Types of graphic file 

Graphic File 

A graphic file is a computer file that contains an image or picture in digital format. Graphic files are usually large, so they're often stored in compressed formats such as GIF or JPEG. The image to the right is an example of a graphic file. It is import5ant to consider the file size of images when using them on a web page. Images with large files sizes take longer to load. Long load times can be an bother to the audience and may render pages essentially unusable for those with slow Internet connections. 

Graphic File Types 

There are many different file types associated with graphics, however, only a few types are suitable for web use. The most widely supported web image formats are JPEG, GIF, and PNG. The graphic files are separated into the two main families of graphics. 

1. Raster Graphics 

In computer graphics, a raster graphics also called bitmap image is a dot matrix data structure that represents a generally rectangular grid of pixels (points of color), viewable via a monitor, paper or other display medium. Raster graphics can typically be scaled down with no loss of quality, but enlarging a bitmap image causes it to look block and 'pixilated'. For this reason, such graphics are often used for certain images, like as company logos, which need to be scaled to different sizes. Raster images are stored in image files with varying formats which are listed below: 

BMP (Bit Map) file format 

The BMP image file format is commonly used as a simple graphics file format on Microsoft windows platform. Sometimes it is also called DIB (Device Independent Bitmap). BMP files are not used for transferring images on the Internet or other slow or capacity-limited media because they are too large and not typically compressed. 

JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) file format 

The JPEG image format allows up to 16 million colors and is the best choice for image with many colors or color gradations (especially photographs). It is a lossy format which means that each time the image is saved and compressed, image information is lost and quality is degraded. JPEG images allow for various levels of compression. Low compression means high image quality, but large file size. High compression means lower image quality, but smaller file size. 

GIF (Graphic Interchange Format) 

The GIF is a lossless image format, meaning that the quality of the image is not degraded through compression. The limitation of GIF images is that the color palette includes only 256 colors. Therefore, the GIF format is a good choice for simpler graphics with a smaller number of solid colors. This format also allows for transparent backgrounds, which permits the background color of the webpage to show behind the graphic. 

PNG (Portable Network Graphics) file format 

The PNG is a newer image format that provides a combination of many features of both JPEG and GIF. The PNG format allows for use of millions of colors as well as providing the ability to have transparent backgrounds. The one drawback to PNG's is that the format is not supported by older browsers. 

TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) 

The TIFF is a variable-resolution bitmapped image format developed by Aldus (new part of Adobe) in 1986. TIFF is very common for transporting color or gray scale images into page layout applications, but is less suited to delivering web contents. 

2. Vector Graphics 

Vector graphics are computer graphics images that are defined in terms of 2D points, which are connected by lines and curves to form polygons and other shapes. Each of these points has a definite position on the X- and Y- axis of the work plan and determines the direction of the path; further, each path may have various properties including values for stroke color, shape curve, thickness, and fill. Many Flash animations also use vector graphics, since they scale better and typically take up less space than bitmap images. Vector graphics are commonly found today in the following graphic file formats. 

CGM (Computer Graphics Metafile) format 

The CGM is a file format for 2D vector graphics and text which is defined by international Standard Organization/ International Electrotechnical Commission 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 informational independent from any particular application, system, platform or device. 

GFF (Gerber File Format) 

The Gerber File Format 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 or PCB software. It is also widely used in other industries requiring high-precision @D bi-level images. 

SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) File Format 

The SVG is an open standard created and developed by the World Wide Web Consortium to address the need for a versatile, scriptable and all purpose vector format for the web and otherwise. The SVG format does not have a compression scheme of its own, but due to the textual nature of XML, the SVG graphic can be compressed using a program such as zip. Because of its scripting potential, SVG is a key component in web graphics applications. 

EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) file format 

The EPS file format was created by Adobe back in 1992. It's a standard graphics file format intended for placing images or drawings within a PostScript document. Basically it's a postscript program saved as a single file. EPS File also includes a low-resolution preview of the graphics inside which makes it accessible with programs not capable of editing the script inside. Paint Shop Pro is one the top listed application available for editing EPS graphics file. 

PDF (Portable Document Format) 

The PDF file format was developed by Adobe Systems with .PDF file extension. PDF Files can contain not only images and text, but also interactive buttons, hyperlinks, embedded fonts, video, and more. The PDF file formats has graphics integrity, they are convenient, secure, compact and multi dimensional.