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The document compares common file formats for images and graphics. It provides descriptions of each file format including whether they are compressed or uncompressed, lossy or lossless, and common uses. Key findings include that BMP and TIF are uncompressed lossless formats best for printing or editing. JPG is compressed and lossy, making it best for photographs on the web. GIF and PNG are compressed lossless formats, with GIF supporting animation and PNG having better compression and transparency. EPS is a vector format ideal for printing graphics, while PDF is preferred for viewing documents.

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115 views

File Name

The document compares common file formats for images and graphics. It provides descriptions of each file format including whether they are compressed or uncompressed, lossy or lossless, and common uses. Key findings include that BMP and TIF are uncompressed lossless formats best for printing or editing. JPG is compressed and lossy, making it best for photographs on the web. GIF and PNG are compressed lossless formats, with GIF supporting animation and PNG having better compression and transparency. EPS is a vector format ideal for printing graphics, while PDF is preferred for viewing documents.

Uploaded by

api-315567038
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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FILE FORMATS A COMPARISON TABLE

FILE
DESCRIPTION
COMPRESSED/
NAME
UNCOMPRESSED
BMP
Uncompressed
The BMP format is a commonly
Windows
used raster graphic format for saving
Bitmap
image files. Introduced on the
Windows
platform,
it
is
now
recognized by many programs on
both Macs and PCs. The BMP format
stores color data for each pixel in the
image without any compression.
EPS
Encapsula
ted
PostScript

GIF
Graphics

This is a vector file format which can


be read across different programs on
MAC or PC computers. Raster images
can be saved as EPS files, but will
still be impossible to edit them with a
vector editing program such as
Illustrator. Can contain both text and
images.
Formatted for the web, but in
contrast
to
JPEG,
it
supports

LOSSY/
USE
LOSSLESS
Lossless
The
obvious
disadvantages of this file
format
outweigh
the
advantages. They are
very large and do not
scale well. They are
however
suitable
for
wallpaper in Windows
and are often used for
image editing.
Lossless
Ideal for printing/output
and
sending
vectors
graphics to print.

Lossless

GIFs
can
be
used
effectively for limited-

Interchang transparency.
It
limits
color
e Format
availability to 256. Still more widely
used than PNG. It is the only widely
accepted
format
that
supports
animation.

JPG
Joint
Photograp
hic
Experts
Group

PCT
Macintosh

JPGs use a compression method that Compressed


removes non-human-visible colors
from images to decrease file sizes.
One consideration however, is that
decreasing the quality of a JPG too
much, will result in loss of important
color information that cannot be
retrieved.
A file with the PCT file extension is a
Macintosh Picture Image file, and

Lossy

Lossless

color images, such as


logos and graphs, or for
images
where
transparency
is
important. They should
not be used for full-color
product photos and staff
portraits, for example,
where color variances
are important, as GIF
colors are limited to 256.
GIFs are rarely a good
choice for non-Web use.
Works
best
with
photographs
and
complex images.

Though
some
applications still use the

Picture

PCX
PC
Paintbrush

PDF
Portable
Document
Format

was the default file format for the


(now discontinued) QuickDraw Mac
program.
The PCX format was one of the first
common bitmap image formats. A
PCX file comprises of three elements:
the header, image data and the 256colour palette. PCX utilizes a lossless
compression
technique.
The
compression technique used is not
processor intensive which was an
advantage
at
the
time
of
development due to the relatively
limited processing power of hardware
in the 1980s.
PDF (Portable Document Format) is a Uncompressed
file format that has captured all the
elements of a printed document as
an electronic image that you can
view, navigate, print, or forward to
someone else. PDF files are created
using
Adobe
Acrobat,
Acrobat
Capture, or similar products. To view

PCT format, PDF has


virtually replaced it.
Lossless

The file type is used


rarely
at
present,
however
certain
scanning devices still
output
to
the
.pcx
format.

Lossless

Preferred for printing


and viewing multipage
documents. They are
useful for documents
such
as
magazine
articles,
product
brochures, or flyers in
which you want to

PNG
Portable
Network
Graphics

PSD

and use the files, you need the free


Acrobat Reader, which you can easily
download. Once you've downloaded
the Reader, it will start automatically
whenever you want to look at a PDF
file.
A lossless file format created as a
patent-free alternative to GIF in the
mid
1990s.
It
has
better
compression
and
transparency
options than GIF. It is largely
supported across most browsers,
except for Internet Explorer. Below IE
version 4 it is not supported at all
and even newer versions still do not
support certain elements of PNG
capabilities. It comes in two different
kinds: PNG8 and PNG24. The
difference is PNG24 supports millions
of colors while PNG8 only supports
up to 256 colors. As a result PNG8
files are much smaller.
The native image file format of

preserve
graphic
online.

Lossless

Lossless

the original
appearance

Photoshop Photoshop, the raster graphics and


Document photo manipulation software from
Adobe.
TGA
TGA or TARGA format is a format for Uncompressed
Truevision describing bitmap images, it is
Targa
capable of representing bitmaps
ranging from black and white,
indexed colour, and RGB colour, the
format
also
supports
various
compression methods. This note
describes the minimal requirements
for creating a TGA file for a 24 bit
RGB uncompressed colour image,
this covers most applications where
a developer might want to create an
image for another package which
reads TGA files.
TIFF
A preferred image format with which Uncompressed
Tagged
to print. Tiffs are also used for as an
Image File alternative to PSDs for storing
Format
images because they support the
same
qualities
without
being
software specific. They support

TGA files are often seen


in
the
video
and
animation industry, as
well as by computer
game
manufacturers
who use the TGA format
to store texture files.

Lossless

While great for detail, it


can also create very
large image file sizes.

layers as well as transparency.


WMF
Windows
Metafile

Lossless

WEB GRAPHICS
FILE NAME
BMP Windows Bitmap
EPS Encapsulated PostScript

GIF Graphics Interchange


Format
JPG Joint Photographic
Experts Group
PCT Macintosh Picture

DID IMAGE WHAT DID IT OBSERVATIONS/COM


APPEAR?
APPEAR IN?
MENTS
Yes
Windows Photo
Viewer
Yes
Snagit Editor
Image lost most of its
(screenshot
original attributes. A
program)
greyscale image
appeared.
Yes
Internet
Explorer
Yes
Windows Photo
Viewer
No
-Option given to browse
for program to open
image

DOWNLOAD
TIME
Immediate
Approximately 3
seconds

Approximately 10
seconds
Immediate
--

PCX PC Paintbrush

No

--

PDF Portable Document


Format

Yes

Internet
Explorer

PNG Portable Network


Graphics
PSD Photoshop Document

Yes

TGA Truevision Targa

Yes

TIF Tagged Image File Format

Yes

WMF Windows Metafile

No

Windows Photo
Viewer
Snagit Editor
Unlike the EPS image,
(screenshot
this maintained the
program)
images original colour
and attributes
Snagit Editor
Also maintained colour
(screenshot
and attributes
program)
Windows Photo
Viewer
-A white box which
seemed to be the
outline of the image
appeared in Paint

Yes

Option given to browse


for program to open
image
Image was protected
and could not be
copied and pasted

--

Approximately 5
seconds
Immediately
Immediately

Immediately

Immediately
--

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