| The old recommendations to save as TIFF or EPS were solid in their day, and you still can't go wrong by adhering to the old ways. But native, layered Photoshop files offer appealing features such as transparency, editable vector elements, and nondestructive color corrections. TIFF files can contain layers, but offer no support for vector elements, so Photoshop native files still trump TIFF files for flexibility. It's now acceptable to loosen up a bit. InDesign and Illustrator accept layered Photoshop files in all their glory, including transparency effects. QuarkXPress 6.5 allows placement of native PSDs, although it doesn't recognize transparency. QuarkXPress 7.0 offers expanded support for native Photoshop features, recognizing transparency and even allowing you to use alpha channels as soft-edged masks. There's no need to squeeze the fun out of your images before you place them into a page layout. But it's worthwhile to do some house-cleaning before you save and close your Photoshop file. Delete unused layers. Select an unwanted layer (or Shift-click to select multiple layers), and then choose Delete Layer from the Layers palette menu. Delete unused alpha channels. Select an unwanted channel (or Shift-click to select multiple channels), and then choose Delete Channel from the Channels palette menu. Delete unused paths. Select the unwanted path and then choose Delete Path from the Paths palette menu. You'll have to delete paths one by oneShift-clicking doesn't work when selecting paths. Make sure the image is in the correct color space for its final use. If you're certain about the final use of the image, crop out any unnecessary image content. But leave a rind of extra image around the outside, just in case you need a bit of elbow room when the image is placed in a page layout. If you've created multiple, experimental files on your way to the final image, name the final image in a way that makes it clear It's The One, and put the older, obsolete files in a quarantine folder. Don't send a job to the print service provider with a folder full of images with names like Final.tif, Final2.tif, NewFinal.tif, Newfinal2.tif, NewerFinal3.tif, NewestFinal.tif, FinalButDon'tUse.tif, and so on. If you're confused, think how they'll feel.
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