Images are everywhere, whether you will be uploading your photos on social media, designing some graphics for a presentation, or creating a website. 

Of course, not all image files are created equal. 

Different formats do different things, & choosing the right one can make enormous differences in the quality & efficiency of your work. 

What are these distinct image file types?

No need to go anywhere; this guide will help you find out the top seven image file types & their applications. By the end, you will have a full idea of which format to prefer for your next project.

1. JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group)

JPEG is one of the most common image file types you’ll come across. It is highly used for photos & images with a lot of colors & details. Its key advantage is compression—it minutely reduces the size of a file without much loss in quality.

Uses of JPEG

• Photographs

Best for storing & sharing photos.

• Web graphics

Useful for websites because their file size is small; this will allow quicker loading of pages.

• Email attachments

 Quite easy to attach & send because of its small size after compression.

Example

 Think of a picture from a family vacation that you would like to share on social media. A JPEG file will keep enough picture quality for this sort of thing while making sure it uploads quickly & does not take up too much storage.

2. PNG (Portable Network Graphics)

PNG is a popular format for images requiring transparency & lossless compression—this means that the quality of the image is not changed during compression.

Uses of PNG

• Web graphics

Best for logos & graphics with transparent backgrounds.

• Digital art

Superb for images with text, line art, or other elements that need to stay sharp.

• Screenshots

Excellent for screenshots due to the clarity & lossless quality.

Example

Suppose you are designing a website & want a logo with a transparent background that is placed over various sections. A PNG file will retain the quality of the logo & be transparent.

3. WebP (Web Picture)

WebP is a brand-new image format from Google, providing much better lossless & lossy compression of images on the web. It creates smaller, richer images that make the web faster.

Uses of WebP

• Web graphics

Best for websites, enabling faster page loads without loss of quality.

• Animations

WebP will also support animated images like GIFs, but it will be better at compressing the images.

• Image conversions

This is mostly helpful when you want to convert images into other forms. For example, you can easily convert WebP to PNG for quality & compatibility.

Example

Imagine you are making a website, & you want it to be loaded fast without compromising image quality. Using WebP for your images will help attain this goal. You can easily convert WebP to PNG without loss if compatibility problems appear with some apps.

4. GIF (Graphics Interchange Format)

GIFs are known to have animation abilities. They use a subset color palette of 256 colors, making them quite unsuitable for detailed images but very good for simple graphics & short animations.

Uses of GIF

• Animations

Good for simple animated images or memes.

• Icons & buttons

 Useful for web elements that don’t require many colors.

• Vector graphics

Best for simple graphics like icons & simple illustrations.

Example

You know those funny animated memes you see all across your social media feeds? Well, they’re usually GIFs because the format makes it very easy to animate & share.

5. TIFF (Tagged Image File Format)

TIFF is a versatile format that provides quality with flexibility. Supporting lossless & lossy compressions, it finds major application in professional photography & printing.

Uses of TIFF

• Professional photography

This is the preferred format by photographers for high-quality images.

• Printing

It will be suitable for images that will be used for printing because of its quality.

• Archiving

Pictures are stored in archives because this format retains the image integrity.

Example

Suppose that you are a professional photographer working with wedding albums. You will want to give the best quality pictures for printing; hence, use TIFF files.

6. BMP (Bitmap)

BMP is one of the oldest image formats, storing images in a very basic uncompressed format. The files could be huge but of exceptional quality.

Uses of BMP

• Windows applications

Very often used in Windows systems for icons & wallpaper.

• High-quality images

This is best with images that require detail & quality.

Example

Imagine a desktop wallpaper you want to be perfect, with no loss of quality. A BMP file will have the image very clear, though it will consume more space.

7. SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics)

SVG stands for Scalable Vector Graphics. It is a format for vector images that uses XMl to define images. Unlike raster image formats like JPEG & PNG, vector images can scale up & down without losing quality.

Uses of SVG

• Web graphics

Excellent for logos, icons, & any image that needs to be scalable.

• Infographics

Perfect for intricate graphics that will need to be resized but still remain clear.

• Interactive graphics

Used for interactive web elements since they can be manipulated with CSS & JavaScript.

Example

Suppose you’re creating an infographic for a website. That means that by using SVG, the infographic will always be sharp & clear, whether users view it on a small smartphone screen or on a large desktop display.

The End Note

Image file types can make a lot of difference in the quality & efficiency of your work. 

JPEGs are great for everyday photos, while PNGs work best for transparent web graphics. WebP images make the web faster, & GIFs are meant to be used with fun animations. TIFF is ideal for professional photography. 

BMPs are used for high-detail Windows images, & SVGs offer scalable graphics that always stay sharp & clear no matter what their size is.

Mastering the understanding of file types & uses lets you make the right decisions to produce the best results for your project. Sharing a vacation photo, designing a website, or working on a professional photography project all require you to know what kind of image file you’re going to use.