A sparse image acts like a 'local disk' and ensures that the capability of the destination can properly represent the source - things like ownership, permissions, ACLs, metadata, EAs, resource forks, etc are basically guaranteed to work correctly because they're represented as they are on a local volume. On top of that, the volume is 'rooted' correctly, which means it can be restored with anything, including Disk Utility.
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--Dave Nanian
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