. |
| Structure | Vector graphics with file header, layer data, mask, image information, and color mode data. | Raster graphics with tags and comments, image series, EXIF/TIF files, and indicators. |
| Animation | Does not support animations. | Supports still image animations. |
| Storage | Requires more storage space than HEIC. | Requires less storage space than PS. |
| Compression | Uncompressed files. | Supports lossy and lossless compression. |
| Browser Support | Not directly supported by any web browser. | Supported by Google Marketplace and Safari. |
Differences and similarities between HEIC and PS images
The HEIC versus PS comparison table shows that the two formats differ in structure, file size, image quality, web browser support, compression, storage needs, performance, animation, and transparency.
Transparency
The HEIC extension supports transparency, whereas PS files do not. PS lacks the inherent alpha channel transparency support when printing vector-based images. Nonetheless, partly transparent or translucent images are rendered opaque or transparent pixels. The translucent PostScript images are called masks.
In contrast, HEIC imitates PNG’s transparency support by enabling logos and graphical images to merge clearly with the prevalent webpage background. It supports alpha channel transparency. Unlike PS format, HEIC images support optional alpha mask or plane transparency data.
Its images are loaded as 32-bit and 64-bit when using 8-bit and 10-bit components, respectively. The formats support alpha levels 0, 255, and 1-254 pixels, representing transparent, opaque, and translucent pixels in that order. Choose HEIC over PS for transparency.
File Size
HEIC files are smaller than uncompressed PS files, whose file sizes cannot exceed 4GB. While HEIC is data-rich and large, it uses High-Efficient Video Coding algorithms (HEVC), considerably minimizing its files compared to PS files. Thus, for smaller and web-responsive files, choose HEIC over PS.
Image Quality
PS and HEIC images are high-quality, although HEIC image quality is slightly higher. HEIC supports 10-bit and 16-bit color profiles rendered as 48-bit per color channel by default. HEIC further supports advanced image features, including Wide Color Range (WCR) and High-Dynamic-Range (HDR).
On the other hand, PS files support 1-bit, 2-bit, 4-bit, and 8-bit pixels per channel, which are not comparable to HEIC bit depths. However, lossless HEIC and uncompressed PS images reserve all image details, resulting in high-quality statures.
While lossy HEIC is prone to compression artifacts, the advanced compression technique (HEVC) ensures only duplicate file details are eliminated while image quality is retained. HEIC hardly suffers significant image quality degradation and is preferred to PS format for high-quality images.
Performance
The HEIC file type depends on the advanced and efficient HEVC compression algorithms to compress its data significantly, resulting in smaller images and files than uncompressed PS files. The data-rich and larger PS files are less web-responsive and load slower online than the HEIC files.
HEIC files enhance online user experience because they are smaller, higher quality, use fewer bytes, are transferable over low-bandwidth networks, are supported by more web browsers, and require less memory space than the PS file format. Hence, HEIC is the preferred format for high web performance.
Structure
The HIEC extension is raster-based, whereas the PS extension is vector-based. As such, the HEIC file type has a structure that is different from the PS format. On the other hand, a PS file’s structure includes a header, color mode data, image data, mask, layer information, and other information or elements.
The PostScript header contains information about the PS file, including the resolution, version number, and type. The PS describes texts, images, and other elements as mathematical lines and curves rather than a pool of pixels. Conversely, HEIC files have specific images, image sequences, and metadata.
The format’s structure defines how metadata and data are stored while complying with the ISO Base Media File Format rules. HEIC has Exif metadata like tags and comments supported by EXIF and TIFF. It has embedded TIFF files without image data but keeps specific image files marked as "items."
All files have a labeled number of items. HEIC also allows image series "tracks" to be compressed and stored in TIFF/EXIF files. It also has indicators that show how its viewers should display the stored files later, including either as colonnades or animations.
Animation
HEIC files support animations, whereas PS file type does not. HEIC extension supports still animation by storing multiple metadata and images in one file, making it possible to create short animations. HEIC additionally stores image sequences that are playable as lively content or slideshows.
Unlike the HEIC format, PS files are designed for creating still images or web-based content and lack the interactive and multimedia specifications necessary to support animation or lively content. As a result, PS is ideal for printing and screen-based content, making HEIC files the preferred choice for animations.
Storage
PS files are detailed, info-rich, and uncompressed, making them larger than HEIC files. HEIC stores data compressed using lossless and lossy methods with HEVC algorithms, resulting in smaller files with less storage space demands than PS files.
Regardless of the efficiency of the compression method used and the resulting file sizes, HEIC and PS data can be stored indefinitely with proper handling, better storage conditions, and the best storage mediums, such as Content Delivery Networks, EXIF/TIFF File Systems, Cloud, and ISO Base Media File.
Compression
HEIC files support lossy and lossless compression, while PS files are uncompressed. HEIC uses high-efficiency video coding (HEVC) to minimize file sizes and increase storage space on storage mediums compared to PS files. Lossless HEIC files are smaller and retain all details, just like PS files.
Though lossy HEIC slightly loses image quality via compression artifacts, the HEVC compression method ensures only data duplicates are deleted, resulting in smaller and higher-quality HEIC images than PS images. Hence, users must prefer the HEIC format for advanced and efficient compression to the PS format.
Browser Support
The PS and HEIC formats are among graphic designers and web developers' most popular and widely used image formats. However, PS files have limited web browser support compared to HEIC files. While Google Marketplace/Workspace and Safari support HEIC files, web browsers hardly support PS files directly.
PS and HEIC files are not supported by Internet Explorer, Brave, Vivaldi, Discord, Firefox, Samsung Internet, Opera, Chrome, and Edge. However, users can add PostScript Compiler and Viewer to their browsers to open PostScript files in Google Chrome, although the PS format is incompatible with Safari.
Converting HEIC to PS or PS to HEIC
Convertjack helps users convert HEIC to PS promptly and easily. PS files are larger, high-quality, scalable, and compatible with various programs, software, devices, and platforms, permitting file and image quality to be consistently high when printing at home or in a professional setup.
Convertjack is a reliable online PS to HEIC converter that creates smaller and more web-efficient HEIC files with less storage space demands and less byte consumption. HEIC files are high-quality, load faster, boost online user experience, and lead to search engine optimization.