Fav Image Type

[Polraudio 122]

What kind of image type do you use the most?

For me it has to be PNG.

I like how it has a low file size most of the time, and it keeps the full quality.

[Kiriashi 117]

I don't see why anyone would ever use something other than PNG.

[ZephyrX 1]

I like Gif's cause they can be animated =3=

[ShinyToyGuns 29]

PNGs for quality/transparency

GIFs for animation/transparency

[CrimsonInferno 35]

PNG. Jpeg looks really, really bad :(

[Agckuu_Coceg 5]

Yes, GIF - is virtually the only image format with animation. But for ordinary images is best suited PNG.

 

I generally hate BMP, it's awful. And JPG artifacts sometimes I throw in a shiver.

TIFF has never been used.

Sometimes I can still take the TGA, but this is only for some programs.

[Marked 197]

They each are better than other at different things (well, between the most common 3).

 

I use png most though. Even though a lot of web developers use .jpg to save their images for websites, you can get png filesize way way down, so I use them. And all resources need to be saved in png anyway to keep quality and transparency(though i think transparency is possible for all, even swf files).

[Kiriashi 117]

I want the outside of my avatar to be transparent... ;(

[Noob Saibot 38]

PNG; larger files, but the best quality.

[ZephyrX 1]

no vote's for Gifs =3= i feel lonely

[Chief 30]

Gifs should be used for pixelart only. Im not a fan of animations, unless it is infact pixel art related.

Pngs are the best filetype. great quality with the option for Alpha blending transparecny, which GIF does not offer.

JPEG is horrid, and should not be used. it is alright with the highest quality, but then the file size gets larger.

BMP looks fine, but the file size is unmanageably large for no reason.

TIF is pointless, but can be used for some things.

Thats about it. the otehr image types are just extra and serve no real purpose.

[Marked 197]

JPEG is horrid, and should not be used. it is alright with the highest quality, but then the file size gets larger.

That's a surprising thing to hear from a web designer.

[Chief 30]

Marked, I actually save all my images in png, as Ive been told and taught from a pro. I dont really hear people saving as jpg, and I crit them highly when they do.

[Noob Saibot 38]

Marked, I actually save all my images in png, as Ive been told and taught from a pro. I dont really hear people saving as jpg, and I crit them highly when they do.

 

On the web today there are three main image format types to choose from and all have their advantages and disadvantages. You have a choice of three different compressed image formats: GIF, JPEG or PNG. They each use different techniques to compress the image information.

 

GIF

 

GIF uses a lossless compression which means that no quality is lost in the compression. The uncompressed image stores its information in a linear fashion. Each line of pixels is read from left to right. An interlaced GIF file stores the lines of the image in a different order. First lines 4, 8, 12, 16 and 20 may be read in. Then lines 2, 6, 10, 14, and 18 and so on until the entire image is read. When the image is read in this way, a user with a slower internet connection may be able to understand or read the image before it has fully loaded.

 

The GIF format achieves its compression by removing repeated patterns within the GIF file and storing references to these sections in a list, also known as a hash. Images with horizontal lines of the same color or pattern benefit most from the GIF format. This would include images like background graphics, images with text and patterned images.

 

Another great advantage is the ability to create animated images. You’ve no doubt seen them throughout the internet. Especially if you were around for the heyday of the 90’s! An animated GIF is essentially a sequence of GIF files with some timing information included. Animated GIFs, however, can run into large file sizes awfully quickly and with very few frames of animation. While it may be a fairly ubiquitous format, if you have to do animation, you may be better off going with Macromedia Flash. If one frame is 15KB then 20 frames could suddenly find you well over 100KB just for one animated image.

 

Another advantage to GIF files is transparency. A color within the color table can be selected as the transparent color. In doing so, wherever that color occurs, you’ll be able to see through to the HTML background. One of the largest downfalls to the GIF format is its inability to have a color palette of more than 256 colors. This can create poor looking images when used on a photograph which may originally have thousands of different colors.

 

JPEG

 

JPEG uses a lossy compression which means that image quality is lost in the process of compressing the image. JPEG compression works by first converting the image from RGB to YUV which stores information about each pixel using brightness, hue and saturation. Then it reduces the amount of information it stores for hue and saturation since differences are less noticeable to the human eye. In trying to decrease the file size of the JPEG (for example, when using the quality slider in Photoshop), you'll tend to notice artifacts occur in flat color areas and especially near edges. As a result, JPEG is best used for images that have more of a variation in colors. For example, images with gradients or photographs can handle a lower quality setting with little noticeable loss in quality. Images with text or large solid backgrounds are best left for GIF or PNG.

 

PNG

 

PNG is the relative newcomer to the list of available image formats and it is a formidable one. It is similar to GIF in many ways but even better in others. It is lossless like GIF but supports 24 bit color, unlike GIF which only supports 8. PNG supports alpha transparency, whereas GIF only supports one-color transparency. PNG uses various compression filters to minimize overall image size and can apply different filters on a per-line basis to achieve higher compression. The big attraction to PNGs is its ability to do alpha transparency. Unfortunately, Internet Explorer (IE6 and lower) currently doesn't have full support for it, although there are hacks out there that can pull it off.

 

If you are not using alpha transparency or do not need more than 256 colors then exporting as an 8-bit PNG is the way to go. On average, 8-bit PNG will be smaller in file size than GIF with absolutely no difference in image quality. PNG and GIF are also very similar in that they both work better with large lines of the same pattern or color. If you do not need alpha transparency but wish to use a color palette greater than 256 colors then you are looking at a 24-bit PNG. It'll be important to test between a 24-bit PNG and JPEG to see which achieves better results. PNG still suffers the same problem as GIF in that they cannot optimize photographs as well as JPEG can.

 

Is there a winner?

 

No format is best in all scenarios. Therefore, it's always best to play around with the various formats and compression levels to achieve the best results.

[Chief 30]

wall of text. do not want. A lot of pointless info up there, but info none the less. I still would have to say that png is my winner. Even though, as you mentioned, JPG has its uses, PNG can just do them as well, and more. Its not lossy, not huge, and supports alpha blending, which is a thing I use quite often. I do use GIF for my pixel art, but thats about it. PNG will, for now atleast, be my winner in overall use.

[yuna21 1]

PNG, without a doubt. Best compression rate without losing any quality. I only use GIFs for animated avatars.

[FranklinX 37]

PNG is my favorite. It is what I need for VX.

[Polraudio 122]

Wow never thought PNG was that popular.

Always thought jpg would be.