Do you get confused trying to decide which image file formats to use when you save your project? There are so many file extensions nowadays compared to what was available years ago. Even as a web designer and illustrator with 10 years of experience, it can be overwhelming. In this post, I would like to discuss 13 common image file formats and when to use them. Hopefully, this information will be useful for you when you use Pearly Arts clipart.
Let’s begin!
Here’s what we will cover:
First, image file types and formats are divided into two categories.
They are called Raster formats (also known as bitmap format or pixel format) and vector formats.
What are Raster formats?
Raster format is made up of pixels or tiny dots of color. Each pixel contains a specific color and when viewed together, the pixels create the image.
Raster images are resolution-dependent, meaning they have a fixed number of pixels, and when enlarged, the image can appear pixelated or blurry.
Raster images are best suited for photographs, complex graphics, or images with a lot of detail.
• Common raster file formats
What are Vector formats?
Vector images are best suited for logos, icons, and graphics with clean lines and simple shapes.
Vector formats, on the other hand, are made up of mathematical equations and geometric shapes. Vector graphics are resolution-independent and can be scaled up or down without losing quality.
• Common vector file formats
If you would like to know more about Raster format and vector format, check out this post. ⬇︎
Common Raster image file formats
1 JPEG/JPG
JPEG is a raster image format for compressed images and stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group. This is the second most common image file format that is used on websites (according to W3 Techs).
JPEG uses lossy compression, which means they reduce the file size but also the quality of the image. Because of these characteristics, It is suitable for online photographs and complex artwork, Printing photos and paintings.
JPEG is good as a preview image as well since it compresses the image to a small file size and is supported by all image viewers and editors of all major operating systems.
2 GIF
GIF stands for Graphics Interchange Format. It is pronounced jif!
It is a lossless raster image format and 8-bit image file with a limited color palette of up to 256 colors in the RGB color space.
GIF is widely used for web images because it can compress the image into very small sizes—especially animated images such as banner ads, and social media memes. However, it is only good for screen presentations.GIF supports transparency, which means there is no background.
3 PNG
PNG stands for Portable Network Graphics. It is another lossless raster image.
PNG is like a newer version of GIF. Like GIF, it supports transparency and supports much higher color depth in RGB color space. There are 8-bit, 24-bit, and 48-bit image files which means they can contain millions of colors.
It is now the most common image format used online (according to W3 Techs).
PNG is best for the screen, but not recommended for print projects. Like JPG, PNG can be used for high-quality photographs, however, because it is a lossless image format, the file size can be very big. In that case, you might want to use JPG.
4 TIFF
TIFF stands for the tagged image file format. It is a raster image format commonly used for publishing.
It supports transparency like PNG and GIF and is supported by many apps. TIFF uses lossless compression, which means it produces high-quality images, but the file size is large. For that reason, TIFF is good for scanning a document or taking a photo with a professional camera. However, it is not suitable for online use due to the large file size.
5 PSD
PSD stands for Photoshop Document. These design files are created and saved in Adobe Photoshop which is a popular graphics editing program.
The feature of this file type is layers, edit history, and clipping path. If you want to edit photos, paintings, or drawings, Photoshop is the right tool. However, if you want to open a PSD file, you have to use Photoshop or a compatible program such as other Adobe products.
You need to convert the PSD file to JPEG, or PNG if you want to use the artwork online.
6 BMP
BMP is known as a bitmap image file. This is a raster image format used in Windows OS.
It is supported by almost every system. However, it is an outdated format. It does not support CMYK color mode (CMYK stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black).
Anyway, the BMP file cannot be compressed and the file size could be larger. Do not use BMP unless you need to open the file in an older Windows system.
7 HEIF
HEIF stands for High-Efficiency Image File. This is a new format developed by the Motion Picture Experts Group.
You might have noticed when you take photos with your smartphone, the photos are saved with a HEIF extension. HEIF format saves images with smaller file sizes and better image quality than JPEG. The downside is the compatibility. It is just not widely supported yet.
8 RAW
RAW files are uncompressed and untouched data captured by a digital camera.
It provides you with the highest quality image and you can edit it in a photo editing application like Adobe Photoshop. Therefore this format is used for professional photography.
There are many raw formats such as CRW (Canon), NEF (Nikon), and DNG (Adobe). However, because RAW image quality is so high, the file size is also large.
9 WebP
WebP is a modern image format developed by Google that provides superior compression compared to traditional image formats like JPEG and PNG, resulting in smaller file sizes and faster loading times for web pages.
It makes them ideal for use on websites, where faster page load times are important for a better user experience. However, not all web browsers support WebP natively.
WebP supports both lossy and lossless compression, alpha transparency, and animation.
Common Vector image file formats
10 SVG
SVG stands for Scalable Vector Graphics. It is an XML (Extensible Markup Language) based Vector image format.
SVG is a type of file that is written in text and can be searched, indexed, scripted, and compressed. It retains sharpness and crispiness even when it is enlarged to an enormous size. You can resize the image without losing the quality with a small file size.
SVG is good for simple images like icons and logos.
The downside is because it is written in text, it might not be secure. They can be used maliciously. It’s important to be cautious when downloading or opening SVG files, and to keep software up-to-date to help mitigate potential security vulnerabilities.
11 AI
AI stands for Adobe Illustrator. Adobe Illustrator is a popular vector graphics editing software. AI files are created and saved in Illustrator.
Like SVG, it retains sharpness and crispiness without losing its quality.
AI files can be exported in many different formats such as PDF, EPS, JPEG, PNG, GIF, TIFF, and PSD.
12 EPS
EPS is short for Encapsulated PostScript. Unlike AI, it is known as a universal format because it is compatible with most programs.
Although it is mainly used for vector images, it can include raster image data. However, if you are using photographs or artwork, you should use PSD, TIF, or JPEG.
13 PDF
PDF stands for Portable Document Format developed by Adobe.
PDF files can include text, fonts, raster images, and vector images and most browsers can open them. It is mainly used for viewing the information in the file.
Wrapping up
There are many image file formats in the digital world nowadays. You should know that they are divided into two groups—raster formats and vector formats. Each format serves different purposes. So knowing it will make your life easy when you have to deal with graphic files.
Hopefully, you found this post on “13 common image file formats and when to use them” helpful. Bookmark this page so that you can check out the information any time you need it. Good luck with your project. If you like this post, please share! Thanks!
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