CONVERSIONS
Image conversions, explained
One page per conversion, each covering what changes in the file, what macOS already does for free, and where the built-in route stops being enough. No conversion is listed that PixelFerry cannot actually perform.
From HEIC
- HEIC → JPGConvert HEIC to JPG on a MacHEIC uses HEVC intra coding, a generation ahead of JPEG's, and support for it is good on current Apple and Windows systems but patchy everywhere else. Converting to JPG trades that efficiency for near-universal compatibility.
- HEIC → PNGConvert HEIC to PNG on a MacPNG adds no compression artefacts of its own, but PixelFerry writes 8-bit PNG, so a 10-bit HEIC is quantised. It also produces much larger files, which makes this the right conversion for editing and the wrong one for sharing.
From JPG
- JPG → AVIFConvert JPG to AVIF on a MacAVIF is built on the AV1 video codec, which gives it more to work with than JPEG on large photographs and smooth gradients. It is also markedly slower to encode on PixelFerry's encoder, which is what shapes when it is worth trying.
- JPG → WebPConvert JPG to WebP on a MacWebP compresses noticeably better than JPEG at the same perceived quality, which makes it the standard choice for web delivery. Converting existing JPEGs is a second lossy pass, so quality choice matters more than usual.
From PDF
From PNG
From PSD
- PSD → JPGConvert PSD to JPG on a MacConverting a Photoshop document to JPG flattens the layer stack and compresses the result for size. It is the right choice for photographic comps and the wrong one for anything with transparency or hard-edged type.
- PSD → PNGConvert PSD to PNG on a MacPixelFerry reads the composite Photoshop stores inside a PSD saved for compatibility, the flattened preview of the document as last saved, and writes it as a PNG. No Photoshop licence, no Creative Cloud, no upload.
From RAW
From TIFF
From WebP
What PixelFerry can write
Output is one of JPEG, PNG, WebP, HEIC / HEIF, AVIF, TIFF, GIF, ICO. SVG, PSD / PSB, PDF, Camera RAW, OpenEXR / Radiance HDR, BMP / TGA / SGI, ICNS / CUR, GPU textures, JPEG XL, JPEG 2000, NetPBM, DICOM, PICT, MPO, AVCI / HEICS are read but never written, so those conversions only run one way. See thefull format reference.