png files are used for icons, symbols, logos, or cut-out images that need to be overlaid on top of a background or other image.Īnimated. png files support transparency and are lossless. jpegs because they contain more information, but. png files allows you to incorporate images that have a small file size, but look great too. jpegs, you can have great looking images at a reasonable file size. jpegs support up to 16.7 million colors, making them a good choice for images or photos with a wide range of colors.

jpeg format is that files are relatively small in size, but still look crisp and sharp. This file type was developed by photographers to create a standard image format for photography. Now that we’ve covered some basic terminology, let’s take a look at the three image types used most often in e-learning. Because of this, some lossless formats might have a smaller file size than lossy formats.

With some formats, images may end up with different compressed file sizes. Images can be compressed in various ways, as previously explained, which means that two images with the same number of pixels and color depth can have very different compressed file sizes. The size of an image is generally correlated to the number of pixels in an image and the color depth, or bits per pixel. You might need to do this in order to minimize a file size, if the size is too large. jpeg image, you degrade the quality, and once you’ve done that, you can’t bring the file back to its previous quality. When the file is uncompressed, only a part of the original information is there, which the viewer may or may not notice. In contrast, lossy compression reduces a file by permanently eliminating certain information from the image. With lossless compression, every single bit of data that was originally in the file remains after the file is uncompressed, and all of the information can be completely restored. “Lossless” and “lossy” describe whether original data from a file can be recovered when the file is uncompressed. They are usually created in programs like Adobe Illustrator. A vector image, on the other hand, can be enlarged to any size without losing its crisp edges. How does this impact you? Well, if you enlarge a raster image beyond its resolution, it will become pixelated and the quality will be degraded. Raster images are made of pixels, while vector images are made using mathematical calculations from one point to another, which form geometrical shapes. What I’d like to do first is to review some of the terms you’ll hear pertaining to image formats so you can more easily understand the strengths and weaknesses for each one. gif, but there are hundreds of others as well. The most common file formats for the web are. Formats are identified by the extension at the end of the file name. In the interest of keeping viewers tuned in, you’ve probably used graphics and had to work with image file formats in your projects. Because, well, can you imagine an e-learning course without images? Without visual engagement, learners would head right for the Exit button! As an e-learning designer, you’ve almost certainly worked with images before.

Raster file types 101