Managing digital assets goes far beyond just organizing files on a drive. Museums and cultural institutions must consider quality, longevity, accessibility, and interoperability. A sound Digital Asset Management (DAM) strategy ensures that digital collections are preserved, searchable, and usable now and in the future. In this blog post, we walk through best practices for DAM, from selecting optimal file types to applying robust color management and maintaining quality standards across media.
Understanding File Types and Formats
Choosing the right file format is essential for long-term preservation, access, and compatibility. Each media type, images, documents, audio, video, and 3D models, has industry-preferred formats that balance quality, storage, and usability. The file format you choose today can affect the ease of use, conversion, and future-proofing of your digital assets.
Have you ever gone to retrieve a digital file, only to find that it won’t open in any modern application? Or worse, discovered that the format degraded your original image?
Understanding which file types to use is foundational to a future-proof digital collection.
Image Files
For image preservation, TIFF files are the gold standard due to their lossless compression and support for metadata. JPEGs, while smaller and more compatible, use lossy compression, making them more suitable for access or web use. RAW files capture uncompressed sensor data, ideal for photography workflows requiring extensive editing.
Document Files
PDF/A is preferred for archival purposes as it ensures document integrity and compatibility over time. Text-based formats like RTF, TXT, and DOCX, are acceptable for working files, but consider converting them to PDF/A for long-term storage.
Audio Files
For preservation, WAV files provide lossless, uncompressed audio data. FLAC offers similar quality but with lossless compression to save space. While they are compressed and lossy, MP3s are universally compatible due to their small file size and ubiquity.
Video Files
A typical video file is composed of a container format and one or more codecs that have compressed video and audio data. The MP4 container format is the most widely used container format and is often ideal for access copies. Newer container formats like MKV provide greater flexibility by supporting a wider array of codecs. The AVC (H.264) video codec is the most universally compatible video format and is natively supported in all major web browsers. While not yet as widely adopted as the AVC (H.264) format, HEVC (H.265) offers high-efficiency compression at the same or better quality as AVC (H.264) making it suitable for HD and 4K footage.
3D File Formats
3D assets require special consideration. OBJ and FBX files are standard in modeling workflows, with FBX supporting animation. glTF/GLB formats are ideal for web and real-time applications due to their small size and ability to be saved as one file. 3D printing, STL and AMF are most common.
“For institutions with a large number of assets, consider limiting how many assets can be stored in each folder. This improves load times when opening or syncing a folder, allowing systems to run smoothly without excess slow down.”
Joanne Jones, Account Manager at Gallery Systems.Summary:
Images
- TIFF – Preferred for preservation. Lossless and widely supported.
- JPEG – Good for access copies. Compressed, but lossy.
- RAW – Ideal for archival quality and post-processing.
Documents - PDF/A – Archival standard. Ideal for preserving integrity and long term access.
- TXT/RTF/DOCX – Use with discretion; consider migration and metadata strategies.
Audio
- WAV – Uncompressed, high fidelity, preservation-quality.
- FLAC – Lossless, compressed alternative to WAV.
- MP3 – Compressed, lossy, and universally supported.
Video
- MP4 – Most widely adopted video container format
- MKV – Newer container format that supports more codecs.
- AVC (H.264) – Most universally supported video codec. Compatible in all major web browsers
- HEVC (H.265) – Newer video codec with high quality compression making it suitable for HD/4K content.
3D
- OBJ & FBX – Standard for geometry and animation respectively.
- glTF/GLB – Optimized for web and real-time applications.
- STL/AMF – Industry standards for 3D printing workflows.
Digital Quality: Capturing and Managing High-Quality Assets
Ensuring high digital quality is about more than choosing the highest settings on your scanner or camera. It means understanding how resolution, bit depth, compression, and sampling affect usability and preservation.
An exhibition team needs to produce a banner from a decades-old image file, only to find it’s pixelated beyond use. The original was captured at too low a resolution.
Quality begins at capture and follows your asset throughout its lifecycle.
Image Quality
Resolution is measured in pixels per inch (PPI) for digital displays or dots per inch (DPI) for printing. When creating new digital images it is best to use the highest resolution on a device to capture the most information possible. When preparing an image for specific uses, generally speaking, Use 300 PPI for high-resolution prints, 150 PPI for large displays viewed at a distance, and 72–96 PPI for web images.
Bit Depth refers to the number of bits used to define each pixel. Higher bit depths allow more color information—8-bit per channel allows 16.7 million colors; 16-bit increases the number of available colors, giving it more tonal range and flexibility when editing.
“Discover what the file size needs are for each department and set guidelines for appropriate file sizes to help save on storage costs. For example, max 10MB for presentation slides.”
Joanne Jones, Account Manager at Gallery Systems.Video and Audio Quality
Video quality is determined by resolution and compression standards (codecs), such as AVC (H.264) or HEVC. Audio quality relies on sample rates and bit depth. Aim for uncompressed or lossless formats for preservation.
In all formats, avoid “upsampling” assets—this can introduce artifacts and distortions.
Summary:
Resolution: Measured in PPI for digital; DPI for print.
- 300 PPI: High-res print
- 150 PPI: Large prints viewed at a distance
- 72–96 PPI: Web use
Bit Depth: More depth = more color detail.
- 8-bit RGB = 16.7 million colors
- 16-bit offers more available colors and latitude in editing and color grading.
Preparing for a DAM or Managing Without One
Not every institution starts with a full-featured DAM system. Whether you’re preparing to implement one or managing without, organizing your assets strategically now will make your transition smoother later.
A staff member spends hours searching for a missing audio file from a past exhibition. It turns out the only copy was saved on someone’s desktop, five years ago.
Even without a dedicated DAM system, applying structured practices today will protect your assets tomorrow.
Best Practices Without a DAM
- Folder structure: Create a clear, hierarchical folder system.
- File naming: Use consistent, descriptive naming conventions.
- Metadata: Embed metadata whenever possible (e.g., using tools such as Adobe Bridge or ExifTool).
- Backups: Maintain redundant copies in separate locations.
“For assets related to Objects, include the Object Number (or Accession Number) as part of the file name to aid in linking and discovery.”
Joanne Jones, Account Manager at Gallery Systems.Free Tools to Support Your Workflow
- Adobe Bridge – Useful for batch renaming, tagging, and browsing.
- darktable – A RAW editor with non-destructive workflow support.
- LibreOffice – Ideal for managing open document formats.
- Blender – Versatile tool for 3D modeling and rendering.
- Audacity – Great for editing and converting audio files.
- ExifTool – Powerful command-line tool for metadata inspection.
- GiMP – Open-source image editor for raster images.
These tools can bridge the gap while building the case for a full DAM implementation.
Emerging Formats and Future-Proofing Your Archive
Technology evolves quickly. DAM professionals must stay informed about new file formats and standards to ensure future accessibility and sustainability of assets. As new digital devices continue to capture larger amounts of data, newer file formats have been developed to compress data while still maintaining high-quality. While these formats have not yet been adopted as universally as older formats, they provide a way to store very high-resolution files at sizes many times smaller than older formats. As more people adopt newer computers, the universal ability to read and write these types of files can increase as well.
A museum acquires a digital-born artwork in a depreciated file format, but their systems can’t open it, and their DAM doesn’t recognize it.
File formats evolve quickly. Staying informed helps institutions adapt, ensure access, and preserve assets in ways future systems can support.
Modern Image Formats
WebP and AVIF offer better compression and support for transparency and animation compared to traditional image formats. AVIF, in particular, reduces file sizes by up to 40% compared to a JPEG with standard compression while maintaining high visual fidelity.
Audio and Video
FLAC provides the same quality as an uncompressed WAV file in a compressed format. On the video side, the HEVC codec is increasingly favored for high-quality, efficient capturing of HD and 4K video.
3D and Immersive Media
With the rise of AR and VR, support for formats like glTF is essential. These formats offer compatibility with modern rendering engines and are optimized for real-time use and web delivery.
Summary:
Next-Gen Image Formats
- WebP – Lossy/lossless with transparency, generally smaller than JPEG.
- AVIF – Up to 40% smaller than JPEG; supports HDR and 10-bit color.
Audio & Video Evolution
- FLAC – Audio format that retains quality while offering efficient compression.
- H.265 (HEVC) – More efficient video codec than AVC (H.264) for HD video.
Digital Asset Management is an evolving discipline, crucial to preserving the cultural and historical narratives held within digital files. By embracing best practices in file selection, digital quality, and tool usage, museums and cultural institutions can build future-proof systems that ensure the longevity, accessibility, and authenticity of their digital collections.
DAM is not simply about storage, it’s about stewardship. And with the right practices, every byte can tell a lasting story. Ready to take the next step? Connect with one of our digital asset management experts for a personalized consultation and discover how TMS Media Studio can help you preserve and share your collection for generations to come.
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