| Hosted by Black Bear | .png | .jpg | .jfif | .gif | .heic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stands for | Portable Network Graphic | Joint Photographic Experts Group | JPEG File Interchange Format | Graphics Interchange Format | High Efficiency Image Coding |
| Description | The .png (Portable Network Graphics) format supports lossless compression, preserving image quality without detail loss. It also allows for transparency, making it perfect for web graphics and overlays. | The .jpg (Joint Photographic Experts Group) format uses lossy compression, which reduces file size by discarding some image data, often resulting in a slight quality loss. It's ideal for photographs and complex images where smaller file sizes are essential, making it widely used for web and digital photography. | The JFIF (JPEG File Interchange Format) is a minimal file format that enhances JPEG by adding standard metadata like resolution and aspect ratio information. It ensures compatibility between different JPEG implementations but doesn't support features like transparency or multiple frames. | The GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) supports simple animations and uses lossless compression, making it ideal for low-resolution images with limited color palettes. It supports transparency and is widely used for short, looping animations on the web. | HEIC (High Efficiency Image Coding) offers superior compression, allowing high-quality images to occupy less storage space compared to traditional formats like JPEG. It also supports advanced features such as transparency, live photos, and multiple image sequences within a single file. |
| Short history | The PNG format was created in 1995 as a patent-free replacement for GIF, offering lossless compression and support for transparency. It quickly became a standard for high-quality web images. | The JPEG format was introduced in 1992 by the Joint Photographic Experts Group to provide efficient compression for digital photos. It became widely adopted for its ability to significantly reduce file sizes while maintaining acceptable image quality. | The JFIF format, introduced in 1991, was created to standardize how JPEG images are stored and exchanged. It adds basic metadata like resolution and aspect ratio to ensure compatibility between different JPEG implementations. | The GIF format was introduced by CompuServe in 1987 to support color images and simple animations on early internet platforms. Its ability to handle small file sizes and looping animations made it popular for web graphics and memes. | HEIC was introduced in 2015 by the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) to enhance image compression. It became widely used when Apple adopted it in 2017 for iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra, allowing users to store high-quality images with smaller file sizes. |