University of Baghdad

Collage of Engineering
Computer Engineering Department

Common Image File Formats

By:
Eyman M. Ali
 Common Image File Formats
There are numerous image file types out there so it can be hard to
know which file type best suits your image needs. Some image types such
a TIFF are great for printing while others, like JPG or PNG, are best for
web graphics.

The list below outlines some of the more common file types and
provides a brief description, how the file is best used, and any special
attributes the file may have.

1. Bitmap (.bmp, .dib)

BMP or Bitmap Image file or device independent bitmap (DIB) file
format a format developed by Microsoft for Windows. There is no
compression or information loss with BMP files which allow images to
have very high quality, but also very large file sizes. It might be an 8-bit,
16-bit or 24-bit image. Thus when you make a BMP image larger or
smaller, you are making the individual pixels larger, and thus making the
shapes look fuzzy and jagged. Due to BMP being a proprietary format, it
is generally recommended to use TIFF files. Figure 1 is sample of bitmap
image.

Compression: none.

Bit-depth(s): 1 to 24-bits.

Color Model: RGB.

Best For: high quality scans, archival copies.

 Figure 1: Sample of Bitmap Image.

2. JPEG (.jpg, .jpeg, .jpe)

JPEG, which stands for Joint Photographic Experts Groups is a lossy
format meaning that the image is compressed to make a smaller file. The
degree of compression can be adjusted, allowing a selectable tradeoff
between storage size and image quality. JPEG typically achieves 10:1
compression with little perceptible loss in image quality. JPEG files are
very common on the Internet and JPEG is a popular format for digital
cameras, making it ideal for web use and non-professional prints. On the
other hand, JPEG may not be as well suited for line drawings and other
textual or iconic graphics, where the sharp contrasts between adjacent
pixels can cause noticeable artifacts. JPEG supports a maximum image size
of 65,535×65,535 pixels, hence up to 4 gigapixels for an aspect ratio of
1:1. Figure 2 shows compression of varying levels, from highest to lowest.

Compression: lossy form of compression based on the discrete cosine

transform (DCT) - some file information is compressed or lost and cannot
be restored.

Bit-depth(s): 24-bits (8-bit color), or Grayscale - 8-bits.

Color Model: YCbCr.

Best For: web Images, non-professional Ppinting, E-Mail, Powerpoint.
Special Attributes: can choose amount of compression when saving in
image editing programs like Adobe Photoshop or GIMP.

Figure 2: JPEG Compression of Varying Levels, from Highest to Lowest.

3. TIFF (.tif, .tiff)

TIFF or Tagged Image File Format are lossless images files meaning
that they do not need to compress or lose any image quality or information,
although TIFF offers the option of using lossless data-compression for
reducing a file's size, Which allows very high-quality images but also
larger file sizes. TIFF was created by Aldus for ‘desktop publishing’, and
by 2009 it was transferred to the control of Adobe Systems. Figure 3 shows
sample of TIFF image.

Compression: lossless - no compression. Very high-quality images.

Best For: high quality prints, professional publications, archival copies,
scanning, faxing, word processing, optical character recognition, image
manipulation, and page-layout applications.
Bit-depth(s): 1-bit bitonal; 4- or 8-bit grayscale or palette color; up to 64-
bit color.

Color Model: palette, YCbCr, RGB, CMYK, LAB, and others.

Special Attributes: Can save transparencies.

Figure 3: Sample of TIFF Image.

4. GIF (.gif)
GIF or Graphics Interchange Format, is limited to the 8 bit palette
with only 256 colors. GIF is still a popular image format on the internet
because image size is relatively small compared to other image
compression types. GIF compresses images in two ways: first, by reducing
the number of colors in rich color images, thus reducing the number of bits
per pixel. Second, GIF replaces multiple occurring patterns (large patterns)
into one. So instead of storing five kinds of blue, it stores only one blue.
GIF is most suitable for graphics, diagrams, cartoons and logos with
relatively few colors. It is still the chosen format for animation effects. GIF
is lossless and thus more effective with compressing images with a
single color, but pales in detailed or dithered pictures. In other words,
GIF is lossless for images with 256 colors and below. So for a full
color image, it may lose up to 99.998% of its colors. One edge of the
GIF image format is the interlacing feature, giving the illusion of fast
loading graphics. When it loads in a browser, the GIF first appears to
be blurry and fuzzy, but as soon as more data is downloaded, the
image becomes more defined until all the date has been downloaded.
Figure 4 shows sample of GIF image.

Compression: lossless (LZW) - compression without loss of quality.

Bit-depth(s): 1 to 8-bits, but only 256 colors.

Color Model: palette.

Best For: web images.

Special Attributes: can be animated, can cave transparency.

Figure 4: Image Converted from JPEG to GIF.

5. PNG (.png)
PNG or Portable Network Graphics files format that supports
lossless data compression. It is an image format specifically designed for
the web. PNG is, in all aspects, the superior version of the GIF. Just like
the GIF format, the PNG is saved with 256 colors maximum but it saves
the color information more efficiently. It also supports an 8 bit
transparency. PNG can support 24 bit RGB color images, grayscale
images, both with and without alpha channels. RGB cannot support CMYK
color spaces, and is not designed for print graphics. Figure 5 shows sample
of PNG image.
Compression: Lossless - compression without loss of quality.

Bit-depth(s): 1-48-bit; 1/2/4/8-bit palette color or grayscale, 16-bit

grayscale, 24/48-bit truecolor.

Color Model: palette, sRGB, ICC.

Best For: web images.

Special Attributes: save transparency.

Figure 5: PNG Image with Transparency.

6. RAW Image Files (.raw, .cr2, .nef, .orf, .sr2, and more)
RAW images are images that are unprocessed that have been created
by a camera or scanner. Many digital SLR cameras can shoot in RAW,
whether it be a .raw, .cr2, or .nef. These RAW images are the equivalent of
a digital negative, meaning that they hold a lot of image information, but
still need to be processed in an editor such as Adobe Photoshop or
Lightroom.

Compression: none.

Best for: photography.

Special Attributes: saves metadata, unprocessed, lots of information.

7. JPEG 2000 (.jp2, .j2k, .jpf, .jpx, .jpm, .mj2)
JPEG 2000 is an image compression standard and coding system. It
was created by the Joint Photographic Experts Group committee in 2000
with the intention of superseding their original discrete cosine transform-
based JPEG standard with a newly designed, wavelet-based method. JPEG
2000 code streams are regions of interest that offer several mechanisms to
support spatial random access or region of interest access at varying
degrees of granularity. It is possible to store different parts of the same
picture using different quality. JPEG 2000 is not widely supported in web
browsers, and hence is not generally used on the Internet. Figure 6 shows
comparison between JPEG and JPEG2000.

Compression: lossless, lossy (Wavelet).

Bit-depth(s): supports up to 214 channels, each with 1-38 bits; gray or

color.

Color Model: palette, RGB, YCbCr, sRGB, some ICC.

Special Attributes: progressive decoding, offers transparency.

Figure 6: Difference between JPEG and JPEG2000.

8. WebP (.webp)
WebP is a modern image format that provides superior lossless and
lossy compression for images on the web. Using WebP, webmasters and
web developers can create smaller, richer images that make the web faster.
WebP lossless images are 26% smaller in size compared to PNGs. WebP
lossy images are 25-34% smaller than comparable JPEG images. Lossless
WebP supports transparency (also known as alpha channel) at a cost of just
22% additional bytes. For cases when lossy RGB compression is
acceptable, lossy WebP also supports transparency, typically providing 3×
smaller file sizes compared to PNG. Figure 7 shows comparison between
PNG and WebP.

Compression: lossless, lossy.

Bit-depth(s): supports 24 bits and 16.8 million colors.

Color Model: lossy WebP works with an 8-bit Y'CbCr, lossless WebP
works with the RGBA format.

Special Attributes: supports animation, transparency, holds metadata.

Figure 7: Comparison between PNG and WebP-lossless and WebP-lossy.

9. Wireless Bitmap (.wbmp)

WBMP are known as wireless bitmap images and can most
commonly be found on older mobile devices. When cell phones haven't
been as developed as they were today, WBMP was the image format to
send images from one phone to another using the SMS messaging service.
WBMP images are monochrome (black & white) so that the image size is
kept to a minimum. A black pixel is denoted by 0 and a white pixel is
denoted by 1. Figure 8 shows samples of WBMP image.

Compression: no compression.

Bit-depth(s): 1 bit per pixel.

Color Model: black & white.

Figure 8: Samples of WBMP Image.

There is no universal image format that is best for all scenarios. Every
type of image format has their own advantages and disadvantages. Figure
9 shows a comparison between different image formats.

Figure 9: Comparison between Different Formats.