explain the difference of JPEG vs. GIF vs. PNG vs. BMP vs. TIFF
JPEG
(Joint Photographic Experts Group)
- is a File Format with a lossy compression. It allows some data loss for a smaller file size. It compresses grayscale and color information but allows for images to be displayed in 16,000,000 colors.
GIF
(Graphics Interchange Format)
- is a File Format with a lossless compression. Meaning, there is no data lost in the compression. GIF supports animation and is preferred for images with only a few colors. (GIF only allows for 256 colors)
PNG
(Portable Network Graphics)
- is a File Format that takes off from the transparency capabilities of GIF, primarily developed due to GIF‘s licensing requirement.
TIFF
(Tagged Image File Format)
- is a File Format that is a flexible bitmap image that is supported by many software. It has a much larger file size compared to JPEG and GIF and is commonly recommended by professional printers since it is supported by most press machines.
BMP
(Bitmap)
- The standrad Windows file format on DOS and Windows–compatible platforms. It has a lossless compression.