When is JPG better than PS?
JPG images are smaller and widely supported by most browsers and applications, while PS images are larger and have limited browser and software support. Therefore, JPG is ideal for creating smaller web imagery, including photographs and logos, with enhanced user experience and faster loading times.
When is PS better than JPG?
PS images preserve all image data and allow for up or down scaling without losing data. In contrast, JPG images lose data or become indistinct or blurry with upward and downward scaling. PS is ideal for expert printing jobs, including graphic design, commercial printing, and technical documentation.
The benefits of PS images are that they can be scaled up or down but preserve image quality and resolution levels; they can be displayed precisely and optimally on varying screen sizes; and they integrate multilayered image icons at different color depths and sizes, making them visually attractive.
PS versus JPG Table Comparison
| Element | JPG | PS |
| Transparency | Does not support transparency or alpha channel | Does not support transparency or alpha channel |
| File Size | Smaller than PS files. | Larger files than JPG files. |
| Image Quality | Low image quality compared to PS images. | High-quality images than JPG images. |
| Performance | Loads faster on websites than PS files. | Loads slower on websites than JPG files. |
| Structure | Raster graphics, starting with a binary value '0xFFD8' and ending with a binary value '0xFFD9'. | Vector graphics, starting with a header, color mode data, image data, mask, and layer information. |
| Animation | Does not support animation. | Does not support animation. |
| Storage | Smaller and needs less storage space than PS. | Larger and needs more storage space than JPG. |
| Compression | Uses lossy compression | Uncompressed files. |
| Browser Support | Universal web browser support. | Limited web browser support. |
Differences and similarities between JPG and PS images
When doing a PS versus JPG, it will be discovered that the two formats do not support animation and transparency. Still, they differ in structure, storage demands, browser support, file size, image quality, compression techniques, and web performance.
Transparency
JPG and PS files do not support transparency or alpha channels. PostScript files hardly support transparency when printing vector graphics images. However, partially transparent or translucent images can be rendered as fully opaque and transparent pixels. For instance, translucent PS images are commonly called masks.
Similarly, JPG files' support transparency is inhibited. Integrating transparent backgrounds into any JPG image is impossible because its structure hardly allows non-rectangular graphics or logos with many texts to work correctly. JPG cannot seamlessly merge with websites with many background colors.
File Size
JPG files are significantly smaller than PS files. PS files support multiple layers and editing features, leading to larger, higher-quality files than JPG files. A JPG file extension supports a maximum image size of 65,535 x 65,535 pixels, which equals four gigapixels.
In contrast, PS files do not have a strict size limit of 30,000 x 30,000 pixels per image, but practical limitations may apply. Due to format constraints, PS files can be at most 4GB. The efficient lossy compression of JPG files results in smaller file sizes than the typically larger and lossless PS files.
PS files can be more flexibly scaled without significant quality loss, unlike JPGs, which can lose quality when scaled up. Additionally, PS files store multilayered images, making them larger than single-layer JPG files.
Image Quality
PS and JPG files have slightly comparable bit depths, allowing them to produce highly detailed images. Both formats support 8-bits per pixel, but PS also supports -bit, 2-bit, and 4-bit per pixel. While JPG supports RGB, PS supports more color profiles like Grayscale, RGB, CIE, and CMYK, making it a higher-quality format than JPG.
PS files allow resolutions as high as 300 or 600 pixels per inch, making them a high-resolution file format. In contrast, while JPG is a high-resolution format, extreme downward or upward scaling makes its images indistinct or grainy compared to the sharp and visually striking JPGs scaled at similar resolution levels.
Lastly, PS files are uncompressed and retain all image information, making them a higher-quality format than JPG. JPG uses lossy compression, deletes certain image information, or leads to data loss, making its images low-quality.
Performance
JPG files are smaller than PS files. Lossy compression allows users to determine the size of the JPGs based on their needs, unlike the uncompressed PS. A single PS image icon cannot exceed 4GB, while a JPG file is four gigapixels. However, multiple PS image icons are heavier and necessitate more loading times than JPG.
Smaller JPG files load faster on websites than PS files, resulting in better web responsiveness, optimized search engines, and improved user experience. If file size and browser compatibility are factors to consider when selecting image file formats, choose the versatile JPG format over the PS format.
Structure
PS and JPG hardly compare in terms of structure. JPG is a raster graphics format, while the PS file format is also raster-based but can include vector elements within its layers. The PS file format structure includes a header, color mode data, image data, mask, and layer information, alongside other information or elements.
The PS file's header contains data such as resolution, version number, and type. The color mode data consists of information such as color mode and depth, supporting grayscale, RGB, CMYK, and other color modes. The PS image data primarily contains raster image data but can also include vector elements.
In contrast, a JPG file uses 8-bit depth RGB values, totaling 24-bit color. A JPG file comprises a sequence of segments starting with a marker with various binary 0xFFXX data. The first marker has a binary value of 0xFFD8 (Start of Image) and ends with a binary value of 0xFFD9 (End of Image).
Animation
While JPG does not have inherent support for animation, PS was designed for static content and lacks multimedia and interactivity capabilities that support images/files compared with PDF or HTML. PS files are intended for printing, making them unsuitable for screen-based content. As such, PS too hardly supports animation.
Storage
PS files are larger than JPG files—the PS format stores uncompressed data as encoded texts, graphics, and layouts. Compared to the smaller lossy JPGs, PS files need more storage space and consume more bytes and bandwidths for retouches and photographs than JPGs. Choose JPG over PS when considering storage space.
Lossy JPG files and uncompressed PS files can be stored indefinitely but are subject to proper storage mediums, better handling processes, and better storage conditions. PS and JPG files can be stored on Hard Drives, Content Delivery Networks, sub-directory programs, folders, file systems, Base64 encoding, and the cloud.
Compression
JPG uses lossy compression to reduce image sizes by deleting unnecessary image data. This method adopts a block-based compression, whereby subsampling color data reduces the original file data using Huffman Coding and DCT coefficients.
PS files mostly remain uncompressed, and users are not required to configure the plotter to use any compression method. Hence, for compression efficiency, consider JPG over PS.
Browser Support
PS file format users must add the PostScript Viewer and Compiler to their browsers to open PS files in Google Chrome. Besides, modern and older browsers, including Apple Safari, Internet Explorer, Brave, Firefox, Discord, Vivaldi, Opera, and Edge, do not support the PS format.
In contrast, JPGs are widely supported and compatible with almost all web browsers and platforms, such as Discord, Chrome, Vivaldi, Brave, Firefox, Opera, Edge, Safari, and Internet Explorer. Only Internet Explorer 6 does not support JPG. Hence, users should choose JPG over PS for broader browser support.
Convert JPG to PS or PS to JPG
Use Convertjack to convert JPG to PS. PS files allow instant scaling, offers detailed, high-quality, high-resolution images, and displayable optimally device-independent files while preserving quality.
PS is ideal for producing documents that require printing and scaling at a high-resolution level. Conversely, Convertjack is a proficient PS to JPG-converter as the tool renders smaller, more web-responsive files suitable for photography, logos, and web graphics.