DDS image files

Most people haven't heard of a DDS file as it is a little known format, but one that you may find very useful. DDS files are used predominantly in the games industry for producing artwork that conforms exactly to a standard that is useable directly by 3D rendering hardware. This makes it a very flexible file format if you care about how your images are being stored. Pixel formats currently supported by DDS are:

Integer, 16 Bits Per Pixel, No Alpha
Integer, 16 Bits Per Pixel, 1 Bit Alpha
Integer, 16 Bits Per Pixel, Alpha
Integer, 24 Bits Per Pixel, No Alpha
Integer, 32 Bits Per Pixel, Alpha
Real, 64 Bits Per Pixel, Alpha
Real, 128 Bits Per Pixel, Alpha
DXT1 Compressed, 1 Bit Alpha
DXT3 Compressed, Alpha

Notice the Real (floating point) formats there; they will ensure that you lose no accuracy when saving images to disk, though you may end up having some quite large files sizes as a result. If this is the case for you, then you might want to consider saving to the EXR format instead. EXR saves in the real format with 64 bits per pixel, but it compresses the files too, which typically results in a saving of two thirds.

DDS files have another advantage though; you can save mipmaps alongside your image which are often used in 3D rendering. These mipmaps are generated by Imagina with a 2x2 box filter and stored with the image. So for game developers especially, our support for DDS files will help tremendously in their workflow.