What is PSD?

Adobe Photoshop Document (PSD) is the native layered image format for Adobe Photoshop, supporting layers, masks, and advanced image compositing.

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 PSD vs PSB?

PSD vs PSB: Key Differences

• •PSD uses lossless compression while PSB uses lossless compression — both take the same approach to file size management.
• •Since both PSD and PSB use lossless compression, the quality characteristics are comparable — differences in file size come down to how efficiently each format implements compression.
• •Alpha channel support: PSB handles transparency.
• •File sizes: PSD files typically range 10MB to 2GB depending on layers and PSB files Can exceed 2GB.
• •Use case fit: PSD targets photo editing projects, graphic design and PSB targets large-format graphic design, billboard artwork — your choice depends on which workflow stage you are serving.

Advantages of PSD

• ✓PSD uses lossless compression tailored for Photo editing projects, graphic design.
• ✓PSD is supported natively on virtually every device, browser, and operating system.
• ✓PSD files are bit-for-bit perfect, preserving every pixel and sample for professional work.
• ✓PSD integrates seamlessly with all major creative tools and workflows.

Advantages of PSB

• ✓At its core, PSB relies on lossless encoding — a design choice that makes it perfect for Large-format graphic design, billboard artwork.
• ✓You won't run into compatibility issues with PSB — it's a universal standard across platforms.
• ✓File size management with PSB: larger files guaranteed to match the original exactly.
• ✓Every major application in the Large-format graphic design, billboard artwork space supports PSB natively.

Common Use Cases for PSD to PSB Conversion

• Newsletter graphics
• Video thumbnail creation
• Certificate and badge design
• Websites and online content
• Print materials and publications
• Social media posts and ads

Industry Applications

Best Practices for PSD to PSB Conversion

• →When converting PSD to PSB, check whether PSB supports transparency — if not, your transparent areas will be filled with a solid color
• →Use PSB for maximum quality archival and PSD for smaller file sizes when quality is less critical
• →Optimize images for web to reduce page load times — tools like our converter let you adjust quality settings before conversion
• →Maintain original aspect ratio to avoid distortion during conversion
• →Always keep a backup of your original files before converting
• →Choose the appropriate quality settings for your specific use case

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Troubleshooting PSD to PSB Conversion

• !PSB shows visible compression artifacts → lower the compression level or switch to a lossless variant
• !The converted PSB image looks washed out → the source PSD likely uses a wider color space than PSB supports
• !PSB file is much larger than expected → check if the conversion preserved an unnecessarily high resolution
• !Text in the converted PSB looks fuzzy → text-heavy images benefit from higher quality settings or a different output format

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