Common image file formats
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Compare the features of the most common image formats
( Comparison illustration: wikipedia.org/... )
( Comparison illustration: wikipedia.org/... )
Nome corto | JPEG | PNG | WebP | SVG | AVIF | GIF | JPEG XL | JPEG 2000 | BMP | RAW | TIFF | EPS | HEIF | PICT | PCX | PSD | TGA | WMF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Descrizione | JPEG is the most common image format used by digital cameras, it is the most common format for storing and transmitting photographic images on the World Wide Web. | PNG was created to improve GIF image-file format. Removing patent license issues at that time; and removing 256 colors limitation. | WebP is an image file format developed by Google, and supposed to be a new open standard for lossily compressed true color graphics. It's a direct competitor to JPEG. | SVG is an XML based file format. It allows to create vector graphics with animation and interaction support. It can be edited with any text editor. | AV1 Image File Format is a recent image format based on the AV1 video codec and with a wide feature set. | GIF is a bitmap image format that allows a lossless compression by reducing the image to 256 distinct colors. It has been replaced by PNG after fear over patent issues. It is still widely used for animation as it's the only format that supports animation and that is widely supported by browsers. | JPEG XL is the next generation image format, with the ambition to replace the old JPEG format for the long term. | JPEG 2000 is an enhancement of the JPEG standard. It supports transparency, is able to store lossless data. It is also having a better compression level. As it is unsupported by several browsers, it has not been widely used on the Internet. | BMP File Format as been widely used on Windows platform. Although it supports data compression and alpha channels, these features were not widely used as it was not supported by all image editors. | RAW relates to several image file formats since each camera manufacturer has one or several formats (depending on equipments). These files contains the data acquired by sensors almost unprocessed. | TIFF is a file format for storing images losslessly. It is widely supported by image-manipulation applications, by scanning, faxing, word processing, optical character recognition and other applications. | EPS is a file extension for a graphics file format used in vector-based images in Adobe Illustrator. EPS stands for Encapsulated PostScript. An EPS file can contain text as well as graphics. | High Efficiency Image File Format is a container format developed by the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG). The format has several variants and supports individual or sequences of images. | PICT is a graphics file format introduced on the original Apple Macintosh computer as its standard metafile format. It allows the interchange of graphics (both bitmapped and vector), and some limited text support, between Mac applications, and was the native graphics format of QuickDraw. | PCX, standing for PiCture eXchange, was the native file format for PC Paintbrush and became one of the first widely accepted DOS imaging standards, although it has since been succeeded by more sophisticated image formats. | PDF is a file format used to present documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. Each PDF file encapsulates a complete description of a fixed-layout flat document, including the text, fonts, graphics, and other information needed to display it. | PSD is the default image file format used by Adobe Photoshop. It supports layers and transparency. | TGA format is used widely in paint, graphics, and imaging applications that require the storage of image data containing up to 32 bits per pixel. TGA has also become popular in the world of still-video editing. | WMF is an image file format intended to be portable between applications and may contain both vector graphics and bitmap components. It acts in a similar manner to SVG files. |
| Developed by | Joint Photographic Experts Group | W3C (donated by PNG Development Group) | W3C | Alliance for Open Media (AOM) | CompuServe | Joint Photographic Experts Group | Joint Photographic Experts Group | Microsoft | Camera manufacturers | Adobe | Adobe | MPEG | Apple Computer | ZSoft Corporation | Adobe (until 2008) ISO (since 2008) | Adobe | TrueVision, Inc | Microsoft | |
| Year | 1992 | 1996 | 2010 (lossy) 2011 (lossless/alpha/animation) | 2001 (SVG 1.0) | 2019 | 1987 (still) 1989 (animated) | 2021 | 2000 | 1984 (version 1) 1998 (version 5) | multiple proprietary formats exist | 1986 (version 1) 1992 (version 6) | 1982 | 2015 | 1984 | 1985 (version 1) 1991 (version 5) | 1993 (first version) 2017 (PDF 2.0) | 1990 (first version) (not standardized) | 1984 (version 1) 1989 (version 2) | 1992 |
| Vantaggi | Small file size Widely supported format Compatibility Good color range | Widely accepted format Lossless Transparency support | Small file size (Smaller than JPEG with comparable image quality) | Vector graphics: can be resized without quality loss Text-based: can be edited with a text editor | Small file size | Simple animations/short video clips Widely supported format Transparency support Lossless compression Smaller file sizes | Small file size (Smaller than JPEG with comparable image
quality) Royalty-free Modern features (HDR, animation...) | Small file size | Fast to encode | Lossless | Lossless High-quality images Compatible with both PCs and Macs Multiple images and multiple pages can be saved in one file | Scalable to any size Lossless Compatibility for vector graphics Ideal for printing/output | Best file format for on-screen display on the Macintosh Best printing format from the Macintosh to a non-PostScript printer | Image information retained Good quality image | Lossless Protects intellectual property Maintains printed format | Lossless Layers support Transparency support | Well-defined, well-documented format in wide use, which is quick and easy to read and decompress | Lossless | |
| Svantaggi | Lossy compression Not great for text, simple graphics, or illustrations | Lossless only. Poor compression for photographic images. | Limited to 8-bit. Lossy forces 4:2:0 tv-range YCbCr. | Security issues; can contain executable code (javascript) and non-embedded (URI) resources, so essentially requires a browser for proper viewing. Not intended for print. | Limited support yet | Limited to 256 colors (8-bit per pixel). Only binary transparency. | Not yet enabled by most browsers | Processor intensive | Large file size | Large file size | Large file size Not great for web graphics Minor software compatibility issues | May lose control of advanced vector editing features | Limited support yet Patent-encumbered | Fonts may be represented incorrectly when moved
cross-platform QuickTime must be installed to view some PICT files correctly | Large file format PC compatible only and older PCX versions only support 256 colours. | Longer browser loading times Non-editable content Not great for complex graphics printing Not really useful as a graphic image | Lacks a superior compression scheme | Not good for exporting or pasting bar graphs with fill patterns to
PowerPoint Support is limited | |
| Caratteristiche | |||||||||||||||||||
| Vector graphics | No | No | No | Sì | No | No | - Can add splines to a raster image | No | No | No | No | Sì | No | Sì | No | Sì | - Can have text layers and other vector elements | No | Sì |
| Raster image | Sì | Sì | Sì | Sì Can have embedded JPEG/PNG | Sì | Sì | Sì | Sì | Sì | Sì | Sì | No | Sì | Sì | Sì | Sì | Sì | No | Sì |
| Lossless | No | Sì | Sì Lossless and lossy | Sì | Sì Lossless and lossy | Sì | Sì Lossless and lossy | Sì Lossless and lossy | Sì | Sì | Sì | Sì | Sì Lossless and lossy | Sì | Sì | Sì | Sì | Sì | Sì |
| Animation support | No | - Animated PNG is an extension to the PNG format which is compatible with the Gecko and WebKit layout engines and many image editing suites. Users of software incompatible with APNG see the first frame as a still. | Sì | Sì | Sì | Sì | Sì | Sì ISO/IEC 15444-2 | No | No | No | No | Sì | No | No | No | No | Sì | |
| Transparency support | No | Sì | Sì | Sì | Sì | - Only all-or-nothing, no semi-transparency | Sì | Sì | Sì | No | Sì | Sì | Sì | Sì | Sì | No | Sì | Sì | Sì |
| Layers support | No | No | No | Sì | No | No | Sì | No | No | No | - | Sì | No | Sì | No | No | Sì | No | No |
| HDR | No | No | No | No | Sì | No | Sì | Sì | No | Sì | Sì | Sì | Sì | No | No | Sì | No | No | |
| Maximum bit depth | 8-bit | 16-bit | 8-bit | 8-bit | 12-bit | 8-bit (but only 256 different colors) | 24-bit integer 32-bit float | 38-bit | 8-bit | Typically 14-bit | 32-bit | 8-bit (HEIC) up to 16-bit (HEIX) | 8-bit | 8-bit | 16-bit integer 32-bit float | 8-bit | |||
| CMYK support (for print) | Sì | No | No | Sì | No | No | Sì | Sì | No | No | Sì | Sì | No | No | Sì | Sì | No | No | |
| Maximum number of channels | 4 (RGB or CMYK) | 4 (RGBA) | 4 (RGBA) | 4 (RGBA) | 5 (RGBA+depth) | 1 (palette data) | 4099 (RGB/CMY + up to 4096 extra channels) | 16384 | 4 (RGBA) | Typically Bayer data (RGBG) | 65535 | 4 | 4 | 56 | 4 | ||||
| Commonly used for | Photography Photographic images electronically and on the web Printing photographs | Icons Simple web graphics like logos Illustrations, or raster text rendering | Images on the web | Scalable graphics | Animation Simple web graphics | JPEG replacement, HD imaging | Image editing | HDR photography, Archiving | Images from scanner HD imaging Working with photographs without image quality loss | Sending vector graphics to print Working with vector/raster graphics across platforms/graphic design programs | Apple iPhone photos | Desktop publishing Paint Imaging applications using QuickDraw calls | with Paintbrush software Mainly in the MS-DOS world. It is mainly an exchange and storage format | Fixed layout flat documents | Image editing | Storage and interchange of deep-pixel images, paint, and image manipulation programs. | used in Microsoft Clip Organizer for illustrations To store line-art, illustrations and content created in drawing or presentation applications. | ||
| Browser support (without plugin) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Google Chrome | Sì | Sì | Sì | Sì | Sì Chrome 85 | Sì | - Disabled by default | No | No | No | No | No | - AVIF | No | No | Sì | No | No | No |
| Microsoft Edge | Sì | Sì | Sì | Sì | No | Sì | - Disabled by default | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Sì | No | No | No |
| Safari | Sì | Sì | Sì | Sì | No | Sì | No | Sì | No | No | Sì | Sì | No | Sì | No | No | No | No | No |
| Firefox | Sì | Sì | Sì | Sì | Sì Firefox 92 | Sì | - Disabled by default | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Sì | No | No | No |
| Opera | Sì | Sì | Sì | Sì | Sì Opera 71 | Sì | - Disabled by default | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Sì | No | No | No |
| Additional | |||||||||||||||||||
| File extensions | .jpg .jpeg .jpe .jif .jfif .jfi | Still: .png; Animated: .png, .apng | .webp | .svg .svgz | .avif .avifs | .gif | .jxl | .jp2 .j2c .j2k .jpx .jpf .j2c .j2k | .bmp .dib | .crw .cr2 .raw .rw2 .nef .nrw .orf ... | .tiff .tif | .eps .epsi .epsf | .heif .heifs | .pct .pict .pic | .pcx | .psd .pdd | .tga | .wmf .emf .wmz .emz | |
| Nome | Joint Photographic Experts Group | Portable Network Graphics | WebP | Scalable Vector Graphics | AV1 Image File Format (AVIF) | Graphics Interchange Format | JPEG XL | Joint Photographic Experts Group 2000 | Windows Bitmap | RAW Image file | Tagged Image File Format | Encapsulated PostScript | High Efficiency Image File Format | Macintosh Picture | Picture Exchange, aka, PC Paintbrush | Portable Document Format (PDF) | Photoshop Document | TrueVision TARGA | Windows Metafile |
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