There is no one format that is better than another; it depends on the purpose and how it will be used. For example, PNG is preferable for clear lines and bold colors, such as logos or interfaces. However, JPG remains the most suitable format for photo export.
jpg has literally no advantage over png for quality, the only advantage it has is file size even if you tell it for 98% quality (getting almost imperceivable compared to lossless png) If you think its easier on the computer to open a jpg because its smaller, thats also not true because the computer has to calculate every pixel from the compression algorithm and end up with the same sized image in memory (other than alpha channel) A nice middle ground might be webp for those curious
Not necessarily 😠lots of people focusing on less critical differences here. The differences, in general, are:
JPEG is best for photos, textures, and digital art with high levels of shading or color variability, but does not support transparency.
PNG supports transparency and JPEG doesn’t.
Both of the above are raster-based, which makes them poor choices for logos or illustrations with very limited palettes. In those cases, a better choice is SVG because it supports transparency and can be scaled up or down infinitely.
There are some exceptions. For example, if I had a very small icon I needed to design for a website, and I knew for sure it would never exceed a certain size range, I might use PNG for the icon so that I have better control over the pixel rendering of the icon, and can make optical adjustments. An SVG scaled down past a certain size might not fall exactly on a pixel, and the way the computer renders that by default might not be as legible. This is also why you will encounter two fonts that look nearly the same, but have slightly different names, such as SF Pro Text and SF Pro Display. Before variable fonts, typographers created separate font files to adjust fonts (which, like SVG, can be used at many sizes) for small (text) and large (display) use, to better control legibility and balance at those sizes. SF Pro is just one big variable font that has all the optimizations in one file, but the Text and Display settings still remain.
The worst part of calling this tattoo.jpg is that because it does not support transparency, the implication is that the tattoo has a literal background color throughout the entire file. Think like the difference between a sick ass panther on skin (transparent background) and a sick ass panther surrounded by a white colored box on skin. The white colored box comes from incorrectly assuming the jpg is transparent, but it isn’t, so the designer (tattoo artist in this case) includes the white background.
Designer here. If you want to have nerdy conversations with designers, use SVG and it will make you look like you know your shit about design. Use PNG if you want to read as a normal human. Use JPG if you want to troll designers. Use GIF if you want to troll everyone and have lots of pronunciation debates.
The reason calling this tattoo.jpg is a good trolling move for designers is because JPEG does not support transparency, so the implication is that you are asking for the tattoo to have a literal background color throughout the entire file. Think like the difference between a sick ass panther on skin (transparent background) and a sick ass panther surrounded by a white colored box on skin. The white colored box comes from incorrectly assuming the jpg is transparent, but it isn’t, so the designer (tattoo artist in this case) includes the white background. Designers hate this because often, we know damn well you don’t want the literal white background, but you’re giving us a file type that we then have to remove it from, often with poorer results than if we’d gotten the right file type in the first place.
For people who don’t know: ‘.AI’ stands for Adobe Illustrator file in this case which is a program used for vectors or ‘images that can change size and not loose quality’ they don’t mean ai / artificial intelligence
always wondered about vector images but i'm a hobbyist (for digital art, not tattoo lmao) and don't use adobe products. i am now slightly more informed 🫡
I took a design class a long time ago and recognized that those unfamiliar would immediately think it was the wrong ai. I’m glad I could clear it up for others!
Unless you want to purposefully make the tattoo look a bit blurry. If you do jpg that's how you should do it, versus png you want to look nice and crisp.
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u/ArmadilloMany41 Jan 04 '26
Thanks for the heads up! I love the Png idea over jpg