Understanding the Common File Types Used in Adobe InDesign

Designers and print artists have to keep straight a wealth of terms, acronyms, and naming conventions when creating high-quality digital inkjet print projects. These terms and concepts run the gamut from paper and ink types to special coatings and finishings. But the actual design software designers use — specifically Adobe InDesign — has a language all its own, particularly with the platform’s commonly used file types.

Here, let’s take a quick look at the common file types used in Adobe InDesign and what designers need to know about these image file types to ensure a smooth, error-free design process.

InDesign Document (INDD)

INDD files are essentially the default file type for any design or editing work done in the Adobe InDesign platform. INDD files include virtually everything a designer needs to create a page layout, including fonts, formatting, page content, swatches, and styles.

INDD is ideal for creating a wide range of print projects, from longer form projects like brochures and books to shorter pieces like one-pagers, sell sheets, or direct mail postcards. INDD files are essentially the bread and butter for designers and graphic artists working with InDesign, and a mastery of these files is key to creating high-quality digital inkjet print projects.

Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) files

JPEG stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group, an international organization that standardized the format during the late 1980s and early 1990s. JPEG is the go-to everyday digital image file format and it’s the primary file format for photographers and other digital artists.

JPEGs can display up to 16.8 million colors while staying relatively small in terms of the file size. JPEGs also take up very little space in the cloud, making them easier to store and retrieve. This makes JPEG image files ideal for a wide range of web or app-based applications because they’ll open and display faster than other image file types.

JPEGs are also highly effective for print, provided you have the right dpi — the ideal dpi for JPEGs used in inkjet print is at least 300, though the size and scale of your print may impact the right resolution.

It’s also important to note that JPEG images can include the following file extensions:

.jpg
.jpeg
.jpe
.jif
.jfif
.jfi

Portable Network Graphics (PNG)

The biggest difference between PNG and JPEG image files is that PNG file compression is lossless, which means there is no image quality lost during the compression process — JPEG image files can sacrifice some level of quality during compression.

One of the benefits of PNG files is that they support transparency. This allows you to have a transparent background on a logo, something that can be difficult to achieve with other file types like JPEGs. As a result, PNGs are better equipped for digital applications compared to print, though PNGs are important to understand given how often they present themselves in today’s design world.

Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG)

SVG image files are vector-based files that are used to display a wide variety of graphics — while SVGs are commonly used in web design applications, they do provide superior flexibility and versatility, making them well suited for applications like print.

Vector files store images via mathematical formulas based on points and lines on a grid. This means that SVGs can be significantly resized without a loss in quality which makes them ideal for logos and complex online graphics.

Unlike raster files, SVGs always maintain their resolution, no matter how small or big you size them.

Tagged Image File Format (TIFF)

TIFF image files are similar to JPEGs in several ways, but the primary difference is that TIFF image files can store much more image or photo data than their JPEG counterparts. Because TIFF files allow you to handle large file sizes, they are ideal for use in printing high-resolution photos or images, and this makes TIFF files a valuable asset in your toolbag for creating high-quality inkjet print.

Whereas an image file like a SVG or PNG is better used in digital arenas like websites or emails, TIFF image files are ideal for print applications as their large amount of data can make TIFF files slow or difficult to display.

Portable Document Format (PDF)

PDFs are perhaps the most common and versatile file type designers come across, regardless of whether they’re designing for the web, apps, or print. PDFs offer an easy, reliable way for people to exchange documents without worrying about the software, hardware, or operating system in play.

PDFs can contain a wide range of components, including hyperlinks, buttons, form fields, videos, and audio files. The big benefit of creating a PDF file from documents or images is that all the data is preserved and represented exactly as the user intended, even if text, images, or spreadsheets are combined in a single file.