Image transfer

How it works

A JPEG is small and already compressed. A 16-bit TIFF for print can be hundreds of megabytes. Embedded profiles decide whether the print matches the screen. Transfer does not convert unless a tool on the path does. That silent conversion is the bug. Binary copy leaves the profile alone.

A designer sends 40 TIFFs, 180 MB each, as a ZIP with profiles embedded. The printer's preprocess strips profiles and the proof shifts. The ZIP hash matched. The damage was after delivery. They resend and mark the ticket 'do not convert.' A single preview JPEG would not have caught it.

How it differs

Image transfer is not photo transfer from a camera roll, though they overlap. Photo transfer adds device permissions and burst sets. Image transfer is the file contract.

CMYK and RGB with the same name collide in a loose folder. Prefix the color space in the filename if both must travel.

Transparency in PNG survives a binary copy and dies in a JPEG re-save a gateway performs. Check the format on arrival.

On the ticket

• The practical close is a log line: time, actor, byte count, result.
• Without that line the transfer is a story.
• With it, the next person can see whether this door did what the ticket claimed.
• If the path is shared, say so in the partner profile so a later change does not silently pick a different limit, key, or region.