Graphic File Notes

Graphic File Formats

Create and evaluate multiple file formats for quality/file size

File formats:

• • All computer docs are in different file formats
• • Format is determined often by the files origin, like photoshop
• • Graphic files such as a photo, vid, or artwork can be reduced in file size by using image compression formats

Lossy vs lossless

• • Graphic image formats are in 2 catagories of compression, lossy or lossless
• • Lossy= image data “lost” or reduce for smaller file sizes and can cause poor image quality. Shows “compression artifacts”
• • Lossless retains image data for higher quality, but larger file size   

Graphic formats:

• • Tif, jpg and gif are the 3 most common formats for common activities such as printin, scanning, and internet
• • PNG is a common web format, high quality 
• • Each format has its own advantages and disadvantages

TIF:

• • Tagged Image Format
• • Common format for desktop publishing, print photo and graphic design
• • Is a lossless file format. It retains image data for maximum image quality
• • Can result in large files

JPG:

• • Joint Photographers Expert Group
• • Created for digital photography and works best for photos
• • Is Lossy
• • Can reduce image file size by 10: without showing significant compression artifacts
• • Level of compression is adjustable

GIF:

• • Graphics Interchange Format
• • Best for graphics or images, flat color and even tones
• • Is ajustible for changing color bit levels from 1 to 8
• • Contains no dpi (dots per inch) data for printing
• • WORST FOR PRINTING

Know your pixels

• • TIF and JPG are best for images that have blend in color, “contiguous pixels”
• • Gif is best for images with flat even tone, “non-contiguous”