D2

Discuss the impact that file format, compression techniques, image

resolution and colour depth have on file size and image quality

Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 3
Different File Types ................................................................................................................................. 3
PNG ..................................................................................................................................................... 3
JPEG..................................................................................................................................................... 3
Maya ASCII .......................................................................................................................................... 3
GIF ....................................................................................................................................................... 3
Compression Techniques ........................................................................................................................ 4
Image Resolution .................................................................................................................................... 4
Colour Depth ........................................................................................................................................... 4
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................... 4
Sources .................................................................................................................................................... 4

Introduction
In this report I will be talking about the different factors that contribute to graphical image final
quality and file size.

Different File Types

Different file extensions or file types

PNG
PNG stands for Portable Network Graphics and is a type of lossless data compression. It was
developed as a non-patent replacement for the Graphical Interchange Format and it is the most
used lossless type of image format. The PBG format supports pallet based images including the
24bitRGB and 32bit RGBA with rescale and full colour non pallet based RGB[A]. It was designed for
transferring files over the internet and not for professional quality prints as it does not support
CMYK colours. Hence PNG types usually are quite large as they store a lot of data which includes the
RBG[A] and 32 bit colours meaning there is usually much more information that needs to be stored
and therefore takes up much more space, however this means that the quality of the image is much
higher than other file types.

JPEG
JPG or JPEG stands for Joint Photographic Experts group and is a type of lossy image format that uses
the lossy compression meaning that the image compression ratio can be adjusted to balance
between quality and storage size. JPEG images usually achieve a ratio of 10 to 1 compression with
little perceptible loss in quality. It is the most common format for storing and transmitting
photographic images on World Wide Web. JPEG images tend to take up much less space and still are
able to provide very crisp and clear images, it is extremely popular as it can be opened by any editing
software and supports CMYK, RGB and Grayscale colour modes. However when you enlarge the
image it becomes pixelated.

Maya ASCII
ASCII stands for American Standard Code for Information Exchange. This is the standard file format
which Autodesk Maya uses, it is a vector based format and saves every single piece of information
that is present on the "scene" in the software, the information includes geometry, lighting,
animation, rendering and few other properties such as texture and colour used. This is why the file
sizes are can be extremely high, sometimes as big as 330mb for extremely highly detailed scene,
with smoothed geometries and textures, but the quality is exceptionally high.

GIF
GIF stands for Graphical Interchange Format and is a type of lossless bitmap image format and was a
popular format focusing images on websites due to its wide support and portability. GIF supports up
to 8 bits per pixel on each image which allows single image to have a colour pallet of 256 colours on
a 24bit RGB colour space. The format also supports animations which allow a separate pallet of 256
colours per frame. This means GIF is not suitable for reproducing high quality photographic images
with continues colours but more for simpler graphic images such as logos. GIF has one of the
smallest file sizes, this mainly due to the fact that it only supports RGB and greyscale.

Compression Techniques
File compression is the method used by the artist through the hardware to reduce the file size and
depending on the technique of compression used, can lead to extreme loss of quality. There are two
types of compression, they are lossless and lossy.
Lossy compression reduces the file size by reducing the quality depending on the percentage. It
reduces the file size by selecting large pieces of information with high concentration of a similar
colour and deleting that piece of information. This results in significant dip in quality but a significant
dip in file size too.
Lossless compression is a compression method that reduces the file size without reducing the
quality, this is a much more complicated method of compression as it relies on algorithms to store
the data which in return are converted back into an image whenever the image is rebuilt within a file
viewer. Although the compression reduces the image file but it is still much larger than a lossy
compression but in turn it has a much higher quality.

Image Resolution
Image Resolution refers to the amount of detail and image holds, it is measured in dots per inch, dpi.
Here the trade off is simple higher Image Resolution higher quality but higher file size, Lower image
resolution, lower quality but lower file size. A benefit of high image resolution means that an image
can be scaled up, the higher dpi the more scaled the image can become. However even the highest
quality images can become pixelated when magnified, so the image resolution should be decided
depending on the project. For example if you are making an image that needs to be stretched you
should save it in high resolution.

Colour Depth
Colour depth refers to how many colours are able to be used in an image, the more colours there
are in an image the higher the quality but higher the file size and its the same for when there are
less colours. High colour depth images are rich in colours and look much more realistic and eye
appealing and low colour depth have little colours and are far less detailed. The most common
colour depth options are 8bit, 16bit, 24bit however with more powerful computers and software's
being in use 32bit is now becoming ever more common.

Conclusion
In conclusion I talked about the different factors that contribute to graphical image final quality and
file size.

Sources
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/dida/using_ict/presenting_informationrev4.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/dida/using_ict/presenting_informationrev5.shtml

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0-aTqj82ECJMjlKSktfX3NUelU/edit