When is JPG better than PSD?
JPG images enjoy universal browser support and compatibility and provide more compressed file sizes, which improve web responsiveness, while PSD images are lossless, larger, and load slowly on websites. As such, a JPG file extension is ideal for making smaller web images, including charts, photographs, or logos.
When is PSD better than JPG?
PSD images are larger, info-rich, lossless, detailed, and multilayered, making them high-quality and scalable. In contrast, JPG images use lossy compression, are non-scalable, and are smaller and low-quality, making them indistinct during upward or downward scaling.
PSDs are ideal for expert printing, helping create print-ready materials like brochures, posters, and business cards. The benefits of PSD images include precise editing and manipulation, multilayer support for exporting and amending for use in web design, and high quality to ensure expert output and color imitation.
PSD versus JPG Table Comparison
| Element | PSD | JPG |
| Transparency | Supports transparency. | Does not support transparency |
| File Size | Larger files than JPG. | Smaller files than PSD. |
| Image Quality | High-quality images than JPG images. | Lower-quality images compared to PSD images. |
| Performance | Loads slower on websites than JPGs. | Loads faster on websites than PSDs. |
| Structure | Multilayered with a file header, color mode data, image resources, layer and mask data, and image data. | Individual layers start with the binary value '0xFFD8' and end with '0xFFD9'. |
| Animation | Does not support animation. | Does not support animation |
| Storage | Needs more storage space than JPG. | Needs less storage space than PSD. |
| Compression | Supports lossless compression. | Supports lossy compression |
| Browser Support | Limited browser support compared to JPG. | Widely supported by almost all browsers than PSD. |
Differences and similarities between JPG and PSD images
PSD and JPG images are identical in support of animation. However, both image formats vary regarding storage requirements, image quality, file size, transparency support, browser support, performance, structure, and compression methods.
For web designers and developers, knowing when to use JPG files versus PSD file formats is vital in upholding image quality and file size, enhancing compatibility, and realizing a perfect web design (see the table below to understand the technical features between JPG and PSD).
Transparency
PSD file type supports transparency, while JPG does not. For instance, the PSD file format, including alpha transparency channels, supports transparency. Its channels allow images with complex compositions and transparent backgrounds to be created and integrated seamlessly into other objects or projects.
In contrast, JPG hardly allows transparent backgrounds or does not support the alpha channel. As such, users cannot incorporate alpha channel transparency, making non-rectangular graphics or logos with various texts work properly in JPG files.
File Size
PSD files are larger, information-rich, and multilayered than JPG files. They can often be larger, reaching a file limit of 2 gigabytes and holding complex, high-quality, and high-res designs. PSD can support up to 30,000 x 30,000 pixels, making it visually impressive in color spread and image depth.
In contrast, a JPG file extension supports a maximum image size of 65,535 x 65,535 pixels, which equals four gigapixels. Since JPGs are individual files while PSDs are multilayered, joining various PSD files, they become relatively larger than JPGs.
Besides, JPG uses lossy compression and deletes certain file information, making its files significantly smaller than PSD files. Lossless PSD retains image data and remains larger. Finally, PSD allows for upward and downward scaling, while JPG files become indistinct with either form of scaling.
Image Quality
PSD images are high-resolution and high-quality, designed for detailed editing and preserving all the layers and data. JPG images can be both low-resolution and high-resolution but are compressed, potentially losing quality.
PSD supports a 24-bit RGB color model, while JPG is an 8-bit pixel per channel. It supports multichannel color modes like LAB color, indexed color, RGB, bitmap, duotone, CMYK, grayscale, and monochrome.
Performance
JPG files are smaller than PSD files. Thus, PSD files consume more bytes and necessitate higher bandwidth costs when downloaded and uploaded online than JPGs. PSDs also load slower and minimize search engine optimization, unlike JPGs.
JPG files enhance web performance and user experience. As such, users should choose JPG over PSD for better website performance and superior user experience.
Structure
PSD and JPG are raster graphics, making it easier to compare both image file formats. PSD files support multiple layers with varying graphical images, texts, and elements. The PSD structure includes the file header, color mode data, image resources, layer and mask data, and image data.
PSD’s file header has the primary image features: pixel width and height, the number of bits per channel, the number of image channels, the file's version, and color. The number of supported channels in the image header, including the alpha channels, ranges between 1 and 56.
The PSD layer and mask information section contains data about the masks and layers, including the mask parameters, effects layers, adjustment layer keys, blending ranges, channels in the layers, and the number of layers. PSD files are uniquely structured and offer a multi-sample pixel design perspective.
In contrast, JPG has a series of segments starting with a marker with several binary OxFFXX data. The first marker has a binary value, 'OxFFD8', and ends with a binary value, 'OxFFD9'. The makers designate the time of the JPG data. A 0x00 byte is inserted after any 0xFF byte before the next byte within the entropy-compressed data.
Animation
PSD and JPG files do not support animation. Nonetheless, PSD files are multilayered and have high-quality definitions, which make it possible to integrate such features in other file formats’ designs to create animation and lively content. JPG has no inherent support for animation or animated content.
Storage
JPG stores lossy compressed data, while PSD stores lossless compressed image data. Data loss during compression and the smaller file sizes of JPG files require less storage space and minimal bandwidth than lossless PSD files.
Conversely, PSDs store larger, high-quality, and multilayered image data, although both formats store indefinitely with proper handling, suitable storage mediums, and conducive storage conditions. JPG and PSD files can be stored on Hard Drives, Base64 encoding, Content Delivery Network, File Systems, and Cloud.
Compression
PSD files are losslessly compressed, typically resulting in a large file size and more storage space demands than the lossy JPG files. JPGs use lossy compression to reduce the image size by allowing some image data to be deleted. The lossy compression method assumes a block-based compression.
The subsampling color information reduces the original file data through Huffman Coding and Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) coefficients. The user controls the data quality lost to attain the desired JPG image size. Thus, lossless PSD files are of higher quality than the lossy JPG files
Browser Support
PSD is older than JPG but enjoys hardly as extensive web browser support as JPG. For example, PSD is only supported by top web browsers such as Safari, Firefox, Vivaldi, Edge, Opera, and Chrome but is incompatible with Brave, Discord, and Internet Explorer.
However, for web browsers that do not support PSD files, users may need to install some third-party software to show the PSD as a thumbnail. In contrast, JPG is widely supported by most new and older web browsers such as Brave, Discord, Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera, Internet Explorer, Vivaldi, and Safari.
JPG is only unsupported by Internet Explorer 6. As a result, JPG should be chosen over PSD for widespread web browser support.
Convert JPG to PSD or PSD to JPG
Use Convertjack to convert JPG to PSD automatically. PSD files are detailed, support transparent backgrounds, are of high quality, and are multilayered. They can be scaled up or down, imported, and edited, making them ideal for future photographic manipulation and design.
On the other hand, convertjack is an automatic, practical, free PSD to JPG converter, which hardly alters file format. The tool helps users, including web designers and developers, obtain smaller, highly web-responsive, and universally compatible JPG files.