Wednesday, 16 May 2012

File Formats

File Formarts For Mobile & Web Devices
When mobile & web comes into play, there are certain procedures you should take into account. With mobile internet speeds not being as fast as our broadband, It takes longer to load an image on a website. Therefore optimizing the image to have a lower file size would make it load faster - a much better experience for the audience.

Depndant on the type of image, there a three different file formats you generally always should use. JPEG's are used for more photographic images & images with gradients. GIF's are used for images with block colours and not great detail. PNG's are used for images that require transprancy.

JPEG
Pros:
- Low File Size
- Adaptable quality
- Good for photographic images

Cons:
- Loses quality & data of an image
- Cannot hold transparency
- Cannot be lossless


GIF
Pros:
- Great for block coloured images
- Can hold transparency data
- Low file size

Cons:
- Not good for detail/photgraphic imagery
- The transparency is limited
- Compresses images

PNG
Pros:
- High quality transparency
- Good for Flash
- Versatile for web design

Cons:
- Higher file size
- Compresses the file
- Does not support animation

Here you can see the difference between file formats. JPEG is smooth at only 40% quality, therefore it is very versatile for devices - it can look good at come at a low bandwidth cost. GIF you can see is poor quality, it shows grain and loss of colours. This is because GIF has a small limit on the number of colours it can show. The maximum is 256 colours, but in this image it shows it at 32 colours. And finally PNG, it is good quality, but comes at a higher file size, JPEG would be more ideal as there is no transparency and a variety of colours. 

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