Luminous Landscape Forum
Raw & Post Processing, Printing => Digital Image Processing => Topic started by: sharadn on February 16, 2026, 12:40:48 pm
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I see that I cannot export a PSD file to JPG and keep the layers. When I google this it says that JPGs do not support layers. But when I start editing from a JPG from scratch I can add layers and they remain after saving. Is is possible to export from PSD to JPG and keep layers?
I am confused.
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PSD is a proprietary file format owned by Adobe. So is TIFF, but not proprietary (openly documented, just like JPEG is). The layers are proprietary, and JPEG doesn't support them at all. JPEG should be considered a final delivery file format, not one for re-editing, and in terms of layers, you can't anyway. Edit your layers, then save out a JPEG for some other use/delivery that is NOT for further editing. Every time you edit and save a JPEG, you introduce a lot of data loss! Each edit/save will degrade it further.
FWIW, there is virtually no reason to use PSD! Anything you can do or save in Photoshop with a PSD, you can do with a TIFF. See:
https://forum.luminous-landscape.com/index.php?topic=18965.msg134830#msg134830
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I understand all of the above and it makes sense. What I don't understand is that JPG do not support layers. I am not saying this is the best but I have edited lots of JPGs in PS with layers.
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I understand all of the above and it makes sense. What I don't understand is that JPG do not support layers. I am not saying this is the best but I have edited lots of JPGs in PS with layers.
Layers are proprietary to Adobe. Only three file formats support them. End of story.
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You can open a jpg in PS and add layers, but you cannot re-save the file as a jpg without removing the layers.
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"jpg does not support layers" doesn't mean that PS can't apply a layer IN PHOTOSHOP, it means you can't save it. And as Digitaldog says, the only reason to save as a jpg is if you plan to export that file. Save all your working files as tiffs.
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I understand all of the above and it makes sense. What I don't understand is that JPG do not support layers. I am not saying this is the best but I have edited lots of JPGs in PS with layers.
You can save TIFF using JPEG compression, so actually you'll get a layered jpeg, but with tiff extension.