Actually, what it means is that, when you output the image, the resolution should be 300 PPI MINIMUM... you can change the >Mode< on your toolbar, whatever the original image is... you could import a .bmp image, and convert it to cmyk just by changing the mode. Compression is only if there's a need for it,,, Photoshop doesn't know where the image is going to go, and Mac is very popular, so that is offered. Printable colour CAN be RGB, that is a matter of what the printer/publisher wants... size... that's also a matter between you and your printer/publisher... some will want small, some will want large... the downside is, that the larger your image, the more "space" your image is going to take, be it for manipulating it, or saving it to your Hard Drive. As for what happens when you save in tiff.. The assumption is that the image is going to be sent somewhere, and it needs to be compressed... saving all the layer info multiplies the size of it drastically, so it automatically flattens your layers. One way to avoid the image going wierd on you, is to save first in psd, then >Merge Layers< before saving in tiff... flattening will sometimes have the effect of making the image "dull", and this works, for me at least, as a means of getting around that... I rarely flatten an image I'm working on. I'm sure you will have questions, and I'm sure I'll think of something else... ask when you have questions.. nobody here minds, and it's how you'll find out things. Lou.

"..... and that was when things got interestiing."