The market for digital cameras is estimated to grow by 12.1 billion dollars by 2028. Record sales figures mean increased demand for digital photography.
And for most people, digital photography comes down to one issue: which image file format to use? JPEG is the best-known of the image file formats, but is it the best? Are there times when you’re better off using a TIFF or PNG format?
So in this article, let’s discover what JPEG, TIFF, and PNG image file formats are. Read on to learn which of these image file types are the best for your photography projects.
JPEG
JPEG is one of the most popular image file formats used to produce digital graphics from existing graphic art. Its name stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group and is a commonly used format for the storage of images.
JPEG images have small file sizes and great-looking images. This makes it an ideal format for graphic designs or web or email images.
JPEG files can also be compressed to further reduce file size while maintaining image quality. It supports full color and other color channels. This allows you to create stunning artwork using all types of color gradients and color depths.
All modern graphic editing software and operating systems also support JPEG. So it is a very reliable file format to use.
TIFF
The TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) image format is popular among graphic designers and photographers. Originally designed in the late 1980s, TIFF is capable of storing multiple layers and alpha channels in a single file. This makes it an appealing choice for working on layered images.
Generally, you can compress TIFF images with no loss of quality. They are suitable for printing and have consistent colors across devices.
They do increase in size, however, which makes them less ideal for web usage. They are also more complex than other image formats. But they offer a wide range of features including layers, multiple pages, and alpha channels.
PNG
Portable Network Graphics (PNG) image file format is used for a variety of digital graphics, from logos to photographic images. Like other image file formats, it’s a type of raster graphic. This means that it has a composition of hundreds or thousands of small squares of color information called “pixels.”
PNG files are particularly useful for transferring images over the internet. They are compressed which makes them smaller in size than other graphic formats such as JPEG. They are also lossless files, meaning you will lose no data when you compress them.
Unlike JPEG, you can use PNG for detailed graphic images, such as those with text. Additionally, they support an alpha channel. This allows elements of an image (such as text or logos) to be set separately from the image’s background.
However, if conversion is necessary, PNG to JPEG is also easily achievable.
Experiment With Different Image File Formats Now!
Understanding the difference between JPEG, PNG, and TIFF image file formats can help you make the right choice for your project. If ever in doubt, go for the TIFF file format. For optimal efficiency in terms of size and quality, use JPEG or PNG.
So start now and experiment with these different formats to find out which is the best format for you.
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