Image file formats
Encyclopedia
Image file formats are standardized means of organizing and storing digital image
s. Image files
are composed of either pixels, vector
(geometric) data, or a combination of the two. Whatever the format, the files are rasterized
to pixels when displayed on most graphic displays. The pixels that constitute an image are ordered as a grid (columns and rows); each pixel consists of numbers representing magnitudes of brightness and color.
, and the larger the file. Also, each pixel of an image increases in size when its colour depth increases—an 8-bit pixel (1 byte) stores 256 colors, a 24-bit pixel (3 bytes) stores 16 million colors, the latter known as truecolor.
Image compression uses algorithm
s to decrease the size of a file. High resolution cameras produce large image files, ranging from hundreds of kilobytes to megabytes, per the camera's resolution and the image-storage format capacity. High resolution digital camera
s record 12 megapixel (1MP = 1,000,000 pixels / 1 million) images, or more, in truecolor. For example, an image recorded by a 12 MP camera; since each pixel uses 3 bytes to record truecolor, the uncompressed image would occupy 36,000,000 bytes of memory—a great amount of digital storage for one image, given that cameras must record and store many images to be practical. Faced with large file sizes, both within the camera and a storage disc, image file formats were developed to store such large images. An overview of the major graphic file formats follows below.
and lossy.
Lossless compression algorithms reduce file size without losing image quality, though they are not compressed into as small a file as a lossy compression file. When image quality is valued above file size, lossless algorithms are typically chosen.
Lossy compression algorithms take advantage of the inherent limitations of the human eye and discard invisible information. Most lossy compression algorithms allow for variable quality levels (compression) and as these levels are increased, file size is reduced. At the highest compression levels, image deterioration becomes noticeable as "compression artifacting".
In addition to straight image formats, Metafile
formats are portable formats which can include both raster and vector information. Examples are application-independent formats such as WMF
and EMF. The metafile format is an intermediate format. Most Windows applications open metafiles and then save them in their own native format. Page description language
refers to formats used to describe the layout of a printed page containing text, objects and images. Examples are PostScript
, PDF and PCL
.
s (also known as pixmaps).
(Joint Photographic Experts Group) is a compression method; JPEG-compressed images are usually stored in the JFIF (JPEG File Interchange Format) file format. JPEG compression is (in most cases) lossy compression. The JPEG/JFIF filename extension
is JPG or JPEG. Nearly every digital camera can save images in the JPEG/JFIF format, which supports 8 bits per color (red, green, blue) for a 24-bit total, producing relatively small files. When not too great, the compression does not noticeably detract from the image's quality, but JPEG files suffer generational degradation
when repeatedly edited and saved. The JPEG/JFIF format also is used as the image compression algorithm in many PDF files.
is a compression standard enabling both lossless and lossy storage. The compression methods used are different from the ones in standard JFIF/JPEG; they improve quality and compression ratios, but also require more computational power to process. JPEG 2000 also adds features that are missing in JPEG. It is not nearly as common as JPEG, but it is used currently in professional movie editing and distribution (e.g., some digital cinemas use JPEG 2000 for individual movie frames).
) format is a file standard similar to the JFIF format with TIFF extensions; it is incorporated in the JPEG-writing software used in most cameras. Its purpose is to record and to standardize the exchange of images with image metadata between digital cameras and editing and viewing software. The metadata are recorded for individual images and include such things as camera settings, time and date, shutter speed, exposure, image size, compression, name of camera, color information. When images are viewed or edited by image editing software, all of this image information can be displayed.
It stores meta information.
) format is a flexible format that normally saves 8 bits or 16 bits per color (red, green, blue) for 24-bit and 48-bit totals, respectively, usually using either the TIFF or TIF filename extension. TIFF's flexibility can be both an advantage and disadvantage, since a reader that reads every type of TIFF file does not exist. TIFFs can be lossy and lossless; some offer relatively good lossless compression for bi-level (black&white) images. Some digital cameras can save in TIFF format, using the LZW
compression algorithm for lossless storage. TIFF image format is not widely supported by web browsers. TIFF remains widely accepted as a photograph file standard in the printing business. TIFF can handle device-specific color spaces, such as the CMYK defined by a particular set of printing press inks. OCR
(Optical Character Recognition) software packages commonly generate some (often monochromatic
) form of TIFF image for scanned text pgs.
s that are options available on some digital cameras. These formats usually use a lossless or nearly-lossless compression, and produce file sizes much smaller than the TIFF formats of full-size processed images from the same cameras. Although there is a standard raw image format, (ISO 12234-2, TIFF/EP
), the raw formats used by most cameras are not standardized or documented, and differ among camera manufacturers.
Most camera manufacturers have their own software for decoding or developing their raw file format, but there is also a lot of 3rd party raw file converter software available that accepts the raw format from most cameras including Phase One's Capture One
. Some graphic programs and image editors may not accept some or all raw file formats, and some older ones have been effectively orphaned already.
Adobe's Digital Negative (DNG)
specification is an attempt at standardizing a raw image format to be used by cameras, or for archival storage of image data converted from undocumented raw image formats, and is used by several niche and minority camera manufacturers including Pentax
, Leica, and Samsung
. The raw image formats of more than 230 camera models, including those from manufacturers with the largest market shares such as Canon, Nikon
, Phase One, Sony
, and Olympus
, can be converted to DNG. DNG was based on ISO 12234-2, TIFF/EP, and ISO
's revision of TIFF/EP is reported to be adding Adobe's modifications and developments made for DNG into profile 2 of the new version of the standard.
As far as videocameras are concerned, ARRI
's Arriflex D-20
and D-21
cameras provide raw 3K-resolution sensor data with Bayern pattern as still images (one per frame) in a proprietary format (
Red Digital Cinema Camera Company, with its Mysterium sensor family of still and video cameras, uses its proprietary raw format called REDCODE
(
than PNG files. The Adam7
-interlacing allows an early preview, even when only a small percentage of the image data has been transmitted.
PNG provides a patent-free replacement for GIF and can also replace many common uses of TIFF. Indexed-color, grayscale, and truecolor images are supported, plus an optional alpha channel.
PNG is designed to work well in online viewing applications like web browser
s so it is fully streamable with a progressive display option. PNG is robust, providing both full file integrity checking and simple detection of common transmission errors. Also, PNG can store gamma and chromaticity data for improved color matching on heterogeneous platforms.
Some programs do not handle PNG gamma correctly, which can cause the images to be saved or displayed darker than they should be.
Animated formats derived from PNG are MNG and APNG
. The latter is supported by Mozilla Firefox
and Opera
and is backwards compatible with PNG.
ed images.
files or raw binary files with an ASCII header that provide very basic functionality and serve as a lowest-common-denominator for converting pixmap, graymap, or bitmap files between different platforms. Several applications refer to them collectively as PNM format (Portable Any Map).
is a new image format that uses lossy compression. It was designed by Google to reduce image file size to speed up web page loading: its principal purpose is to supersede JPEG as the primary format for photographs on the web.
WebP is based on VP8
's intra-frame coding and uses a container based on RIFF.
Vector file formats can contain bitmap data as well. 3D graphic
file formats are technically vector formats with pixel data texture mapping
on the surface of a vector virtual object, warped to match the angle of the viewing perspective.
At some point, all vector graphics must be rasterized in order to be displayed on digital monitors. However, vector images can be displayed with analog CRT
technology such as that used in some electronic test equipment
, medical monitors, radar
displays, laser shows and early video games. Plotter
s are printers that use vector data rather than pixel data to draw graphics.
) is a file format for 2D vector graphics, raster graphics, and text, and is defined by ISO
/IEC
8632. All graphical
elements can be specified in a textual source file that can be compiled into a binary file
or one of two text representations. CGM provides a means of graphics data interchange for computer representation of 2D graphical information independent from any particular application, system, platform, or device.
It has been adopted to some extent in the areas of technical illustration
and professional design
, but has largely been superseded by formats such as SVG
and DXF
.
. This is a 2D bi-level image description format. It is the de-facto standard format used by printed circuit board
or PCB software. It is also widely used in other industries requiring high-precision 2D bi-level images.
) is an open standard
created and developed by the World Wide Web Consortium
to address the need (and attempts of several corporations) for a versatile, scriptable
and all-purpose vector format for the web and otherwise. The SVG format does not have a compression scheme of its own, but due to the textual nature of XML
, an SVG graphic can be compressed using a program such as gzip
. Because of its scripting potential, SVG is a key component in web application
s: interactive web pages that look and act like applications.
.
Digital image
A digital image is a numeric representation of a two-dimensional image. Depending on whether or not the image resolution is fixed, it may be of vector or raster type...
s. Image files
Computer file
A computer file is a block of arbitrary information, or resource for storing information, which is available to a computer program and is usually based on some kind of durable storage. A file is durable in the sense that it remains available for programs to use after the current program has finished...
are composed of either pixels, vector
Vector graphics
Vector graphics is the use of geometrical primitives such as points, lines, curves, and shapes or polygon, which are all based on mathematical expressions, to represent images in computer graphics...
(geometric) data, or a combination of the two. Whatever the format, the files are rasterized
Raster graphics
In computer graphics, a raster graphics image, or bitmap, is a data structure representing a generally rectangular grid of pixels, or points of color, viewable via a monitor, paper, or other display medium...
to pixels when displayed on most graphic displays. The pixels that constitute an image are ordered as a grid (columns and rows); each pixel consists of numbers representing magnitudes of brightness and color.
Image file sizes
Image file size—expressed as the number of bytes—increases with the number of pixels composing an image, and the colour depth of the pixels. The greater the number of rows and columns, the greater the image resolutionImage resolution
Image resolution is an umbrella term that describes the detail an image holds. The term applies to raster digital images, film images, and other types of images. Higher resolution means more image detail....
, and the larger the file. Also, each pixel of an image increases in size when its colour depth increases—an 8-bit pixel (1 byte) stores 256 colors, a 24-bit pixel (3 bytes) stores 16 million colors, the latter known as truecolor.
Image compression uses algorithm
Algorithm
In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm is an effective method expressed as a finite list of well-defined instructions for calculating a function. Algorithms are used for calculation, data processing, and automated reasoning...
s to decrease the size of a file. High resolution cameras produce large image files, ranging from hundreds of kilobytes to megabytes, per the camera's resolution and the image-storage format capacity. High resolution digital camera
Digital camera
A digital camera is a camera that takes video or still photographs, or both, digitally by recording images via an electronic image sensor. It is the main device used in the field of digital photography...
s record 12 megapixel (1MP = 1,000,000 pixels / 1 million) images, or more, in truecolor. For example, an image recorded by a 12 MP camera; since each pixel uses 3 bytes to record truecolor, the uncompressed image would occupy 36,000,000 bytes of memory—a great amount of digital storage for one image, given that cameras must record and store many images to be practical. Faced with large file sizes, both within the camera and a storage disc, image file formats were developed to store such large images. An overview of the major graphic file formats follows below.
Image file compression
There are two types of image file compression algorithms: losslessLossless data compression
Lossless data compression is a class of data compression algorithms that allows the exact original data to be reconstructed from the compressed data. The term lossless is in contrast to lossy data compression, which only allows an approximation of the original data to be reconstructed, in exchange...
and lossy.
Lossless compression algorithms reduce file size without losing image quality, though they are not compressed into as small a file as a lossy compression file. When image quality is valued above file size, lossless algorithms are typically chosen.
Lossy compression algorithms take advantage of the inherent limitations of the human eye and discard invisible information. Most lossy compression algorithms allow for variable quality levels (compression) and as these levels are increased, file size is reduced. At the highest compression levels, image deterioration becomes noticeable as "compression artifacting".
Major graphic file formats
Including proprietary types, there are hundreds of image file types. The PNG, JPEG, and GIF formats are most often used to display images on the Internet. These graphic formats are listed and briefly described below, separated into the two main families of graphics: raster and vector.In addition to straight image formats, Metafile
Metafile
Metafile is a generic term for a file format that can store multiple types of data. This commonly includes graphics file formats. These graphics files can contain raster, vector, and type data...
formats are portable formats which can include both raster and vector information. Examples are application-independent formats such as WMF
Windows Metafile
Windows Metafile is a graphics file format on Microsoft Windows systems, originally designed in the 1990s. Windows Metafiles are intended to be portable between applications and may contain both vector graphics and bitmap components....
and EMF. The metafile format is an intermediate format. Most Windows applications open metafiles and then save them in their own native format. Page description language
Page description language
A page description language is a language that describes the appearance of a printed page in a higher level than an actual output bitmap. An overlapping term is printer control language, but it should not be confused as referring solely to Hewlett-Packard's PCL...
refers to formats used to describe the layout of a printed page containing text, objects and images. Examples are PostScript
PostScript
PostScript is a dynamically typed concatenative programming language created by John Warnock and Charles Geschke in 1982. It is best known for its use as a page description language in the electronic and desktop publishing areas. Adobe PostScript 3 is also the worldwide printing and imaging...
, PDF and PCL
Printer Command Language
Printer Command Language, more commonly referred to as PCL, is a page description language developed by Hewlett-Packard as a printer protocol and has become a de facto industry standard. Originally developed for early inkjet printers in 1984, PCL has been released in varying levels for thermal,...
.
Raster formats
These formats store images as bitmapBitmap
In computer graphics, a bitmap or pixmap is a type of memory organization or image file format used to store digital images. The term bitmap comes from the computer programming terminology, meaning just a map of bits, a spatially mapped array of bits. Now, along with pixmap, it commonly refers to...
s (also known as pixmaps).
JPEG/JFIF
JPEGJPEG
In computing, JPEG . 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....
(Joint Photographic Experts Group) is a compression method; JPEG-compressed images are usually stored in the JFIF (JPEG File Interchange Format) file format. JPEG compression is (in most cases) lossy compression. The JPEG/JFIF filename extension
Filename extension
A filename extension is a suffix to the name of a computer file applied to indicate the encoding of its contents or usage....
is JPG or JPEG. Nearly every digital camera can save images in the JPEG/JFIF format, which supports 8 bits per color (red, green, blue) for a 24-bit total, producing relatively small files. When not too great, the compression does not noticeably detract from the image's quality, but JPEG files suffer generational degradation
Generation loss
Generation loss refers to the loss of quality between subsequent copies or transcodes of data. Anything that reduces the quality of the representation when copying, and would cause further reduction in quality on making a copy of the copy, can be considered a form of generation loss...
when repeatedly edited and saved. The JPEG/JFIF format also is used as the image compression algorithm in many PDF files.
JPEG 2000
JPEG 2000JPEG 2000
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...
is a compression standard enabling both lossless and lossy storage. The compression methods used are different from the ones in standard JFIF/JPEG; they improve quality and compression ratios, but also require more computational power to process. JPEG 2000 also adds features that are missing in JPEG. It is not nearly as common as JPEG, but it is used currently in professional movie editing and distribution (e.g., some digital cinemas use JPEG 2000 for individual movie frames).
Exif
The Exif (Exchangeable image file formatExchangeable image file format
Exchangeable image file format is a standard that specifies the formats for images, sound, and ancillary tags used by digital cameras , scanners and other systems handling image and sound files recorded by digital cameras...
) format is a file standard similar to the JFIF format with TIFF extensions; it is incorporated in the JPEG-writing software used in most cameras. Its purpose is to record and to standardize the exchange of images with image metadata between digital cameras and editing and viewing software. The metadata are recorded for individual images and include such things as camera settings, time and date, shutter speed, exposure, image size, compression, name of camera, color information. When images are viewed or edited by image editing software, all of this image information can be displayed.
It stores meta information.
TIFF
The TIFF (Tagged Image File FormatTagged Image File Format
TIFF is a file format for storing images, popular among graphic artists, the publishing industry, and both amateur and professional photographers in general. As of 2009, it is under the control of Adobe Systems...
) format is a flexible format that normally saves 8 bits or 16 bits per color (red, green, blue) for 24-bit and 48-bit totals, respectively, usually using either the TIFF or TIF filename extension. TIFF's flexibility can be both an advantage and disadvantage, since a reader that reads every type of TIFF file does not exist. TIFFs can be lossy and lossless; some offer relatively good lossless compression for bi-level (black&white) images. Some digital cameras can save in TIFF format, using the LZW
LZW
Lempel–Ziv–Welch is a universal lossless data compression algorithm created by Abraham Lempel, Jacob Ziv, and Terry Welch. It was published by Welch in 1984 as an improved implementation of the LZ78 algorithm published by Lempel and Ziv in 1978...
compression algorithm for lossless storage. TIFF image format is not widely supported by web browsers. TIFF remains widely accepted as a photograph file standard in the printing business. TIFF can handle device-specific color spaces, such as the CMYK defined by a particular set of printing press inks. OCR
Optical character recognition
Optical character recognition, usually abbreviated to OCR, is the mechanical or electronic translation of scanned images of handwritten, typewritten or printed text into machine-encoded text. It is widely used to convert books and documents into electronic files, to computerize a record-keeping...
(Optical Character Recognition) software packages commonly generate some (often monochromatic
Monochrome
Monochrome describes paintings, drawings, design, or photographs in one color or shades of one color. A monochromatic object or image has colors in shades of limited colors or hues. Images using only shades of grey are called grayscale or black-and-white...
) form of TIFF image for scanned text pgs.
RAW
RAW refers to a family of raw image formatRAW image format
A camera raw image file contains minimally processed data from the image sensor of either a digital camera, image scanner, or motion picture film scanner. Raw files are so named because they are not yet processed and therefore are not ready to be printed or edited with a bitmap graphics editor...
s that are options available on some digital cameras. These formats usually use a lossless or nearly-lossless compression, and produce file sizes much smaller than the TIFF formats of full-size processed images from the same cameras. Although there is a standard raw image format, (ISO 12234-2, TIFF/EP
Tag Image File Format / Electronic Photography
"Tag Image File Format / Electronic Photography" is a digital image file format standard – ISO 12234-2, titled "Electronic still-picture imaging – Removable memory – Part 2: TIFF/EP image data format"...
), the raw formats used by most cameras are not standardized or documented, and differ among camera manufacturers.
Most camera manufacturers have their own software for decoding or developing their raw file format, but there is also a lot of 3rd party raw file converter software available that accepts the raw format from most cameras including Phase One's Capture One
Capture One
Capture One is professional RAW converter and image editing software developed by Phase One. It is designed for professional photographers who need to process large volumes of high quality images in a fast and efficient workflow...
. Some graphic programs and image editors may not accept some or all raw file formats, and some older ones have been effectively orphaned already.
Adobe's Digital Negative (DNG)
Digital Negative (file format)
Digital Negative is an open raw image format owned by Adobe used for digital photography. It was launched on September 27, 2004. The launch was accompanied by the first version of the DNG specification, plus various products including a free of charge DNG Converter utility...
specification is an attempt at standardizing a raw image format to be used by cameras, or for archival storage of image data converted from undocumented raw image formats, and is used by several niche and minority camera manufacturers including Pentax
Pentax
Pentax is a brand name used by Hoya Corporation for its medical-related products & services and Pentax Ricoh Imaging Company for cameras, sport optics , etc. Hoya purchased and merged with the Japanese optics company on March 31, 2008. Hoya's Pentax imaging business was sold to Ricoh Company, Ltd...
, Leica, and Samsung
Samsung Group
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
. The raw image formats of more than 230 camera models, including those from manufacturers with the largest market shares such as Canon, Nikon
Nikon
, also known as just Nikon, is a multinational corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, specializing in optics and imaging. Its products include cameras, binoculars, microscopes, measurement instruments, and the steppers used in the photolithography steps of semiconductor fabrication, of which...
, Phase One, Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
, and Olympus
Olympus Corporation
is a Japan-based manufacturer of optics and reprography products. Olympus was established on 12 October 1919, initially specializing in microscope and thermometer businesses. Its global headquarters are in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan, while its USA operations are based in Center Valley, Pennsylvania,...
, can be converted to DNG. DNG was based on ISO 12234-2, TIFF/EP, and ISO
International Organization for Standardization
The International Organization for Standardization , widely known as ISO, is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations. Founded on February 23, 1947, the organization promulgates worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial...
's revision of TIFF/EP is reported to be adding Adobe's modifications and developments made for DNG into profile 2 of the new version of the standard.
As far as videocameras are concerned, ARRI
Arri
-History:Arri was founded in Munich, Germany as Arnold & Richter Cine Technik in 1917, named after founders August Arnold and Robert Richter. They produce professional motion picture equipment, digital and film cameras and cinematic lighting equipment...
's Arriflex D-20
Arriflex D-20
The Arriflex D-20 is a film-style digital motion picture camera made by Arri first introduced in November 2005. The camera's attributes are its optical viewfinder, modularity, and 35mm-width CMOS sensor. The camera was discontinued in 2008 and the Arriflex D-21 was introduced.- Overview :The D-20...
and D-21
Arriflex D-21
The Arriflex D-21 is a film-style digital motion picture camera introduced by Arri in 2008 to replace their earlier generation Arriflex D-20.- Overview :...
cameras provide raw 3K-resolution sensor data with Bayern pattern as still images (one per frame) in a proprietary format (
.ari file extension).Red Digital Cinema Camera Company, with its Mysterium sensor family of still and video cameras, uses its proprietary raw format called REDCODE
REDCODE
REDCODE RAW is a proprietary multimedia audio/video file format owned by Red Digital Cinema Camera Company and featuring lossy compression for video contents and lossless for audio contents...
(
.R3D extension), which stores still as well as audio+video information in one lossy-compressed file.PNG
The PNG (Portable Network Graphics) file format was created as the free, open-source successor to the GIF. The PNG file format supports truecolor (16 million colors) while the GIF supports only 256 colors. The PNG file excels when the image has large, uniformly colored areas. The lossless PNG format is best suited for editing pictures, and the lossy formats, like JPG, are best for the final distribution of photographic images, because in this case JPG files are usually smallerFile size
File size measures the size of a computer file. Typically it is measured in bytes with a prefix. The actual amount of disk space consumed by the file depends on the file system....
than PNG files. The Adam7
Adam7 algorithm
Adam7 is an interlacing algorithm for raster images, best known as the interlacing scheme optionally used in PNG images. An Adam7 interlaced image is broken into seven subimages, which are defined by replicating this 8×8 pattern across the full image....
-interlacing allows an early preview, even when only a small percentage of the image data has been transmitted.
PNG provides a patent-free replacement for GIF and can also replace many common uses of TIFF. Indexed-color, grayscale, and truecolor images are supported, plus an optional alpha channel.
PNG is designed to work well in online viewing applications like web browser
Web browser
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...
s so it is fully streamable with a progressive display option. PNG is robust, providing both full file integrity checking and simple detection of common transmission errors. Also, PNG can store gamma and chromaticity data for improved color matching on heterogeneous platforms.
Some programs do not handle PNG gamma correctly, which can cause the images to be saved or displayed darker than they should be.
Animated formats derived from PNG are MNG and APNG
APNG
The Animated Portable Network Graphics file format is an unofficial extension to the Portable Network Graphics specification. It allows for animated PNG files that work similarly to animated GIF files, while supporting 24-bit images and 8-bit transparency not available for GIFs...
. The latter is supported by Mozilla Firefox
Mozilla Firefox
Mozilla Firefox is a free and open source web browser descended from the Mozilla Application Suite and managed by Mozilla Corporation. , Firefox is the second most widely used browser, with approximately 25% of worldwide usage share of web browsers...
and Opera
Opera (web browser)
Opera is a web browser and Internet suite developed by Opera Software with over 200 million users worldwide. The browser handles common Internet-related tasks such as displaying web sites, sending and receiving e-mail messages, managing contacts, chatting on IRC, downloading files via BitTorrent,...
and is backwards compatible with PNG.
GIF
GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) is limited to an 8-bit palette, or 256 colors. This makes the GIF format suitable for storing graphics with relatively few colors such as simple diagrams, shapes, logos and cartoon style images. The GIF format supports animation and is still widely used to provide image animation effects. It also uses a lossless compression that is more effective when large areas have a single color, and ineffective for detailed images or ditherDither
Dither is an intentionally applied form of noise used to randomize quantization error, preventing large-scale patterns such as color banding in images...
ed images.
BMP
The BMP file format (Windows bitmap) handles graphics files within the Microsoft Windows OS. Typically, BMP files are uncompressed, hence they are large; the advantage is their simplicity and wide acceptance in Windows programs.PPM, PGM, PBM, PNM
Netpbm format is a family including the portable pixmap file format (PPM), the portable graymap file format (PGM) and the portable bitmap file format (PBM). These are either pure ASCIIASCII
The American Standard Code for Information Interchange is a character-encoding scheme based on the ordering of the English alphabet. ASCII codes represent text in computers, communications equipment, and other devices that use text...
files or raw binary files with an ASCII header that provide very basic functionality and serve as a lowest-common-denominator for converting pixmap, graymap, or bitmap files between different platforms. Several applications refer to them collectively as PNM format (Portable Any Map).
WEBP
WebPWebP
WebP is an image format that employs lossy compression. It is developed by Google, based on technology acquired with the purchase of On2 Technologies.As a derivative of the video format VP8, it is a sister project to the multimedia container format WebM...
is a new image format that uses lossy compression. It was designed by Google to reduce image file size to speed up web page loading: its principal purpose is to supersede JPEG as the primary format for photographs on the web.
WebP is based on VP8
VP8
VP8 is an open video compression format released by Google, originally created by On2 Technologies.After purchasing On2 Technologies in early 2010, Google has provided an irrevocable patent promise for underlying patents for the VP8 format, and released a bitstream format specification under a...
's intra-frame coding and uses a container based on RIFF.
Others
Other image file formats of raster type include:- JPEG XR (New JPEG standard based on Microsoft HD Photo)
- TGATruevision TGATruevision TGA, often referred to as TARGA, is a raster graphics file format created by Truevision Inc. . It was the native format of TARGA and VISTA boards, which were the first graphic cards for IBM-compatible PCs to support Highcolor/truecolor display...
(TARGA) - ILBMILBMILBM is a subtype of the Interchange File Format used for storing picture data. ILBM stands for InterLeaved BitMap which refers to the way the pictures are stored. The image data is stored as a varying number of bitplanes, each storing one bit of data for each pixel in the image...
(InterLeaved BitMap) - PCXPCXPCX is an image file format developed by the now-defunct ZSoft Corporation of Marietta, Georgia. It 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, such as GIF,...
(Personal Computer eXchange) - ECWECW (file format)ECW is a proprietary wavelet compression image format optimized for aerial and satellite imagery. It was developed by Earth Resource Mapping, and is now owned by ERDAS, which is owned by Intergraph...
(Enhanced Compression Wavelet) - IMGERDAS IMAGINEERDAS IMAGINE is a remote sensing application with raster graphics editor capabilities designed by ERDAS for geospatial applications. The latest version is 2010, version 10.1. ERDAS IMAGINE is aimed primarily at geospatial raster data processing and allows the user to prepare, display and enhance...
(ERDAS IMAGINE Image) - SIDMrSID-External links:* from LizardTech's website...
(multiresolution seamless image database, MrSID) - CD5Chasys Draw IESChasys Draw IES is a suite of applications including a layer-based raster graphics editor with animation, vista-style icon support and super-resolution via image stacking , a multi-threaded image file converter and a fast image viewer...
(Chasys DrawChasys Draw IESChasys Draw IES is a suite of applications including a layer-based raster graphics editor with animation, vista-style icon support and super-resolution via image stacking , a multi-threaded image file converter and a fast image viewer...
Image) - FITSFITSFlexible Image Transport System is a digital file format used to store, transmit, and manipulate scientific and other images. FITS is the most commonly used digital file format in astronomy...
(Flexible Image Transport System) - PGFProgressive Graphics FilePGF is a wavelet-based bitmapped image format that employs lossless and lossy data compression. PGF was created to improve upon and replace the JPEG format...
(Progressive Graphics File) - XCF (eXperimental Computing Facility format, native GIMPGIMPGIMP is a free software raster graphics editor. It is primarily employed as an image retouching and editing tool and is freely available in versions tailored for most popular operating systems including Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac OS X, and Linux.In addition to detailed image retouching and...
format) - PSD (Adobe PhotoShop Document)
- PSPCorel Paint Shop ProPaint Shop Pro is a raster graphics editor and, later in the series, a vector graphics editor for computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system that was originally published by Minneapolis-based Jasc Software. In October 2004, Corel Corporation purchased Jasc Software and the...
(Corel Paint Shop Pro)
Vector formats
As opposed to the raster image formats above (where the data describes the characteristics of each individual pixel), vector image formats contain a geometric description which can be rendered smoothly at any desired display size.Vector file formats can contain bitmap data as well. 3D graphic
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
file formats are technically vector formats with pixel data texture mapping
Texture mapping
Texture mapping is a method for adding detail, surface texture , or color to a computer-generated graphic or 3D model. Its application to 3D graphics was pioneered by Dr Edwin Catmull in his Ph.D. thesis of 1974.-Texture mapping:...
on the surface of a vector virtual object, warped to match the angle of the viewing perspective.
At some point, all vector graphics must be rasterized in order to be displayed on digital monitors. However, vector images can be displayed with analog CRT
Cathode ray tube
The cathode ray tube is a vacuum tube containing an electron gun and a fluorescent screen used to view images. It has a means to accelerate and deflect the electron beam onto the fluorescent screen to create the images. The image may represent electrical waveforms , pictures , radar targets and...
technology such as that used in some electronic test equipment
Electronic test equipment
Electronic test equipment is used to create signals and capture responses from electronic Devices Under Test . In this way, the proper operation of the DUT can be proven or faults in the device can be traced and repaired...
, medical monitors, radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
displays, laser shows and early video games. Plotter
Plotter
A plotter is a computer printing device for printing vector graphics. In the past, plotters were widely used in applications such as computer-aided design, though they have generally been replaced with wide-format conventional printers...
s are printers that use vector data rather than pixel data to draw graphics.
CGM
CGM (Computer Graphics MetafileComputer Graphics Metafile
Computer Graphics Metafile is a free and open international standard file format for 2D vector graphics, raster graphics, and text, and is defined by ISO/IEC 8632.-Overview:...
) is a file format for 2D vector graphics, raster graphics, and text, and is defined by ISO
International Organization for Standardization
The International Organization for Standardization , widely known as ISO, is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations. Founded on February 23, 1947, the organization promulgates worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial...
/IEC
International Electrotechnical Commission
The International Electrotechnical Commission is a non-profit, non-governmental international standards organization that prepares and publishes International Standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies – collectively known as "electrotechnology"...
8632. All graphical
Computer graphics
Computer graphics are graphics created using computers and, more generally, the representation and manipulation of image data by a computer with help from specialized software and hardware....
elements can be specified in a textual source file that can be compiled into a binary file
Binary file
A binary file is a computer file which may contain any type of data, encoded in binary form for computer storage and processing purposes; for example, computer document files containing formatted text...
or one of two text representations. CGM provides a means of graphics data interchange for computer representation of 2D graphical information independent from any particular application, system, platform, or device.
It has been adopted to some extent in the areas of technical illustration
Engineering drawing
An engineering drawing, a type of technical drawing, is used to fully and clearly define requirements for engineered items.Engineering drawing produces engineering drawings . More than just the drawing of pictures, it is also a language—a graphical language that communicates ideas and information...
and professional design
Industrial design
Industrial design is the use of a combination of applied art and applied science to improve the aesthetics, ergonomics, and usability of a product, but it may also be used to improve the product's marketability and production...
, but has largely been superseded by formats such as SVG
Scalable Vector Graphics
Scalable Vector Graphics is a family of specifications of an XML-based file format for describing two-dimensional vector graphics, both static and dynamic . The SVG specification is an open standard that has been under development by the World Wide Web Consortium since 1999.SVG images and their...
and DXF
AutoCAD DXF
AutoCAD DXF is a CAD data file format developed by Autodesk for enabling data interoperability between AutoCAD and other programs....
.
Gerber Format (RS-274X)
RS-274X Extended Gerber Format was developed by Gerber Systems Corp., now UcamcoUcamco
Ucamco develops PCB CAM software and laser photoplotters.Through Barco's earlier acquisition of Gerber Systems Corporation, Ucamco has inherited the intellectual property and the management of the Gerber format widely used in the design and manufacturing printed circuit boards....
. This is a 2D bi-level image description format. It is the de-facto standard format used by printed circuit board
Printed circuit board
A printed circuit board, or PCB, is used to mechanically support and electrically connect electronic components using conductive pathways, tracks or signal traces etched from copper sheets laminated onto a non-conductive substrate. It is also referred to as printed wiring board or etched wiring...
or PCB software. It is also widely used in other industries requiring high-precision 2D bi-level images.
SVG
SVG (Scalable Vector GraphicsScalable Vector Graphics
Scalable Vector Graphics is a family of specifications of an XML-based file format for describing two-dimensional vector graphics, both static and dynamic . The SVG specification is an open standard that has been under development by the World Wide Web Consortium since 1999.SVG images and their...
) is an open standard
Open standard
An open standard is a standard that is publicly available and has various rights to use associated with it, and may also have various properties of how it was designed . There is no single definition and interpretations vary with usage....
created and developed by the World Wide Web Consortium
World Wide Web Consortium
The World Wide Web Consortium is the main international standards organization for the World Wide Web .Founded and headed by Tim Berners-Lee, the consortium is made up of member organizations which maintain full-time staff for the purpose of working together in the development of standards for the...
to address the need (and attempts of several corporations) for a versatile, scriptable
DOM scripting
The term DOM scripting refers to programmatically accessing the Document Object Model . In common usage, DOM scripting implies JavaScript. DOM scripting has its roots in Dynamic HTML , but is more structured. It is the third pillar in the web standards movement.-DHTML vs...
and all-purpose vector format for the web and otherwise. The SVG format does not have a compression scheme of its own, but due to the textual nature of XML
XML
Extensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
, an SVG graphic can be compressed using a program such as gzip
Gzip
Gzip is any of several software applications used for file compression and decompression. The term usually refers to the GNU Project's implementation, "gzip" standing for GNU zip. It is based on the DEFLATE algorithm, which is a combination of Lempel-Ziv and Huffman coding...
. Because of its scripting potential, SVG is a key component in web application
Web application
A web application is an application that is accessed over a network such as the Internet or an intranet. The term may also mean a computer software application that is coded in a browser-supported language and reliant on a common web browser to render the application executable.Web applications are...
s: interactive web pages that look and act like applications.
Other 2D vector formats
- AI (Adobe IllustratorAdobe IllustratorAdobe Illustrator is a vector graphics editor developed and marketed by Adobe Systems. Illustrator is similar in scope, intended market, and functionality to its competitors, CorelDraw, Xara Designer Pro and Macromedia FreeHand....
) - CDR (CorelDRAWCorelDRAWCorelDRAW is a vector graphics editor developed and marketed by Corel Corporation of Ottawa, Canada. It is also the name of Corel's Graphics Suite...
) - DrawingML
- EPS (Encapsulated PostScriptEncapsulated PostScriptEncapsulated PostScript, or EPS, is a DSC-conforming PostScript document with additional restrictions which is intended to be usable as a graphics file format...
) - Graphics Layout EngineGraphics Layout EngineGraphics Layout Engine is a graphics scripting language designed for creating publication quality graphs, plots, diagrams, figures and slides. GLE supports various graph types such as function plots, histograms, bar graphs, scatter plots, contour lines, color maps and surface plots through a...
- HPGLHPGLHPGL, sometimes hyphenated as HP-GL, was the primary printer control language used by Hewlett-Packard plotters. The name is an initialism for Hewlett-Packard Graphics Language. It later became a standard for almost all plotters...
, introduced on Hewlett-PackardHewlett-PackardHewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
plotters, but generalized into a printer language - HVIF (Haiku Vector Icon FormatHaiku Vector Icon FormatHaiku Vector Icon Format is a vector storage format designed to store icons, specifically for Haiku.- History :Haiku developers commonly agreed that Haiku could not be released with original BeOS R5 icons. Since Haiku needed its own artwork anyway, it was thought that icons could switch to vectors...
) - MathMLMathMLMathematical Markup Language is an application of XML for describing mathematical notations and capturing both its structure and content. It aims at integrating mathematical formulae into World Wide Web pages and other documents...
- MetaPostMetaPostMetaPost refers to both a programming language and the interpreter of the MetaPost programming language. Both are derived from Donald Knuth's Metafont language and interpreter. MetaPost excels at producing diagrams in the PostScript programming language from a geometric/algebraic description...
- Myv vector format
- NAPLPSNAPLPSNAPLPS is a graphics language for use originally with videotex and teletext services. NAPLPS was developed from the Telidon system developed in Canada, with a small number of additions from AT&T...
(North American Presentation Layer Protocol Syntax) - ODG (OpenDocument Graphics)
- !DRAW, a native vector graphic format (in several backward compatible versions) for the RISC-OS computer system begun by Acorn in the mid-1980's and still present on that platform today
- PICTPICTPICT is a graphics file format introduced on the original Apple Macintosh computer as its standard metafile format. It allows the interchange of graphics , and some limited text support, between Mac applications, and was the native graphics format of QuickDraw.The original version, PICT 1, was...
(Classic Macintosh QuickDraw file) - PDF (Portable Document FormatPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
) - PostScriptPostScriptPostScript is a dynamically typed concatenative programming language created by John Warnock and Charles Geschke in 1982. It is best known for its use as a page description language in the electronic and desktop publishing areas. Adobe PostScript 3 is also the worldwide printing and imaging...
, a page description languagePage description languageA page description language is a language that describes the appearance of a printed page in a higher level than an actual output bitmap. An overlapping term is printer control language, but it should not be confused as referring solely to Hewlett-Packard's PCL...
with strong graphics capabilities - POV-RayPOV-RayThe Persistence of Vision Raytracer, or POV-Ray, is a ray tracing program available for a variety of computer platforms. It was originally based on DKBTrace, written by David Kirk Buck and Aaron A. Collins. There are also influences from the earlier Polyray raytracer contributed by its author...
markup language - PPT (Microsoft PowerPointMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft PowerPoint, usually just called PowerPoint, is a non-free commercial presentation program developed by Microsoft. It is part of the Microsoft Office suite, and runs on Microsoft Windows and Apple's Mac OS X operating system...
) - Precision Graphics Markup Language, a W3CWorld Wide Web ConsortiumThe World Wide Web Consortium is the main international standards organization for the World Wide Web .Founded and headed by Tim Berners-Lee, the consortium is made up of member organizations which maintain full-time staff for the purpose of working together in the development of standards for the...
submission that was not adopted as a recommendationW3C recommendationA W3C Recommendation is the final stage of a ratification process of the World Wide Web Consortium working group concerning a technical standard. This designation signifies that a document has been subjected to a public and W3C-member organization's review. It aims to standardise the Web technology...
. - PSTricksPSTricksPSTricks is a set of macros that allow the inclusion of PostScript drawings directly inside TeX or LaTeX code.It is originally the work of Professor Timothy Van Zandt and in recent years it has been maintained by Denis Girou, Sebastian Rahtz and Herbert Voss....
and PGF/TikZPGF/TikZPGF/TikZ is a tandem of languages for producing vector graphics from a geometric/algebraic description. PGF is a lower-level language, while TikZ is a set of higher-level macros that use PGF. The top-level PGF and TikZ commands are invoked as TeX macros, but in contrast with PSTricks, the PGF/TikZ...
are languages for creating graphics in TeXTeXTeX is a typesetting system designed and mostly written by Donald Knuth and released in 1978. Within the typesetting system, its name is formatted as ....
documents. - ReGISReGISReGIS, short for "Remote Graphic Instruction Set", was a vector graphics markup language developed by Digital Equipment Corporation for later models of their famous VT series of computer terminals. ReGIS supported rudimentary vector graphics consisting of lines, circular arcs, and text...
, used by DECDigital Equipment CorporationDigital Equipment Corporation was a major American company in the computer industry and a leading vendor of computer systems, software and peripherals from the 1960s to the 1990s...
computer terminalComputer terminalA computer terminal is an electronic or electromechanical hardware device that is used for entering data into, and displaying data from, a computer or a computing system...
s - Remote imaging protocolRemote imaging protocolThe Remote Imaging Protocol Scripting Language, more commonly known as the Remote Imaging Protocol or RIPscrip, is a scripting language created by Jeff Reeder, Jim Bergman, and Mark Hayton to enhance bulletin board systems and other applications.RIPscrip was introduced in 1993 and consisted of...
- SWFSWFSWF is an Adobe Flash file format used for multimedia, vector graphics and ActionScript. Originating with FutureWave Software, then transferred to Macromedia, and then coming under the control of Adobe, SWF files can contain animations or applets of varying degrees of interactivity and function.,...
(Shockwave Flash) - VML (Vector Markup LanguageVector Markup LanguageVector Markup Language is a deprecated XML language used to produce vector graphics.VML was submitted as a proposed standard to the W3C in 1998 by Autodesk, Hewlett-Packard, Macromedia, Microsoft, and Visio. Around the same time other competing W3C submissions were received in the area of web...
) - WMF / EMF (Windows MetafileWindows MetafileWindows Metafile is a graphics file format on Microsoft Windows systems, originally designed in the 1990s. Windows Metafiles are intended to be portable between applications and may contain both vector graphics and bitmap components....
/ Enhanced Metafile) - XAML User interface language using vector graphics for images.
- Xar format used in vector applications from XaraXaraXara is a UK-based software company founded in 1981. It has developed software for a variety of computer platforms, in chronological order: The Acorn Atom, BBC Micro, Z88, Atari ST, Acorn Archimedes, Microsoft Windows and Linux. It was originally called Computer Concepts, Ltd.; the company name...
- XPS (XML Paper SpecificationXML Paper SpecificationOpen XML Paper Specification , is an open specification for a page description language and a fixed-document format originally developed by Microsoft as XML Paper Specification that was later standardized by Ecma International as international standard ECMA-388...
)
3D vector formats
- AMFAdditive Manufacturing File FormatAdditive Manufacturing File Format is an open standard for describing objects for additive manufacturing processes such as 3D printing. The official ASTM F2915standard is an XML-based format designed to allow any computer-aided design software to describe the shape and composition of any 3D object...
- Additive Manufacturing File Format - AsymptoteAsymptote (vector graphics language)Asymptote is a descriptive vector graphics language, developed by Andy Hammerlindl, John C. Bowman , and Tom Prince, that provides a natural coordinate-based framework for technical drawing. Asymptote runs on all major platforms...
- A language that lifts TeX to 3D. - COLLADACOLLADACOLLADA is a COLLAborative Design Activity for establishing an interchange file format for interactive 3D applications. COLLADA is managed by the nonprofit technology consortium, the Khronos Group....
- .dwf
- eDrawings
- HSF
- IGESIGESThe Initial Graphics Exchange Specification is a file format which defines a vendor neutral data format that allows the digital exchange of information among Computer-aided design systems....
- IMML - Immersive Media Markup Language
- IPA
- JTJT (visualization format)JT is a 3D data format developed by and is used for product visualization, collaboration, and CAD data exchange. It can contain any combination of approximate data, exact boundary representation surfaces , Product and Manufacturing Information , and Metadata either exported from the native CAD...
- PRCPRC (file format)PRC is a 3D file format that can be used to embed 3D data in a PDF file.This highly compressed format facilitates the storage of different representations of a 3D model. For example, you can save only a visual representation that consists of polygons , or you can save the model's exact geometry...
- STEPISO 10303ISO 10303 is an ISO standard for the computer-interpretable representation and exchange of product manufacturing information. Its official title is: Automation systems and integration — Product data representation and exchange...
- SKPSketchUpSketchUp is a 3D modeling program marketed by Google and designed for architectural, civil, and mechanical engineers as well as filmmakers, game developers,...
- STLSTL (file format)STL is a file format native to the stereolithography CAD software created by 3D Systems. This file format is supported by many other software packages; it is widely used for rapid prototyping and computer-aided manufacturing. STL files describe only the surface geometry of a three dimensional...
- A stereolithography format. - U3D - Universal 3D file format
- VRMLVRMLVRML is a standard file format for representing 3-dimensional interactive vector graphics, designed particularly with the World Wide Web in mind...
Virtual Reality Modeling Language - XAML
- XGL
- XVLXVLXVL is a lightweight 3D file format for 3D computer graphics data. XVL is developed by Lattice Technology Inc.Like U3D and other open and standard 3D formats, XVL supports compression of 3D data. The company claims compression rates of between 1:50 - 1: 200 for typical mesh objects...
- xVRMLXVRMLxVRML is a standard file format for representing 3-dimensional interactive computer graphics, designed particularly with the World Wide Web in mind.-Format:...
- X3DX3DX3D is the ISO standard XML-based file format for representing 3D computer graphics, the successor to the Virtual Reality Modeling Language . X3D features extensions to VRML X3D is the ISO standard XML-based file format for representing 3D computer graphics, the successor to the Virtual Reality...
- .3D
- 3DF
- .3ds.3ds3DS is one of the file formats used by the Autodesk 3ds Max 3D modeling, animation and rendering software.It was the native file format of the old Autodesk 3D Studio DOS , which was popular until its successor replaced it in April 1996...
- 3DXML3DXML3DXML is a proprietary 3D file format developed by Dassault Systemes under its 3D Via Brand. It uses an XML container whose specification were published....
- X3D vector format used in 3D applications from XaraXaraXara is a UK-based software company founded in 1981. It has developed software for a variety of computer platforms, in chronological order: The Acorn Atom, BBC Micro, Z88, Atari ST, Acorn Archimedes, Microsoft Windows and Linux. It was originally called Computer Concepts, Ltd.; the company name...
PNS
The PNG Stereo (.pns) format consists of a side-by-side image based on PNG (Portable Network Graphics).JPS
The JPEG Stereo (.jps) format consists of a side-by-side image format based on JPEGJPEG
In computing, JPEG . 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....
.
External links
- Description of Bitmap graphics file
- Which image format is best? Compare BMP, JPG, GIF, PNG, TIFF, WMF and EMF image formats.