PSD to JPG Converter

Encoding: the PSD uses raw or RLE (PackBits) channel data, ZIP in some 16 and 32-bit files; JPG uses lossy DCT coding in 8×8 pixel blocks, with colour usually stored at half resolution, and the download is a standard JPEG at the quality you choose.

Bit depth: 8, 16 or 32 bits per channel in the PSD; JPG allows 8 bits per channel, and the JPG written here has 8 bits per channel. 16 and 32-bit documents are reduced to 8 bits per channel.

Colour: RGB, CMYK, Lab, greyscale, indexed or multichannel in the PSD; JPG supports YCbCr shown as RGB, greyscale, or CMYK from print software, written here as 8-bit sRGB.

Transparency: the PSD stores it as transparent layers plus extra alpha channels; the JPG has none, so transparent areas are filled with the colour you choose.

Other images: the PSD can hold layers, masks, adjustment layers and smart objects; only the main image is converted.

Metadata: the PSD can carry XMP, EXIF, IPTC and ICC in image resource blocks; JPG can carry EXIF (camera, date, GPS), XMP, IPTC and an ICC profile in APP segments, but nothing is copied across.

PSD is Adobe Photoshop's layered working format. It keeps layers, masks and effects, but almost nothing outside Photoshop can display it, so finished designs are exported to PNG or JPG.

A PSD has five sections: a header ('8BPS', channel count, size, depth, colour mode), colour mode data, image resources (thumbnail, ICC, XMP, resolution), layer and mask information, and finally the merged composite image that the Maximize Compatibility option saves.

PSD files usually come from Photoshop and apps that save Photoshop documents, such as Affinity Photo, GIMP, Photopea and Krita.

JPEG is the universal photo format. It compresses by discarding fine detail the eye is least sensitive to, which makes photos small but blurs sharp edges and text if pushed too far.

A JPEG starts with the bytes FF D8 and is a run of marker segments: APP1 carries EXIF and often a thumbnail, APP2 an ICC profile, DQT the quantization tables that decide the quality, and SOS the compressed scan, which ends at FF D9.

JPG is the better choice for photographs that need to open anywhere, while PSD suits editing in Photoshop.

JPG strengths: Opens everywhere: every browser, phone, camera, printer and app; Small files for photographs; Adjustable quality from tiny to near-lossless. Drawbacks to weigh: No transparency; Lossy: every re-save loses a little more; Blocky artifacts around text, logos and sharp lines.