What is CIN?

Kodak Cineon (CIN) is a film scanning format designed for digital intermediate workflows in motion picture post-production.

What is PSB?

Photoshop Big (PSB) is Adobe's large document format, extending PSD to support images up to 300,000 pixels and 4 exabytes in size.

When Should You Use CIN vs PSB?

CIN vs PSB: Key Differences

• •CIN uses lossless compression while PSB uses lossless compression — both take the same approach to file size management.
• •Since both CIN and PSB use lossless compression, the quality characteristics are comparable — differences in file size come down to how efficiently each format implements compression.
• •How transparency is handled: PSB supports transparency, so alpha information is preserved during conversion.
• •CIN files are typically Large, 10-30MB per film frame at 4K while PSB files range Can exceed 2GB
• •CIN is optimized for film restoration, digital cinema archiving while PSB is designed for large-format graphic design, billboard artwork — choose based on your specific workflow needs

Advantages of CIN

• ✓CIN uses lossless compression tailored for Film restoration, digital cinema archiving.
• ✓CIN is supported natively on virtually every device, browser, and operating system.
• ✓CIN files are bit-for-bit perfect, preserving every pixel and sample for professional work.
• ✓CIN integrates seamlessly with all major creative tools and workflows.

Advantages of PSB

• ✓PSB compresses data using lossless methods, keeping file sizes manageable for Large-format graphic design, billboard artwork.
• ✓Industry-wide support means PSB files open anywhere — from legacy systems to the latest devices.
• ✓Lossless quality makes PSB the gold standard for archival and master copies.
• ✓From professional software to open-source alternatives, PSB works out of the box.

Common Use Cases for CIN to PSB Conversion

• Email marketing campaigns
• Presentation graphics
• Blog and article illustrations
• Mobile app UI assets
• Product photography for marketplaces
• Digital art portfolios

Industry Applications

Best Practices for CIN to PSB Conversion

• →Before converting CIN to PSB, decide whether you need maximum quality or smallest file size — this determines which format truly fits
• →Save a master copy in a lossless format before converting to PSB — you cannot recover detail lost during lossy compression
• →Check the color profile: CIN images may use a wider gamut than PSB supports, causing a visible shift after conversion
• →Resize images to the final display dimensions before converting — this avoids unnecessary processing of oversized files
• →Run a single test conversion first to verify quality meets your standards
• →Strip unnecessary metadata to reduce file size after conversion

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Troubleshooting CIN to PSB Conversion

• !Converting CIN to PSB gives blurry output → increase the quality setting before conversion
• !Colors look different in PSB than CIN → check color profile mismatch (sRGB vs Adobe RGB)
• !File size changed more than expected → PSB uses different compression, file size differences of 2-5x are normal
• !Transparent areas in CIN turned white in PSB → PSB may not support transparency

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