Let me see if I got this straight

and please forgive my ignorance as I am trying my best to understand file types...

I shoot my images in raw, then I can bring them to the computer and work them and save them in Tiff as master images Ready to print.

or is it better to save them as Raw? I am guessing Tiff because the printer I send too does not print from Raw images...

Thanks in advance....

You cannot save worked images in Raw format. You must chose PSD, JPG, DNG, Tiff, etc...but definitely shoot in RAW.

Actually Rick I can Save worked images in Raw.....under my options list to save as it lists about 50 different formats.....and come to find out PSD is one of them.....

What raw really means is that the camera won't make any decision about white balance during the exposure. The quality of the light entering the camera (ie color temp) changes thru the day ranging from the cool side (blues and greens hi color temp) in the morning to the warm side (reds and yellows lo color temp) in the evening. When shooting in other than raw the camera assumes that specular hi-lights are pure white and that the light source is direct mid-day Sun. In the same way that the light meter assumes that everything is a mid-tone gray this causes the camera to skew the acutal colors that may be present. Sometimes that is a good thing and sometimes it is not. Cameras, like computers, are really stupid. By shooting in raw you maintain your control over colors in the digital darkroom. Decisions are taken out of the hands of the camera and placed in yours. After makeing adjustments (in layers should you change your Mind)I suggest saving as TIFF(Tagged Image File Format). Only since PS/CS does PhotoShop support layers in TIFF format. If using an earlier version then use PSD (PhotoShop Document).

Doyle....this is what I have heard before...but in my Nikon D-70, it lets me use all the different white balance settings when I am shooting in raw...just as I would if I were shooting Jpgs...shade cloudy daylight flourescent incandescent and so forth and the colors do change depending on what setting I have them on....

for example, my recent hike in Utah. If I decide a file is work/print worthy I'll name the RAW file the same as the final photo. I'll then save the RAW file in a "Mark Hudon Top Select" folder along with all my other "top select" RAW files. If some new deal comes out that works RAW better than an older program (Lightroom vs. Photoshop) I'll have the RAW file to re-work.
Certainly, if RAW ever goes the way of the Dodo bird, we'll have enough warning and will have time to convert our RAW files into the new format (and for me, I'll have all the ones I care about in a special folder).

Sorry Darren, I'm a dodo bird. I was thinking of saving in the native NEF format. Which I cannot.

Darren, several people (a few on this forum) recommended the book Digital Asset Managment to me. You might find it helpful in sorting how you work with raw, save images, etc. I've started using the system and it has helped me out a lot. I shoot exclusively RAW now, unless I know I'm just taking snapshots (like taking photos of our new house for my parents to send via e-mail, etc.)

I actually save my master files in photoshop format PSD. I save the final image for print as a tiff. Both the master image and the print have the same file name except for the extension. the raw file also has the same file name, except for the extension (I convert to .DNG in my case). It is easy to know what master files and what final prints were born of which RAW file.

Again, a RAW file has open to you all the parameters (color balance, exposure, shadow etc. etc.) - when you say "Open" after seeing it in the RAW editor of your application (I'm using Photoshop CS2 since that is my weapon of choice in Apple OSX) will RENDER a native format FROM the RAW file. Any other photo format (except maybe for DNG from Adobe) doesn't let you modify parameters before opening into an application. They are "locked" into the file and while you can change them in the file in Photoshop, being able to do it in a RAW converter before the image is rendered means a much higher quality image compared to same image where you adjusted colors, contrast and exposure in Photoshop. I did a test and the difference is quite huge.

So never loose the RAW file Save the final processed image as a TIFF file for printing and look for the Digital Asset Management book. I'm going to get that book also, I need help in the organization part of this as well.

One thing to consider: After reading the DAM book; I have started saving all of my RAW files once worked as DNG and TIFF. Yes I end up with two files but..... The DNG (Digital Negative) contains ALL raw data, PLUS the data normally found in the sidecar file. This allows to move ONE file and get all of the raw and adjustment data at the same time. Adobe is in hopes that DNG (much larger file size) will become the cross-platform (and application) file standard. I think they will be correct. I can';t do all of the organizational stuff that DAM recommends, but I did change some of my workflow and storage and naming conventions based on what I gleaned from the book.

thanks guys, but I am gonna need some serious hands on training and lecture classes before I understand all this stuff....