BMP (.bmp):
BMP Stands for bitmap. It’s the most basic graphic format. To use this format, you have to use either Windows or OS/2. The word bitmap comes from computer programming, meaning simply a map of bits. Bitmap images use many little tiny squares on your computer screen called Pixels. Every pixel is given a different task to see if it’s supposed to reflect the background colour, foreground colour, or any other colour. Bitmaps store lots of imformation, which can make amazing quality images, but they don’t re-size very well. If it is increased, the image goes very pixelated and blotty, although if the picture is decreased, the picture loses it’s clarity, so it’s harder for you to see. Bitmap is a good suffix for you to use if you have a very detailed picture, but you don’t need to rescale it.
TIFF:
TIFF stands for Tagged Image File Format. A company called Aldus paired together with Microsoft and created it, although now it’s under the ownership of Adobe. Tiff is a popular suffix that people use for Colour, Grey-scale or Black and White pictures. All PCs and Macs can read this format. TIFF is also formally known as TIF. They are the same thing. TIF files are usually quite large, although it is usually a plus, and not a disadvantage, as it means that you get better quality.
JPEG:
JPEG is an extension created by the JPEG Group. JPEG stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group. The standard JPEG specifies in both codec, and the file format used to contain that stream. The compression method means that visual quality is lost in the process, although there are changes on the standard JPEG which don’t change the visual quality. The JPEG is popular with internet users. It lets the average internet user to send photos to other people without the file size being too big. It’s used by websites too.
GIF:
GIF stands for Graphics Interchange Format. It’s a bitmap image often used on the internet for low resolution images and animation.
There is a difference between Vector images and Raster images.
Raster graphics are data structures, which represent a rectangle of pixels. Raster images are commonly stored in image files. When a raster image is rescaled, it distorts and cannot go back to proper size, without being different. Bitmap images are examples of Raster images.
Vector images can be re-scaled without distorting the original image, unlike Raster images, which work on pixels and when resize an image, distorts it.
As shown in the example above, the top right image is how the image would look rescaled as a Vector, whereas bottom left shows how it would look as a Raster (bitmap) image.
Adobe illustrator and Macromedia Freehand are two applications that let us make vector images, whereas Adobe Photoshop is a perfect example of a programme that let us make raster images. Raster based images are best to work with when you’re editing a photograph.
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