File size and image quality

Contents
Introduction........................................................................................................... 2
File formats............................................................................................................ 2
Compression and compression techniques............................................................4
Resolution.............................................................................................................. 6
Colour depth.......................................................................................................... 8
Conclusion............................................................................................................. 9
References............................................................................................................. 9

Introduction
In this report I will discuss the importance that file format, compression
techniques, image resolution and colour depth have on the file size and image
quality. I will be showing this by using screenshots. I will also explain what the
terms mean, and show the effects on the image by showing the before and after
images.

File formats
File Format
.jpg

Bitmap or Vector
Bitmap

.gif

Bitmap

.tiff

Vector

.png

Bitmap

Description
JPG is a file format for
digital photos and other
digital graphics. JPG files
are saved as lossy
compression; this means
that the image quality is
lost as file size decreases.
GIF is a format used for
graphics. They contain a
maximum of 256 colours,
which are best suited for
images that contain simple
shapes, a limited colour
palette, text and other
elements as opposed to
photos.
TIFF is a file format for
images; they are mostly
used in graphic design.
These files can be saved
without compression. TIFF
files are mostly used in
graphic design because
they can store large, high
quality images such as
photos.
PNG is a file format, it
supports lossless data
compression. This format is
an improved non-patented
additional for GIF. The
image content of these
.png files consists of index
colours integrated by

.bitmap

Before

Bitmap

bitmap images, and the

lossless digital image
compression.
BMP is a file format used on
Microsoft Windows
platform. This format is
used to store bitmap digital
images.
You can change the image format, and
you can also choose and see how it will
look like. This image is a JPEG; it makes
the picture clear with no pixels.

After
By choosing the
GIF uses pixels to
create an artistic
font, JPEG does
not create images
like the GIF as is
more artistic.

Compression and compression techniques

Compression squeezes data so it requires less disk space for storage and less
bandwidth on a data transmission channel. There are two types of compression
techniques used with digital graphics, lossy and lossless. They use different
techniques to compress files, but they have the same aim. To look for duplicate
data in the graphic and use a much more compact data representation.
Lossy compression methods include DCT, Vector Quantisation and

Huffman coding
Lossless compression methods include RLE, string-table compression, LZW

and ZLID.

Before

Right click, send to,

compressed (zipped) folder.
The original size for
beyonce.jpg is 118

Right click, send to,

compressed (zipped) folder.
The original size for
beyonce.gif is 101

After

The file size for beyonce.jpg has

changed this is because I
compressed the file to make it
smaller.
However the file size for
beyonce.gif hasnt
change, this shows that
JPG format is more
efficient than GIF format.

Resolution
Resolution is the number of pixels) contained on a display monitor of an image.
The term is most often used to describe monitors, printers, and bit-mapped
graphic images. In the case of dot-matrix and laser printers, the resolution
indicates the number of dots per inch. The sharpness of the image on a display
depends on the resolution and the size of the monitor. The same pixel resolution
will be sharper on a smaller monitor and gradually lose sharpness on larger
monitors because the same number of pixels is being spread out over a larger
number of inches.

Before

The resolution
for beyonce.jpg
is 72.

The resolution
for beyonce.gif
is 72.

After

I changed the resolution

for beyonce.jpg to 12
which also changed the
size of the image

I changed the
resolution for
beyonce.gif to 80; this
changed the size of the
image and increased
the amount of pixels.

Colour depth
Colour depth is the number of different colours that can be represented by a
piece of hardware or software; it is directly related to the number of bits used for
each pixel. The colour depth of an image is measured in bits. The number of bits
indicates how many colours are available for each pixel. In the black and white
image, only two colours are needed.

Before

Colour is 216 and the

Depth is 100%

After

Colour is 16 and the Depth is 63%, you can see that

the image has changed because the colours are
limited and there are more pixels in the picture.

Conclusion
To conclude, file size and format is very important as it can have an impact on
the quality of the images. The difference in image types is the result in use of
compression; most images have a fairly large file size, which is not practical for
some people because it might not fit where they need it to go or takes a lot of
desktop space, thats why compressing an image is useful. The most commonly
compressed image file types are .jpg, .gif and .png. Its very important to
knowing w which format to use, this will lead to better image quality and faster
website load times.

References
1. http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/resolution
2.
3. http://www.linktionary.com/c/compression.html
4. https://developers.google.com/speed/webp/docs/compression
5.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/dida/graphics/selectingrev6.sht
ml
6. http://www.computerhope.com/jargon/c/colordep.htm