We’ve all seen the tricky file formats when accessing our phone’s gallery or while hopping over a friend’s camera to see some pics for special functions. Yet, due to our ignorant subconsciousness, we never pay attention to why there are different file formats. To be completely clear, if you use your phone or personal computer to share pictures of any event. In that case, both JPEG and PNG are eligible to provide quick access to high-quality images.
But when it comes to printing, the answer is not as straightforward.
So, let’s dive in and understand what are these file formats and which is better for printing.
UNDERSTANDING FILE FORMATS: JPEG VS PNG
JPEG
JPEG was introduced back in 1992. It means Joint Photographic Expert’s Group. When you first start taking photos with your smartphone, you will quickly notice how easy it is to share pictures with your family and friends.
This is because the default file format in your smartphone is set to JPEG. JPEG is quite a versatile format due to its compressing feature. This makes it easier to reduce file size but it also takes a toll on the overall image quality.
They are ideal for implementing on websites, social media platforms, sharing with friends, etc. If you’re someone who is more focused on aspects like image sharpness and overall image quality, then JPEG might not be suited for you.
Strictly speaking, photographers and artists who have a knack for the best results generally opt for PNG rather than JPEG. As we have already discussed, JPEG goes through a compression process.
PNG
PNG stands for Portable Network Graphic Files. They are ideal for high-quality billboard graphics, social media graphics, infographics, etc. They generally have a significantly higher file size as compared to JPEGs.
Additionally, you can have PNG images that have a transparent background. This is something not available with JPEGs. For instance, let’s say you have made an illustration on a graphical software. Now, you want to share it with your audience on a social media platform.
But your illustration only looks better without a dedicated background. For this process, you need to change your file format from JPEG to PNG or choose PNG in the first place.
Whenever you want to save a logo from the internet. It is suggested that you download it in PNG format. This is because you will be indefinitely using that logo on some kind of graphical work.
The logo will look naive if you use it in JPEG format. Due to the removal of the background, the best choice is PNG as it blends the logo with existing artwork.
RASTER IMAGES VS VECTORS
You might already know that both PNG and JPEG are raster types of images. There is also another type of image called vector image. Raster images are all the basic images that you see every day. Raster files are incorporated from pixels. Pixels are small shaped color objects that form an image. Therefore, the higher the pixels the more sharper and defined an image is.
Rasters consist of PNG, JPEG, and GIF type of file formats. The pixel count of a raster image is fixed. Because of this when they are further edited and resized to either become smaller or bigger, their image quality can be significantly affected. So, in this case scenario, raster images make more sense when you are sharing pictures or uploading them as it is.
This means that your pictures are coming directly from a camera without going through any post-processing. These are great for posting on social media, and sharing with friends and family.
However, there are certain requirements to resize certain images and for that purpose, vector files are used. Unlike pixels used in a raster, vector uses directional lines, and points, using the grid.
In terms of usage, these are found in vector illustrations, digital art, advertisement boards, etc. It’s up to you to decide whether to choose raster or vectors according to the work you do.
The quality of raster images also depends on certain aspects. Aspects like the quality of the camera, whether you shot the picture in RAW mode or JPEG mode on the camera, the processing power of your computer’s CPU, etc.
Generally, because resizing doesn’t affect vector images, it is suggested to use this format when it comes to printing.
You might be thinking that the picture you want to specifically print is in the Raster format.
HOW TO CONVERT RASTER IMAGES INTO VECTORS
For this kind of endeavor, graphic designing software is required. These are software on which you can either create vector art or edit the raster images and manipulate them as well.
Some popular software for this kind of work are Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop.
For converting your raster to vector, you will need to trace it on software either manually or you can use Adobe’s intelligent software to let the computer do the job for you.
For the next step, try clearing all the negative space and interior geometry.
Now viewing your desired object to be converted in outline mode must be your top priority. In this kind of mode, you see all the outlines of your raster-converted vector file. This is to ensure that there is the absence of tracing in certain parts of your image.
Therefore, now you have a vector image that has been converted from raster format. Now you don’t need to worry about losing your print quality when converting to hardcopy. As explained earlier, your now vector-converted image will not lose quality when printed.
Apart from this method, certain websites perform this method if you visit their website. Just drag and drop your desired image to convert it from raster to vector. For better results try the paid versions on these websites as the premium versions can enhance the quality of your printed work.
JPEG AND PNG FOR PRINTING PURPOSES
This depends solely on what kind of printing work you are planning to perform.
In generic terms, as PNG images have more data, they are superior in terms of picture quality, and they have more in-depth colors, so they can be a better choice but only when compared to JPEG file formats.
JPEG uses a complicated process to compress its image. This can take a toll on the printed object. Sometimes the object might display a blurry image, unfinished-looking text, etc. But, both of these file formats are based on RGB color space. So if your business mainly deals in printing in a large variety, then neither of these formats might be suitable for you. We are talking about printing on T-shirts, coffee mugs, graphical printing on boxes, etc. Another color space called the CMYK is ideally used for high-quality prints.
Nevertheless, printing for chores like university assignments, A4-sized printing, documentation printing, etc. For these types of prints, you won’t be making a mistake if you print on either JPEG or PNG. Moreover, some printing shops do charge less for JPEG prints as the work done by their printers is less.
Therefore, now you have a definite answer in terms of different printing purposes, and what kind of color space is necessary.
COMPRESSION PROCESS IN JPEG FILE FORMAT
There are some steps here:
- Color Space conversion
- Downsampling
- The division into pixel blocks
- Forwarded DCT
- Quantization
- Entropy Coding
COLOR SPACE CONVERSION
Colorspaces are different formations in which the colors can be arranged. The JPEG file format uses RGB colorspace. Meaning there are three colors used for the formation of all images: Red, Green, and Blue. In the compression of an image into JPEG, the color format is converted from RGB to YCbCr.
Y is for the brightness of the image. Cb and Cr deal with chrominance blue and chrominance red which deal with color information. The main advantage here is that JPEG can now change the color information to reduce file size without ever changing the Y channel which is for brightness.
Each pixel on the image goes through this color space compression in the quest to perform JPEG compression.
DOWNSAMPLING
Now that chrominance channels and brightness channels are formed. The compression process downsamples the chrominance channels to a size that’s even less than half of their original one.
As you must have wondered, the image quality is significantly reduced. Keep in mind, that humans are more responsive to brightness rather than color.
Therefore, it can be hard to distinguish it unless someone looks very closely.
DIVISION INTO PIXEL BLOCKS
Due to downsampling, the data of each pixel stored in different channels is divided into 8*8 boxes of 64 pixels. This is done so that algorithms can independently process boxes.
FORWARD DCT
DCT stands for Discrete Cosine Transform. By using this, every box of pixels can be reformed by multiplying it with a consistent group of images by their relative mass values and thus adding them up together.
QUANTIZATION
As our eyes are not very good at seeing high-frequency aspects in a picture. These kinds of elements are removed in this process known as quantization.
ENTROPY CODING
Some kinds of different codings are done in this step to make way for storing information without removing any data. Therefore, these are the steps involved in which decompression is done in a JPEG image.
Let’s now discuss some of the advantages and disadvantages of using JPEG and PNG file formats
FILE SIZE: JPEG VS PNG
When it comes to file size there is a difference. This is all because of the different compression formats being used. Moreover, these filesizes can affect the loading up of an image on social media and websites.
If you want to make your business interface more friendlier for every user, it is recommended to use JPEG images as there is a balance of quality and file size especially when it comes to taking images from a professional camera. If that is not the issue, you can go with PNGs.
MERITS AND DEMERITS OF JPEG FORMAT
MERITS
Firstly, you will save a lot of time when using a JPEG format. This file format was designed to be compatible with all the technological devices of today’s modern era. Whether you are low on storage or have a mobile phone with an older model.
The JPEG images can be opened in even worse cases. Using JPEG also means that you will have a much shorter time frame when it comes to copying images and sharing them between different computers.
The loading times for JPEG are much faster as compared to PNG and RAW images. In the case of a website. If you want to showcase your photographic portfolio through a website, it is suggested to upload pictures on that website in JPEG format.
This will take much less time and you can focus on other important aspects of the websites. Essentially, any of the image viewing software. Whether they are built-in on a device or a platform like Windows. They all directly open JPEG images in a rapid succession. Therefore, JPEG is a software-friendly file format. Lastly, you don’t need to do a lot of post-processing when it comes to posting JPEGs online.
This is because during the compression stage of JPEGS, almost all the necessary traits like, brightness, hue, contrast, and shadows are well adjusted. These arguments make posting JPEGs really convenient for use for everyday tasks.
DEMERITS
Although JPEG offers tremendous versatility and user-friendliness, this method has certain drawbacks. The JPEG images much lower file size comes at the cost of image quality. There have been certain incidents in which JPEGS have been compromised as certain malware has affected people’s data upon downloading certain JPEG images from the internet.
Apart from this, many photographers who want their work printed have to bear the consequences of losing a lot of quality when it comes to printing their JPEG images.
These were some of the demerits of JPEG so if this is something that is you, make sure to stick with PNG.
MERITS AND DEMERITS OF PNG FORMAT
MERITS
PNG uses a different compression format, which we will discuss later when comparing the compression formats. The compression format doesn’t take a toll on the image quality at all.
When designing something like the logos for a brand, graphical work related to some social media campaigns, the PNG format stands out for the image quality and crispiness of colors provided and is acknowledged by some of the renowned artists on the planet.
Thanks to the PNG format, it is now possible to create manipulation on images. This means changing the backgrounds of certain images, PNGs have made it possible to create interesting artistic effects in images.
DEMERITS
There is a significant demerit of using PNG format for beginners. Beginners get confused when they download a PNG file from the internet and there is no background. Secondly, there are no supporting platforms for posting PNG images. Social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook compress your images a lot to fit their algorithm.
Therefore, currently, you can only post high-quality PNG files on your website online.
COMPARING COMPRESSION METHODS
The JPEGs and PNGs use different compression methods. Lossy vs lossless, respectively.
The lossy compression method of the JPEGs is designed to provide efficiency and image quality on a balanced scale. Therefore, there is a significant loss of information in the image to achieve this phenomenon. The result is a balanced image that you can save on your device plus it doesn’t take that much of your overall storage. This is not a big deal for the average consumer as the loss of data is not particularly significant enough to be noticed by the naked eye.
On the other hand, the PNG uses a lossless compression method. This type of method uses intelligent optimization to reduce the file size and not take a toll on quality. The result is an image that is sharper, vivid, and has a lot larger file size. For printing purposes, this is a better choice. As raster images do lose quality when changing their size. So the original size of the PNG is large enough so that when the image is stretched, it doesn’t lose a lot of quality.
FINAL REMARKS
There you have it. Now you know everything there is about JPEG and PNG file formats. We recommend using the PNG file format for industrial printing purposes. On the other hand, JPEG is suited for users who don’t have graphically demanding prints. These are prints like documents, CVs, etc.
For an average user the size of a PNG when is 600KB. An equivalent JPEG must have a size of 150-180KB at max. This is the difference in the image information that is being lost in the lossy format of the JPEG.
With this newfound understanding of JPEG and PNG file formats, you’re better equipped to navigate the digital landscape with confidence. Whether you’re preparing images for print or sharing them online, choosing the right format can make all the difference in preserving image quality and clarity.
