The Common image file formats and their usage
01. JPEG
It is the most common and recognizable format. It allows you to store images of sufficient quality, while taking up minimal space. This is important for Internet.
USED FOR: Suitable for the storage of digital photos,uploading to the web, sharing on social media.
PROS: Widely used and compatible with most software. High resolution,low file size and users can adjust the degree of the compression of a particular digital image.
CONS: Lossy compression. It does not support opacity or transparency.
02. TIFF
USED FOR: High quality graphics – popular in the publishing industry and for graphic artists. Also useful for photo editing and archiving images.
PROS: Lossless format. A variety of compression options. Can have multiple pages and retains layers. Supported by lots of apps. You can save images with transparency.
CONS: Very large file sizes, larger than RAW and JPEG. TIFF format would consume storage space.
03. PNG
PNGs retain transparency when saved, but work better on digital rather than print
USED FOR: Most popular for use on the web and internet. Optimised for screen, so not ideal for print.
PROS: Supports more colours than GIF. Compresses without losing quality. Can save images with transparency.
CONS: Larger file sizes than jpgs. Limited to RGB colour space.
04. GIF
USED FOR: Web images, especially animated banners and memes.
PROS: Quick loading. Can be animated. Lossless. Small file size. Can save images with transparency.
CONS: Limited colour palette. Does not support CMYK.
05. SVG
SVGs are handy for importing graphics from 2D illustration apps to 3D modelling software.
USED FOR: Good for responsive website designs. Import into 3D software.
PROS: Allows vector, raster and text. Can be interactive and include animation. Remains crisp when resized, so can optimise file size. Can be added directly to HTML without image link and styled with CSS. Search indexed and compressed easily.
CONS: Not good for images with high colour depth. Not optimised for print.
06. BMP
USED FOR: Largely outdated, used in Windows OS.
PROS: No compression. Supported by almost every system.
CONS: Large file size. Does not support CMYK. Can’t be compressed.
