Pros and Cons of Image-File Formats

In this article, I will be discussing all the various file formats commonly used when saving pictures. Whether they are pictures from a digital camera, or custom images created entirely within Adobe Photoshop, it's worth knowing the pros and cons of each file type.

JPEG or JPG

JPEG is probably the most common file type, they offer great compression at rates of ten to one with little to no loss of image quality. It is also the most common format used by digital cameras and other such devices. Its best usage is in the field of web design, where bandwidth plays an important role and JPEG compression really stands out. The main drawback with JPEG's however is that they do not take multiple edits very well, often losing quality each time the image is decompressed and recompressed. It's advisable to use another file type when editing photos and save the file copy as JPEG.

GIF

Like the JPEG, the GIF file format uses data compression techniques to reduce the size of the image files while also preserving image quality. Unlike the JPEG though it is more limited in terms of color, making it unsuitable for vibrant color photographs and images of this nature. But unlike the JPEG, the GIF file format supports animation and it is commonly used for this purpose. GIF's are best suited for color limited images with sharp edges, this takes advantage of its compression techniques. They are also suited for images with animation, or low-resolution movies. Because of its 256 color limitation, it is not recommended that you use this file format for saving digital photographs.

PNG

PNG, short for Portable Network Graphics is a bitmapped image format type that uses the same compression techniques that the GIF file type employs. It was created to improve the GIF format, and eventually replace it. PNG's offer better compression and more features than GIF's do, but it does not support animation. PNG's are often more efficient in color depth and compression and thus are used in similar situations. It can offer smaller file sizes than the JPEG while providing better quality photos, but some browsers do not support it.

TIFF or TIF

Tagged Image File Format, otherwise known as TIFF is a file format that is frequently used with scanners. Although it has not had much of an update in quite a while, it preserves image quality rather well but does suffer from large file sizes.

BMP

Bitmap or BMP is a Windows file format often used by digital cameras, it provides good quality however it does also produce a heft file size. It is most often used in digital photography to store images.