Image File Formats

- Standardized means of organizing and storing digital images. Image files are
composed of digital data in one of these formats that can be rasterized for use on a
computer display or printer. An image file format may store data in uncompressed,
compressed, or vector formats. Once rasterized, an image becomes a grid of pixels,
each of which has a number of bits to designate its color equal to the color depth of the
device displaying it.

Two major Image types

1. Raster images - use many colored pixels or individual building blocks to form a
complete image. JPEGs, GIFs and PNGs are common raster image types. Almost
all of the photos found on the web and in print catalogs are raster images.
2. Vector images - unlike raster images, can be any dimension independent of file
size. File size increases only with the addition of more vectors.

Raster format
JPG/JPEG (acronym for Joint Photographic Experts Group which created the format)
- most popular raster graphic file format using effective compression algorithms
which enable you to achieve a small file size without quality loss (or with acceptable
quality loss).
GIF (Graphics Interchange Format)
- A very well-known format is also GIF. As opposed to JPG, it is rather not used to
save photos but graphics/illustrations. The reason for that is the limited number of
colours, i.e. 256, whereas JPG supports a full 24-bit palette (16.7 m colours). One of
the colours in the palette of a GIF file can be transparent, which is why it is possible
to see the background in selected places of the rectangular graphic area.
PNG (Portable Network Graphics)
- The third of the Internet bitmap image formats, which is still relatively not much
popular. From historical perspective, it is a successor of the GIF format. Most liked
by the creators of web pages because of its intelligent transparency handling: you
can round off the edges meeting the background and use such effects as shadows.
TIF/TIFF (Tagged Image File Format)
- A format used basically only for printing. As opposed to JPG, only lossless
compression is used in TIF files, which means their sizes are usually much larger.
Instead, they contain much more additional information (paths, alpha channels,
comments) that is used by printing devices.
BMP (BitMaP).
Exif (Exchangeable image file format)
- A format file standard similar to the JFIF format with TIFF extensions; it is
incorporated in the JPEG-writing software used in most cameras. Its purpose is to
record and to standardize the exchange of images with image metadata between
digital cameras and editing and viewing software.

RIF (Raw Image Formats)

- Available on some digital cameras, rather than to a specific format. These formats
usually use a lossless or nearly lossless compression, and produce file sizes smaller
than the TIFF formats.
PPM, PGM, PBM, and PNM
- Netpbm format is a family including the portable pixmap file format (PPM),
the portable graymap file format (PGM) and the portable bitmap file format
(PBM). These are either pure ASCII files or raw binary files with an ASCII header that
provide very basic functionality and serve as a lowest common denominator for
converting pixmap, graymap, or bitmap files between different platforms. Several
applications refer to them collectively as PNM (Portable aNy Map).
WEBP
- Is a new open image format that uses both lossless and lossy compression. It was
designed by Google to reduce image file size to speed up web page loading
HDR raster formats
- Most typical raster formats cannot store HDR data (32 bit floating point values per
pixel component), which is why some relatively old or complex formats are still
predominant here, and worth mentioning separately. Newer alternatives are
showing up, though. RGBE is the format for HDR images originating
from Radiance and also supported by Adobe Photoshop.
BPG (Better Portable Graphics)
- A new image format. Its purpose is to replace the JPEG image format when quality
or file size is an issue.
Other raster formats
CD5 (Chasys Draw Image)
DEEP (IFF-style format used by TVPaint)
ECW (Enhanced Compression Wavelet)
FITS (Flexible Image Transport System)
ILBM - Interleaved Bitmap, used by Electronic arts
ILBM (IFF-style format for up to 32 bit in planar representation, plus optional
64 bit extensions)
IMG (ERDAS IMAGINE Image)
IMG (Graphical Environment Manager image file; planar, run-length encoded)
JPEG XR (New JPEG standard based on Microsoft HD Photo)
Layered Image File Format for microscope image processing
Nrrd (Nearly raw raster data)
PAM (Portable Arbitrary Map) is a late addition to the Netpbm family
PCX (Personal Computer eXchange), obsolete
PGF (Progressive Graphics File)
PLBM - Planar Bitmap, proprietary Amiga format
SGI
SID (multiresolution seamless image database, MrSID)
Sun Raster is an obsolete format
TGA (TARGA), obsolete
VICAR file format (NASA/JPL image transport format)

Vector format
EPS (Encapsulated PostScript)
- A universal format supported by most vector graphics programs. Visual
identification elements, such as logos, are best to be saved in this format.
AI and CDR
- Frequent vector files created by two most popular vector graphics programs,
Adobe Illustrator and Corel Draw respectively. The most recent versions of the
programs can import files of their competitor.
SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics)
- A vector file format created with the Internet in mind and supported by Internet
browsers (some require that an add-on be installed). Despite that it is still not much
popular.
WMF/EMF (Windows MetaFile/Enhanced MetaFile)
- A Microsoft-created graphics file format containing both bitmaps and vectors.
Rarely used on an everyday basis and unappreciated. I recommend using EMF files
for any vector graphics elements placed in Microsoft Office documents (Word,
PowerPoint etc.).
CGM (Computer Graphics Metafile)
- A file format for 2D vector graphics, raster graphics, and text, and is defined by
ISO/IEC 8632. All graphical elements can be specified in a textual source file that
can be compiled into a binary file or one of two text representations. CGM provides
a means of graphics data interchange for computer representation of 2D graphical
information independent from any particular application, system, platform, or
device.
Gerber format (RS-274X)
- The Gerber format (aka Extended Gerber, RS-274X) was developed by Gerber
Systems Corp., now Ucamco, and is a 2D bi-level image description format. It is the
de facto standard format used by printed circuit board or PCB software. It is also
widely used in other industries requiring high-precision 2D bi-level images.
Other 2D vector formats
AI (Adobe Illustrator)
CDR (CorelDRAW)
DrawingML
GEM metafiles (interpreted and
written by the Graphical
Environment Manager VDI
subsystem)
Graphics Layout Engine
HPGL, introduced on HewlettPackard plotters, but

generalized into a printer

language
HVIF (Haiku Vector Icon Format)
MathML
NAPLPS (North American
Presentation Layer Protocol
Syntax)
ODG (OpenDocument Graphics)
!DRAW, a native vector graphic
format (in several backward
compatible versions) for the

RISC-OS computer system

begun by Acorn in the mid1980s and still present on that
platform today
POV-Ray markup language
PPT (Microsoft PowerPoint)
Precision Graphics Markup
Language, a W3C submission
that was not adopted as a
recommendation.

3D vector formats
AMF - Additive Manufacturing
File Format
Asymptote - A language that
lifts TeX to 3D.
.blend - Blender
COLLADA
.dgn
.dwf
.dwg
.dxf
eDrawings
.flt - OpenFlight
HSF
IGES
IMML - Immersive Media Markup
Language
IPA
JT
.MA (Maya ASCII format)
.MB (Maya Binary format)
.OBJ (Alias|Wavefront file
format)
OpenGEX - Open Game Engine
Exchange

PSTricks and PGF/TikZ are

languages for creating graphics
in TeX documents.
ReGIS, used by DEC computer
terminals
Remote imaging protocol
VML (Vector Markup Language)
WMF / EMF (Windows Metafile /
Enhanced Metafile)
Xar format used in vector
applications from Xara
XPS (XML Paper Specification)

PRC
STEP
SKP
STL - A stereolithography format
U3D - Universal 3D file format
VRML - Virtual Reality Modeling
Language
XAML
XGL
XVL
xVRML
X3D
.3D
3DF

.3DM
.3ds - Autodesk 3D Studio
3DXML
X3D - Vector format used in 3D
applications from Xara

 Document File Format

- A text or binary file format for storing documents on a storage media,

especially for use by computers. There currently exists a multitude of
incompatible document file formats.
Common document file formats
ASCII, UTF-8 plain text formats
Amigaguide
.doc for Microsoft Word Structural binary format developed by Microsoft
(specifications available since 2008 under the Open Specification Promise)
DjVu file format designed primarily to store scanned documents
DocBook an XML format for technical documenation
HTML (.html, .htm), (open standard, ISO from 2000), in combination with
possible image files referred to.
FictionBook (.fb2) open XML-based e-book format
Office Open XML .docx (XML-based standard for office documents, ISO
standard from 2008 [pulled by ISO for violating protocol)
OpenDocument .odt (XML-based standard for office documents, ISO
standard from 2006
OpenOffice.org XML .sxw (open, XML-based format for office documents)
OXPS Open XML Paper Specification
PalmDoc Common[citation needed] Handheld document format
Plucker Handheld navigable widely used[citation needed] document
standard
.pages for Pages
PDF Open standard for document exchange. ISO standards include PDF/X
(eXchange), PDF/A (Archive), PDF/E (Engineering), ISO 32000 (PDF), PDF/UA
(Accessibility) and PDF/VT (Variable data and transactional printing). PDF is
readable on almost every platform with free or open source readers. Open
source PDF creators are also available.
PostScript - .ps
Rich Text Format (RTF) meta data format being developed by Microsoft
since 1987 for Microsoft products and cross-platform document interchange
SYmbolic LinK (SYLK)
TeX Popular[citation needed] open-source typesetting program and format.
First successful mathematical notation language.
TEI XML format for digital publication
Troff
Uniform Office Format Chinese standard
WordPerfect (.wpd, .wp, .wp7, .doc) (Note: possible confusion with Word
format extension)

Audio File Format

- A file format for storing digital audio data on a computer system. The bit
layout of the audio data (excluding metadata) is called the audio coding
format and can be uncompressed, or compressed to reduce the file size,
often using lossy compression. The data can be a raw bitstream in an audio
coding format, but it is usually embedded in a container format or an audio
data format with defined storage layer.
There are two major groups of audio file formats:
The Lossless Format - keeps all the audio quality of the original source
intact
The Lossy Format - compresses the files for space savings (though at
slightly diminished quality)

Lossless Format

WAV and AIFF: Both WAV and AIFF are uncompressed formats, which means
they are exact copies of the original source audio. The two formats are
essentially the same quality; they just store the data a bit differently. AIFF is
made by Apple, so you may see it a bit more often in Apple products, but
WAV is pretty much universal

FLAC: The Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) is the most popular lossless
format, making it a good choice if you want to store your music in lossless.

Apple Lossless: Also known as ALAC, Apple Lossless is similar to FLAC. It's a
compressed lossless file, although it's made by Apple. Its compression
isn't quite as efficient as FLAC, so your files may be a bit bigger, but it's fully
supported by iTunes and iOS (while FLAC is not).
APE: APE is a very highly compressed lossless file, meaning you'll get the
most space savings. Its audio quality is the same as FLAC, ALAC, and other
lossless files, but it isn't compatible with nearly as many players.

Lossy Format

MP3: MPEG Audio Layer III, or MP3 for short, is the most common lossy
format around. So much so that it's become synonymous with downloaded
music.

AAC: Advanced Audio Coding, also known as AAC, is similar to MP3, although
it's a bit more efficient. That means that you can have files that take up less
space, but with the same sound quality as MP3.

Ogg Vorbis: The Vorbis format, often known as Ogg Vorbis due to its use of
the Ogg container, is a free and open source alternative to MP3 and AAC. Its
main draw is that it isn't restricted by patents, but that doesn't affect you as
a userin fact, despite its open nature and similar quality, it's much less
popular than MP3 and AAC

WMA: Windows Media Audio is Microsoft's own proprietary format, similar to

MP3 or AAC. It doesn't really offer any advantages over the other formats,
and it's also not as well supported.

Video file format

- a type of file format for storing digital video data on a computer system.
Video is almost always stored in compressed form to reduce the file size.

Video file formats:

Flash Video Format (.flv)

- Because of the cross-platform availability of Flash video players, the Flash
video format has become increasingly popular. Flash video is playable within
Flash movies files, which are supported by practically every browser on every
platform. Flash video is compact, using compression from On2, and supports
both progressive and streaming downloads.
AVI Format (.avi)
- The AVI format, which stands for audio video interleave, was developed by
Microsoft.
It stores data that can be encoded in a number of different codecs and can
contain both audio and video data. The AVI format usually uses less
compression than some similar formats and is a very popular format amongst
internet users.
AVI files most commonly contain M-JPEG, or DivX codecs, but can also
contain almost any format.
The AVI format is supported by almost all computers using Windows, and can
be played on various players.
Some of the most common players that support the avi format are:
Apple QuickTime Player (windows & Mac)
Microsoft Windows Media Player (Windows & Mac)

VideoLAN VLC media player (Windows & Mac)

Nullsoft Winamp

Quicktime Format (.mov)

- The QuickTime format was developed by Apple and is a very common one. It
is often used on the internet, and for saving movie and video files.
The format contains one or more tracks storing video, audio, text or effects. .
It is compatible with both Mac and Windows platforms, and can be played on
an Apple Quicktime player.
MP4 Format (.mp4)
- This format is mostly used to store audio and visual streams online, most
commonly those defined by MPEG. It Expands MPEG-1 to support video/audio
"objects", 3D content, low bit rate encoding and support for Digital Rights
Management.
The MPEG-4 video format uses separate compression for audio and video
tracks; video is compressed with MPEG-4 video encoding; audio is
compressed using AAC compression, the same type of audio compression
used in .AAC files.
The mp4 can most commonly be played on the Apple QuickTime Player or
other movie players. Devices that play p4 are also known as mp4 players.
Mpg Format (.mpg)
- Common video format standardized by the Moving Picture Experts Group
(MPEG); typically incorporates MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 audio and video
compression; often used for creating downloadable movies. It can be played
using Apple QuickTime Player or Microsoft Windows Media Player.
Windows Media Video Format (.wmv)
- WMV format, short for Windows Media Video was developed by Microsoft. It
was originally designed for internet streaming applications, and can now
cater to more specialized content. Windows Media is a common format on the
Internet, but Windows Media movies cannot be played on non-Windows
computer without an extra (free) component installed. Some later Windows
Media movies cannot play at all on non-Windows computers because no
player is available. Videos stored in the Windows Media format have the
extension .wmv.
3GP File Extension (.3gp)
- The 3gp format is both an audio and video format that was designed as a
multimedia format for transmitting audio and video files between 3G cell
phones and the internet. It is most commonly used to capture video from
your cell phone and place it online.

This format supports both Mac and windows applications and can be
commonly played in the following:
Apple QuickTime Player
RealNetworks RealPlayer
VideoLAN VLC media player
MPlayer
MIKSOFT Mobile 3GP Converter (Windows)
Advances Streaming Format (.asf)
- ASF is a subset of the wmv format and was developed by Microsoft. It is
intended for streaming and is used to support playback from digital media
and HTTP servers, and to support storage devices such as hard disks. It can
be compressed using a variety of video codecs.
The most common files types that are contained within an ASF file are
Windows Media Audio, and Windows Media video.
Real Media Format (.rm)
- RealMedia is a format which was created my RealNetworks. It contains both
audio and video data and typically used for streaming media files over the
internet. Realmedia can play on a wide variety of media players for both Mac
and Windows platforms. The realplayer is the most compatible.
Flash Movie Format (.swf )
- The Flash movie format was developed my Macromedia.
This format can include text, graphics and animation. In order to play in Web
Browsers, they must have the Flash Plug-In Installed. The flash plug in comes
preinstalled in the latest version of many popular Web Browsers.
The RealVideo Format
- The RealVideo format was developed for the Internet by Real Media. The
format is used for streaming of video at low bandwidths. This sometimes
causes the quality of the videos to be reduced.