ArtCraft File Formats: PSD, PSB, Affinity & RAW Compatibility

When evaluating an alternative to Adobe Creative Cloud, file compatibility is usually the primary concern. Nobody wants to lose access to years of archived design work or get locked out of client deliverables.

ArtCraft apps are built from the ground up to read and write standard open and industry-standard file formats with clean-room Rust decoders.

Here is the complete reference guide on what formats are supported, how they perform, and what to expect when opening your existing files.

1. Photoshop Documents: PSD & Large PSB

PhotoCraft includes a custom, clean-room parser for Adobe Photoshop files. It does not rely on Adobe libraries or cloud converters.

Supported PSD Features

Bit Depths: 8-bit, 16-bit, and 32-bit floating point.
Color Spaces: RGB, Grayscale, CMYK, Indexed Color, and Lab.
Layer Stacks: Normal layers, group folders, clipping masks, and layer opacity.
Adjustment Layers: Curves, Levels, HSL, Color Balance, Vibrance, Black & White, and Exposure.
Masks: Pixel masks and vector path clipping masks.
Smart Objects: Embedded smart objects (SoLd / lnk2 blocks) remain editable in memory.
Live Text Layers: Typography layers retain character formatting, font families, and line heights.

Large Documents (PSB)

When saving files exceeding 2 GB or with dimensions greater than 30,000 pixels, PhotoCraft automatically switches to the PSB (Photoshop Big) specification.

What is Not Supported

Cloud PSD (.psdc): Files locked inside Adobe Creative Cloud storage cannot be opened directly. Export them as standard local .psd files from Photoshop before opening.

2. Vector Illustration Formats

VectorCraft is designed to work fluidly with both open vector standards and commercial files:

Format	Import Support	Export Support	Notes
SVG	Full bidirectional	Full bidirectional	Native SVG paths, gradients, and styling.
PDF	Vector import	Print-ready PDF	Preserves curves, bezier anchors, and text blocks.
Affinity (.afdesign)	Direct import	Via SVG / PDF	Opens Affinity Designer curves and layers directly.
JSON Document	Native format	Native format	Human-readable document tree, ideal for version control.

Unlike Illustrator, which wraps proprietary data inside PDFs, VectorCraft uses standard SVG and JSON specifications so your artwork remains permanently accessible.

3. Camera RAW Formats (PhotoCraft & LightCraft)

PhotoCraft and LightCraft include a native RAW demosaicing engine capable of reading uncompressed and lossless sensor data:

Sony: .ARW (A7 series, FX series)
Canon: .CR2 and .CR3 (EOS R and DSLR series)
Nikon: .NEF (Z series and D series)
Fujifilm: .RAF (X-Trans and Bayer sensors)
Adobe DNG: Open .DNG raw files

RAW files are rendered with 16-bit precision, giving you full dynamic range for highlight recovery, shadow boosting, and white balance adjustment before rasterization.

4. Modern Web & Production Formats

For production handoff and game assets, ArtCraft supports:

PNG & JPEG: Full ICC color profile, EXIF, and XMP metadata preservation.
WebP: Both lossless and lossy compression with transparency.
OpenEXR (.exr): Half-float (f16) and single-float (f32) multi-layer rendering for 3D visual effects and compositing.
HEIF / HEIC: Native reading of Apple iPhone and modern camera images without third-party codecs.

5. Summary

With ArtCraft, your creative files belong to you:

Open and edit layered PSDs and Camera RAW files without monthly subscriptions.
Store artwork in open, future-proof formats like SVG and JSON.
Never worry about vendor lock-in or proprietary cloud storage.
Download PhotoCraft & VectorCraft
Read the PhotoCraft Overview
Check out the VectorCraft Benchmark