File format issues: HEIC, TIFF, RAW, and the formats we don't accept

ReadyPixl accepts PNG, JPEG, WebP, and SVG. Anything else needs to be converted first.

Here's what to do for the common formats we don't accept.

HEIC (iPhone images)

Why this is the most common issue: iPhones save images as HEIC by default to save space, but HEIC isn't widely supported in browsers.

Three fixes:

1. Change your iPhone's image format going forward: Settings → Camera → Formats → Most Compatible. Future images will save as JPEG.

1. Convert HEIC files you already have:

• On Mac: open the HEIC in Preview, File → Export, format → JPEG. Done.
• On Windows: open in Images, click the share / export icon, save as JPEG.
• Online: any "HEIC to JPEG converter" — many free options.

1. Email / message the images to yourself — iPhone often auto-converts HEIC to JPEG when shared, depending on settings.

TIFF

TIFF files come from scanners, professional cameras, and some Photoshop exports.

Fix: open in any image app and re-save as PNG (preserves quality, supports transparency) or JPEG (smaller file). Most image apps handle TIFF natively.

PSD (Photoshop files)

PSDs preserve layers and effects, which ReadyPixl can't read.

Fix: open in Photoshop, File → Export As → PNG (for transparent designs) or JPEG (for flat images). Then drop the exported version into ReadyPixl.

If you don't have Photoshop, free alternatives that read PSD: Photopea (web-based, photopea.com), GIMP (desktop), Affinity Image (paid one-time).

RAW camera files (CR2, NEF, ARW, DNG, etc.)

RAW files are unprocessed sensor data — they're not really "images" until they're processed.

Fix: open in your camera's software (Canon DPP, Nikon NX Studio, Adobe Lightroom, etc.), make any adjustments you want, and export as JPEG or PNG. Then drop the exported version into ReadyPixl.

Apple Photos and Windows Photos can both convert RAW to JPEG too if you don't have dedicated RAW software.

AI / Illustrator files

Adobe Illustrator's .ai files are vector files, similar to SVG but proprietary.

Fix: open in Illustrator and File → Export → PNG or Export → SVG. SVG works directly in ReadyPixl (rasterized at up to 2000 px on the longest edge).

If you don't have Illustrator: Inkscape (free) opens AI files and exports to SVG/PNG.

EPS, PDF, BMP, GIF, ICO, and others

We don't support these. The pattern is the same for all:

1. Open the file in any image app
2. Re-save / export as PNG or JPEG
3. Drop the exported version into ReadyPixl

For PDFs specifically, only the first page typically gets converted — for multi-page PDFs you need a PDF-to-image batch tool first.

The file is the right format but ReadyPixl says "Failed to load"

Possible reasons:

1. The file extension is lying. A file named .png might actually be a different format inside (e.g., a renamed BMP). Open in any image viewer to confirm what it actually is, then re-export as the correct format.

1. The file is corrupt. It might have been incompletely downloaded or saved. Re-download or re-export from the source.

1. The PNG is in an unusual color profile (e.g., 16-bit per channel with an embedded ICC profile). Most browsers handle this, but rare cases fail. Re-export as standard 8-bit sRGB PNG.

1. The JPEG uses a rare encoding (lossless JPEG, JPEG 2000). Standard "baseline JPEG" works everywhere; rare variants don't. Re-save as a regular JPEG.

1. The SVG references external resources (fonts not embedded, external images). Open in a vector editor, embed everything, re-save.

Conversion tools we recommend

A note on file size

Even after format conversion, very large files can fail to load. ReadyPixl handles files up to several hundred MB per image, but the practical sweet spot is under 50 MB per file.

If your files are huge, consider running a Resize step before any other processing — smaller files = faster pipelines.

Conversion preserves quality?

For most ReadyPixl workflows, the quality drop from conversion is fine — print-on-demand sites and Etsy listings don't need RAW-level data.

What to read next

• Common error messages — for the actual "Failed to load" error
• Loading your images — the supported-format reference
• Frequently asked questions — broader format questions