Here are brief descriptions of the three most common file formats for electronic documents to be printed, such as brochures and catalogs.

TIFF - Tagged-Image File Format - Used for bitmaps only. The TIFF format is supported by virtually all graphics applications.  TIFF is the most widely supported graphic file format in existence. It is primarily used for scanned images (mostly scanned photographs) and is one of the two most popular graphic file formats (besides EPS) for use in desktop publishing applications. Graphics saved in TIFF format can be easily opened on both Macintosh and PC/Windows platforms.

EPS - Encapsulated PostScript - A file format used for both vector graphics and bitmaps.  EPS  is based on the PostScript printing language, and is one of the two most popular graphic file formats (along with TIFF) for use in desktop publishing applications.  EPS files contain a PostScript description of the graphic data within them.  EPS files are unique in that you can use them for vector graphics, bitmap images, type or even entire pages.

Adobe® Portable Document Format (PDF) - The Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) is used for printing electronic documents as well as distributing them over the Internet. 

The advantages of PDF files are:

1. Their compact size...making them ideal for distributing product brochures and technical manuals over the Internet.
2. They are platform independent - they work with both Mac® and PC computers.
3. The software used to read and print them is free.
4. They display and print using the PostScript® page-description language. That means if line art is embedded as vector objects, it will display and print perfectly at any size or resolution. Plus it can be extracted and placed into illustration documents or bitmap images.
5. Fonts are embedded within them so the target computer does not have to have the fonts installed to view them.
6. They are fully searchable.
7. They can contain hyperlinks to pages within the PDF document itself or to a web page on the Internet - or to movie clips.
8. They contain PostScript® data and can be imported into both image editors and illustration programs just like EPS files.
9. Vector art contained in the PDF file will make PERFECT printed output at any resolution - just as if the output were being printed from a job saved as a PostScript .PS or .PRN file. If there are embedded bitmaps they will usually be downsampled to 72 pixels per inch for viewing on a monitor or for transporting over the Internet. This is to keep their file size small. However, bitmaps can be embedded at high resolution for high-end output.

If your client wants to build a web site, the PDF file format is ideal for distributing online brochures and technical documents. Let's say a customer calls up and requests a technical manual for one of your client's products. It's simple. Just have the customer dial up and download! He can simply print it out on a laser printer if he wants hard copy. The customer will be happy because he gets a manual immediately, and your client will be happy because there was virtually no cost for distribution - no printing cost, postage or handling! There's no difference to you because you lay it out exactly the same as if it were being printed. Even if you print it, you use the same files for making the PDFs.