Wednesday, November 21, 2012

JPEG vs PNG vs GIF

Just a note to remind myself:

  • JPEG:
    • Good:
      • Photographs
      • Game screenshots
      • Movie stills
      • Desktop backgrounds
    • Bad:
      • Windows application screenshots
      • Line art and text
      • Comic strips
      • Anywhere where fine lines or sharp color contrast is needed
  • PNG:
    • Good:
      • Text, line art, comic-style drawings, general web graphics
      • Windows application screenshots
      • When accurate reproduction (lossless) is required (24 bit PNG)
      • When alpha channel support is required
      • As a general replacement for anything that is a non-animated GIF
    • Bad:
      • Photos, in-game screenshots (only when quality is not important and you're looking for small files)
      • Disappointing browser support for 32 bit PNGs from Microsoft and others
  • GIF:
    • Good:
      • Where animations are required
      • Widespread browser support
    • Bad:
      • Large file sizes compared to PNG for the same quality
      • Often limited to 256 colors (8 bit)
Thank you, random website.

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