
Types of Image Files
- 1. JPEG (or JPG) - Joint Photographic Experts Group ...
- 2. PNG - Portable Network Graphics ...
- 3. GIF - Graphics Interchange Format ...
- 4. TIFF - Tagged Image File ...
- 5. PSD - Photoshop Document ...
- 6. PDF - Portable Document Format ...
- 7. EPS - Encapsulated Postscript ...
- 8. AI - Adobe Illustrator Document ...
- TIFF (. tif, . tiff) ...
- GIF (. gif) GIF or Graphics Interchange Format files are widely used for web graphics, because they are limited to only 256 colors, can allow for transparency, and can be animated. ...
- PNG (. png) ...
- EPS (. eps) ...
- RAW Image Files (. raw, .
What is the best image file type?
Raster Photos Formats
- TIFF – Highest Quality Image Format. TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) is commonly used by shooters and designers. ...
- JPEG. JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) is a widespread format for saving photos. ...
- GIF. GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) resembles PNG very much if talking about the quality of the images.
- PSD. ...
What are common video file formats?
Types of Video Formats
- 1. Video File Format: MP4 MP4 was developed and released by the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) in 2001. ...
- 4. Video File Format: FLV FLV, also known as Flash Video file format, was developed by Adobe Systems in 2003. ...
- 6. ...
- 7. ...
- 8. ...
What are the different types of image formats?
Understanding All the Different Image File Formats
- JPEG. JPEG is probably the best known of all image file formats, and it’s what many cameras use as the default output.
- TIFF. ...
- RAW. ...
- DNG (Digital Negative) Just about every camera these days uses a different proprietary format to capture RAW files. ...
- PNG. ...
- GIF. ...
- BMP. ...
- PSD. ...
- Image file formats: Conclusion. ...
How do file formats affect image quality?
“Image quality” refers to the file type and compression ratio used when images are saved, while “image size” (measured in pixels) determines the physical dimensions of the image. Depending on the option selected for image quality, images will be recorded in NEF (RAW), JPEG, or TIFF formats (the options available vary with the model of camera).

What are the five 5 common file formats?
5 types of document filesPortable document format (PDF) A PDF file is a common file type in many work environments. ... Word document (DOC and DOCX) ... Hypertext markup language (HTML and HTM) ... Microsoft excel spreadsheet file (XLS and XLSX) ... Text file (TXT)
What are the 3 most common file types of images?
Raster Image Files JPEG, GIF, and PNG are all raster image extensions. Every photo you find online or in print is a raster image.
What are the 4 types of file formats?
6 Different Types of Files and How to Use ThemJPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) ... PNG (Portable Network Graphics) ... GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) ... PDF (Portable Document Format) ... SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) ... MP4 (Moving Picture Experts Group)
What is the most common image format?
JPEGThe JPEG (typically pronounced "jay-peg") image format is currently the most widely used lossy compression format for still images.
How many image formats are most commonly used?
15 Most Popular Image File TypesJPEG (And JPG) — Joint Photographic Experts Group.PNG — Portable Network Graphics.GIF — Graphics Interchange Format.WebP.TIFF.BMP — Bitmap.HEIF — High Efficiency Image File Format.SVG — Scalable Vector Graphics.More items...•
How many image formats are there?
The 5 Types of Digital Image Files: TIFF, JPEG, GIF, PNG, and Raw Image Files, and When to Use Each One. There are 5 main formats in which to store images. Why would you choose one over another, and what are the differences?
What are different types of images?
Common Image File FormatsTIFF (. tif, . tiff) ... GIF (. gif) GIF or Graphics Interchange Format files are widely used for web graphics, because they are limited to only 256 colors, can allow for transparency, and can be animated. ... PNG (. png) ... EPS (. eps) ... RAW Image Files (. raw, .
What is the most common file type?
In summary, the most common document file extensions are:DOC and DOCX.HTML and . HTM.ODT.PDF.XLS and XLSX.ODS.PPT and . PPTX.TXT.
What are the 3 types of files?
The types of files recognized by the system are either regular, directory, or special. However, the operating system uses many variations of these basic types. All file types recognized by the system fall into one of these categories. However, the operating system uses many variations of these basic types.
What are different types of images?
Common Image File FormatsTIFF (. tif, . tiff) ... GIF (. gif) GIF or Graphics Interchange Format files are widely used for web graphics, because they are limited to only 256 colors, can allow for transparency, and can be animated. ... PNG (. png) ... EPS (. eps) ... RAW Image Files (. raw, .
How many types of images are there?
There are five types of images. The five types of images are jpg/jpeg, tiff, png, gif and raw image files. Each of them has its own unique features. While tiff and png images have large sizes, jpeg and gif images are relatively small in size.
What is JPG or PNG format?
JPEGs and PNGs are both types of raster image files. This means they're made up of a fixed number of color pixels — rather than the grids, points, and mathematical formulas used in vector files. Raster files allow plenty of detail to be displayed but lose their resolution when significantly resized.
What is an image file format?
An image file format is how you organize and store images or files. Some file formats work better than others depending on the type, quality and size of the image. Each image file format has defining characteristics that set one another apart, such as what program you use to make the image.
Vector vs. raster
Computer systems use math equations to make up vector images out of points, lines or curves. Vector images are resolution-independent, which means that they keep their quality regardless of how much you increase or decrease their size.
High resolution vs. low resolution
Resolutions refer to how many dots per inch (DPI) or pixels per inch (PPI) an image has. DPI and PPI are the measures of units for quantifying resolution. Higher resolutions mean that there are more DPI or PPI in an image, resulting in a clearer image.
15 types of image file formats
Here is a list of 15 different types of image file formats you can use:
What are the older formats?
Note: The older formats like PNG, JPEG, GIF have poor performance compared to newer formats like WebP and AVIF, but enjoy broader "historical" browser support. The newer image formats are seeing increasing popularity as browsers without support become increasingly irrelevant (i.e. have virtually zero market share).
How many bytes are in a BMP file?
BMP theoretically supports a variety of internal data representations. The simplest, and most commonly used, form of BMP file is an uncompressed raster image, with each pixel occupying 3 bytes representing its red, green, and blue components, and each row padded with 0x00 bytes to a multiple of 4 bytes wide.
What is an APNG file?
APNG is a file format first introduced by Mozilla which extends the PNG standard to add support for animated images. Conceptually similar to the animated GIF format which has been in use for decades, APNG is more capable in that it supports a variety of color depths, whereas animated GIF supports only 8-bit indexed color.
How to specify a TIFF file?
Every value in a TIFF file is specified using its tag (indicating what kind of information it is, such as the width of the image) and its type (indicating the format the data is stored in), followed by the length of the array of values to assign to that tag (all properties are stored in arra ys, even for single values). This allows different data types to be used for the same properties. For example, the width of an image, ImageWidth, is stored using tag 0x0100, and is a one-entry array. By specifying type 3 ( SHORT ), the value of ImageWidth is stored as a 16-bit value:
How many colors are in a GIF?
The length of a color table is always a power of 2 (that is, each palette has 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, or 256 entries). To simulate more than 255 or 256 colors, dithering is generally used. It is technically possible to tile multiple image blocks, each with its own color palette, to create truecolor images, but in practice this is rarely done.
Why are GIFs so popular?
GIF has been extremely popular for decades, due to its simplicity and compatibility. Its animation support caused a resurgence in its popularity in the social media era, when animated GIFs began to be widely used for short "videos", memes, and other simple animation sequences.
What is bit depth?
Bit depth, on the other hand, is the total number of bits used to represent each pixel in memory.
What is AI file format?
AI is, by far, the image format most preferred by designers and the most reliable type of file format for using images in all types of projects from web to print, etc.
What is a TIF file?
A TIF is a large raster file that doesn't lose quality. This file type is known for using "lossless compression," meaning the original image data is maintained regardless of how often you might copy, re-save, or compress the original file.
What is a raster image?
Raster images are constructed by a series of pixels, or individual blocks, to form an image. JPEG, GIF, and PNG are all raster image extensions. Every photo you find online or in print is a raster image. Pixels have a defined proportion based on their resolution (high or low), and when the pixels are stretched to fill space they were not originally ...
Why are PNGs used in web projects?
The reason PNGs are used in most web projects is that you can save your image with more colors on a transparent background. This makes for a much sharper, web-quality image. 3.
Why are RAW images important?
RAW images are valuable because they capture every element of a photo without processing and losing small visual details. Eventually, however, you'll want to package them into a raster or vector file type so they can be transferred and resized for various purposes.
Can you make a picture out of thin air?
Don' t try to trick the system. A lot of magic can happen in Photoshop, but creating pixels out of thin air isn' t one of them. Pulling an image off of the web and trying to get it to fit the dimensions of your print project just won't work. You will end up with a pixelated image that appears stretched and distorted.
Is working with images complicated?
Working with images is a lot more complicated than you'd think at first glance. Hopefully this guide has provided a better understanding of the standard file types and which are most appropriate for your project.
What is an image file?
Image file formats are standardized means of organizing and storing digital images. An image file format may store data in an uncompressed format, a compressed format (which may be lossless or lossy), or a vector format. Image files are composed of digital data in one of these formats so that the data can be rasterized for use on ...
What are the two main types of graphic formats?
Some of 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 formats are portable formats which can include both raster and vector information.
What is JPEG 2000?
JPEG 2000 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 (some digital cinemas, for example, use JPEG 2000 for individual movie frames).
What is metadata in an image?
Metadata – An image may have metadata stored in EXIF or XMP formats. Transparency – An image may have transparency, i.e., an alpha channel. Color Profile – An image may have an embedded ICC profile as described by the International Color Consortium.
What is webp image?
WebP is an open image format released in 2010 that uses both lossless and 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 .
What is the difference between a PNG and a GIF?
The PNG file format supports eight-bit paletted images (with optional transparency for all palette colors) and 24-bit truecolor (16 million colors) or 48-bit truecolor with and without alpha channel – while GIF supports only 256 colors and a single transparent color .
What is a GIF?
The GIF ( Graphics Interchange Format) is in normal use limited to an 8-bit palette, or 256 colors (while 24-bit color depth is technically possible). GIF is most suitable for storing graphics with few colors, such as simple diagrams, shapes, logos, and cartoon style images, as it uses LZW lossless compression, which is more effective when large areas have a single color, and less effective for photographic or dithered images. Due to GIF's simplicity and age, it achieved almost universal software support. Due to its animation capabilities, it is still widely used to provide image animation effects, despite its low compression ratio compared to modern video formats.
What is the extension of a file name?
In expenses.xlsx, for example, the first part of the file name is expenses and the extension is xlsx. Extensions tell your computer which application created or can open ...
How to find file explorer in Windows 10?
In the search box on the taskbar, type file explorer, and in the search results, select File Explorer.
What is a docx file?
For example, the docx extension tells your computer that Microsoft Word can open the file and to display a Word icon when you view it in File Explorer. Most file name extensions are compatible with more than one program that you have installed. You can change a file name extension, but that won't convert the file to another format ...
What Are the Different Image File Types?
Image file types and formats are divided into two main different categories: raster image files and vector image files.
What is a GIF file?
The GIF is another image file type falling within the raster format. It uses lossless compression but “constrains” the image to 8 bits per pixel and a limited palette of 256 colors.
Why replace JPEG with PNG?
Replace JPEG and PNG files to save bandwidth and speed up your site. If you’re using WordPress as your preferred CMS software, here’s how to use WebP images in WordPress and deliver other formats to legacy browsers.
What is WebP image?
WebP is an image format developed specifically to provide better lossless and lossy compression of images.
Why are JPEGs so lossy?
JPEGs are “lossy” meaning they reduce file size, but also the quality of the images when you use the format. JPEG is still one of the most used image file types that you’ll see on the internet because of its compression and virtually universal browser/OS support.
What is SVG in WordPress?
SVG is the ideal format for logos, icons, simple illustrations, and anything else you want to be freely scalable with your responsive design. If you’re using WordPress, make sure to check out how to enable WordPress SVG support for your website.
Why is PNG better than other formats?
Since PNG as a format lends itself better to text inside the image , it’s more often used for screenshots, banners (depending on the banner ad size ), and more.
What is the most common file format for Windows?
Besides ZIP and RAR archive file formats, on our list of the most common file extensions for Windows, is one more format that needs to be mentioned – 7Z. This type of file extension uses an open-source LZMA compression, which means that 7Z files have a high compression ratio. Plus, they can include advanced 256-bit encryption.
What is the most common video file format?
The universal video file format is an absolute must on our list of most common file extensions for Windows. That’s right, you’ve guessed it, we’re talking about AVI file extension. Microsoft created this file format that can store video and audio encoded in a variety of codecs, including DivX and XviD.
What is the most common file extension?
Everyone has, at some point in their lives, opened and used these types of files. So, naturally, DOC and DOCX are the first ones to talk about on our list of most common file extensions for Windows.
What is the file extension for Excel?
So, here it is a format that stores data in worksheets, cells, rows, and columns. Yes, you’ve guessed it once more, we are talking about Excel’s XLSX file extension.
What is the most common file format used to build static webpages?
Both HTM and HTML are the most common type of file formats used to build static webpages. Besides text and images, they can also contain links to audio, video, and scripts.
What program opens MP3 files?
If you install a program on our computer, or it the program is already there, at some point, the PC will ask you to choose the default program to open specific types of files. For example, if there is an AIMP Player, it will allow us to open the MP3 by default. On the other hand, the VLC will do the same with the videos and their file extensions. So basically, all you have to know which program is needed for which file category.
Why is AI file used?
This type of file is commonly used for logos and print media because the graphics retain their details at the maximum zoom level. AI file is usually composed of paths connected by points, rather than bitmap image data.

What Is An Image File format?
What Is Vector vs. Raster?
- Computer systems use math equations to make up vector images out of points, lines or curves. Vector images are resolution-independent, which means that they keep their quality regardless of how much you increase or decrease their size. Raster images comprise colored pixels and their resolution defines them. This means that a raster image's quality ...
What Is High Resolution vs. Low Resolution?
- Resolutions refer to how many dots per inch (DPI) or pixels per inch (PPI) an image has. DPI and PPI are the measures of units for quantifying resolution. Higher resolutions mean that there are more DPI or PPI in an image, resulting in a clearer image. Lower resolutions mean that there are fewer DPI or PPI, meaning that the image is blurry or unclear. You can change the resolution of a…