GRAPHICS SUMMARY
This section gives you a look at various file formats used when manipulating graphics.
| File Format | Image appears in browser | Image file opens in a standalone browser | Computer able to view image |
|---|---|---|---|
| testpics.bmp | • | Opened up in my picture viewer | • |
| testpic.eps | • | Opened in GIMP. Image had to be imported. | • |
| testpic.gif | • | Opened up in my picture viewer | • |
| testpic.jpg | • | Opened up in my picture viewer | • |
| testpic.pct | x | x | x |
| testpic.pcx | • | Opened in GIMP without being imported. | • |
| testpic.pdf | • | Opened in Adobe | • |
| testpic.png | • | Opened up in my picture viewer | • |
| testpic.psd | x | x | Computer unable to view. After 9 mins, it still did not download. It eventually stated “not responding” |
| testpic.tga | x | Opened up in GIMP but only a square, checkered frame. | x |
| testpic.tif | • | Opened in GIMP | • |
| testpic.wmf | x | Opened in GIMP but did not download | Dialog box with error message displayed. |
| File Format- Name | File Format- Abbreviation | Saved Information | Extent of compression | Quality | Load Time | Usability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windows Bitmap | BMP | No compression. | Lossless | Loses quality when enlarged. | N/A | Widely used in Windows programs. |
| Encapsulated PostScript | EPS | Compressed | Lossy- can be compressed if needed. As a vector image, it does not necessarily need to be compressed. | Quality is maintained. Can be resized without loss of quality. | Could take longer to load. | Used in print media- large signs and banners. |
| Graphics Interchange Format | GIF | Compressed | Lossless-able to compress but only 256 colours. | Does not retain printing resolution values. | Downloaded quickly in the browser. | Shown on webpages. Good for computer generated images with limited colour palettes or large areas of uniform colour . |
| Joint Photographic Experts Group | JPG | Compressed | Lossy- the degree of compression is adjustable. | It is able to maintain image quality. | Low compressed/ high quality-appeared almost instantly in the browser. Absurd high compressed- appeared almost instantly in the browser. However image quality was not maintained | Shown on webpages. Best format for pictures on the web. |
| Macintosh Picture | PCT | No compression for 8 bit version | N/A. | Quality is maintained- image resolution is fixed.. | N/A | Supported by Macintosh programs. |
| PC Paintbrush | PCX | Compressed | Lossless. | N/A | N/A | Designed for use on IBM compatible computers. |
| Portable Document Format | N/A | N/A | Quality is maintained. | N/A | Suitable for displaying documents on the web | |
| Portable Network Graphics | PNG | Compression but can be reversed. | Lossless | Quality is maintained. | Downloaded quickly in the browser. | Shown on webpages. Supported by all recent browsers. |
| Photoshop Document | PSD | N/A | N/A | N/A | Unable to be opened on Windows Explorer or web browser. | Best used for editing, layering and building of complex images |
| Truevision Targa | TGA | Compressed | Lossless | Quality lost on photographic images. Quality is better for more simple images like icons. | N/A | Used in image editors |
| Tagged Image File Format | TIF | Compressed/ No compression | Can be lossless or lossy. Mostly used as a lossless image storage. | High quality images. | Lossy- downloaded in GIMP. Reasonably quick download. Lossless- downloaded in GIMP. Reasonably quick download. However a dialog box appeared with an error message, ‘fatal error: unhandled exception’ | Not shown on web browsers. Best used as working storage for editing pictures. |
| Windows Metafile | WMF | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Designed for Microsoft Windows |
References
Ample Industries Inc. (n.d). 9 file formats explained. Retrieved 28 September 2021 from https://amplelabels.com/9-file-formats-explained/
Digicopy. Retrieved 28 September 2021 from https://dcopy.net/support/file-formats/print-file-formats.php
Digital image file types. (n.d). Retrieved 27 September 2021 from Digital image file types (wfu.edu)
Fowler, J. (2020). File format guide for graphics: Jpg, Png, Eps, Etc. Sandstorm. Retrieved 28 September 2021 from https://sandstormit.com/file-format-guide-for-graphics-jpg-png-eps-etc/
Summary
Based on the comparisons and the testing of the downloading times of the various formats, I would select JPGs to display the graphics on my web page. The degree of compression is adjustable and the image quality is mostly maintained. In addition, having completed the load time test, the JPG file appeared almost instantly.
Furthermore because of the various colour palettes of my pictures, JPGs file format is recommended instead of a GIF file format as GIF file formats are more geared to images that contain large areas of uniform colour. I prefer to have the widest variety of colour to display rather than using the GIF format which only compresses up to 256 colours. I find this a bit restrictive as I would want rich colours displayed on my web page. As seen in Graphics: Choose the right image format (2004) full colour, smooth toned images like photographs work well as JPGs.
Reference
Graphics: Choose the right image format (2004). WebSiteOptimisation.com Retrieved 27 September 2021 from Graphics: Choose the Right Image Format - jpeg gif png web image file formats (websiteoptimization.com)
PowerPoint Presentation- Graphic File Formats
This PowerPoint gives a summary of graphics and file formats.
Shernell Gill 2021
