A comparison between properties of the most used image file types (infographic)

Understanding the capabilities and limitations of digital image files can be tricky. Thanks to the team at tekRESCUE however, for listing down and comparing different properties of some of the most used digital image file types. Here’s the comparison:

JPEG:

1. Color Palette: Unlimited

2. Transparency: Not supported, requires a background

3. Alpha Channel (Ability to blend smoothly between transparent and opaque pixels): Not supported

4. Image Compression: Can be compressed to reduce file size but results in lower quality images

5. Scalability: Raster (Fixed Size)

6. Animation: Not supported

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PNG-8:

1. Color Palette: Limited (256 colors)

2. Transparency: Supported

3. Alpha Channel: Not supported

4. Image Compression: Cannot be compressed and risk losing quality in exchange of changing file size

5. Scalability: Raster (Fixed Size)

6. Animation: Not supported

GIF:

1. Color Palette: Limited (256 colors)

2. Transparency: Supported

3. Alpha Channel: Not supported

4. Image Compression: Cannot be compressed and risk losing quality in exchange of changing file size

5. Scalability: Raster (Fixed Size)

6. Animation: Supported, resulting in a series of frames moving one after the other, giving a video-like feel to the image.

PNG-24:

1. Color Palette: Unlimited

2. Transparency: Supported

3. Alpha Channel: Supported

4. Image Compression: Cannot be compressed and risk losing quality in exchange of changing file size

5. Scalability: Raster (Fixed Size)

6. Animation: Not supported

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SVG:

1. Color Palette: Unlimited

2. Transparency: Supported

3. Alpha Channel: Supported

4. Image Compression: Cannot be compressed and risk losing quality in exchange of changing file size

5. Scalability: Vector (Scalable), the type literally is an acronym which stands for Scalable Vector Graphics

6. Animation: Supported, can be animated on web using Javascript and CSS



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