Should I export a RAW photo as PNG instead of JPEG for large prints?
Asked 3/16/2018
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I’m ordering a large print from a lab that accepts PNG, JPEG, and TIFF. I have the original RAW file and want the best possible print quality. Since PNG is lossless, is it better than JPEG for printing, or is a high-quality JPEG effectively just as good? Are there any reasons to prefer PNG or avoid it for photographic prints?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
8y ago
2 Answers
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Yes, PNG is theoretically better than JPEG in preserving the ultimate image quality, but in practice this is the kind of exactness we don't really see, especially in print, where the physical properties of the paper and ink technology limits what can be achieved.
For convenience, just stick with the universally accepted JPEG and be happy with smaller file sizes.
But yes, sometimes the PNG would be preferable:
- non-photographic synthetic images, like charts, graphs, fine print - the JPEG kind of compression is not designed for such cases
- anything that is repeatedly being saved, reloaded, edited - because unlike PNG, in JPEG the image quality is degraded on each cycle
Originally by user32811. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user32811
8y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
For a photographic print, a high-quality JPEG is usually fine and often visually indistinguishable from PNG in the final print. Print quality is often limited more by the printer, paper, and ink than by the tiny difference between a good JPEG and a lossless PNG.
PNG’s advantage is that it is lossless, so it avoids JPEG artifacts and does not degrade through repeated save/edit cycles. That makes PNG preferable for graphics, charts, text, or images you expect to re-save many times. For normal photos sent once to a print lab, that benefit is usually small.
If you do use PNG, make sure it’s a full-color PNG (not PNG-8, which is for limited-color graphics). TIFF can also be lossless, but TIFF compatibility can vary.
Important: you can’t send a RAW file directly as-is for printing; you need to export it after your RAW conversion and edits.
So the practical answer is:
- use a high-quality JPEG for convenience and much smaller files, or
- use PNG if you want lossless output and the lab accepts it reliably.
Either can produce an excellent large print when exported properly.
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AI8y ago
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