Popular image formats and how to open them ❓🤔

In the world of digital graphics, there are many different image formats, all with their own characteristics and applications. Opening a file of any format is a key step for viewing and processing images without much change in quality. Here we will touch on such a topic as “the most popular image formats and how to open them.” Today, it is important for all beginners, and even more so for advanced users, to know how to open images that are most often encountered while working on a PC and while surfing the Internet.

The most popular JPEG format for still images

The JPEG format is most often used for storing and editing photographs and other images with a wide gamut of colors. It provides fairly good compression, keeping the image in near-original quality. To open files in the very well-known JPEG format, it is recommended to use programs such as the well-known Adobe Photoshop, as well as GIMP, IrfanView and XnView.

PNG format with embedded transparency

PNG graphic files can store information without loss. The format is well suited for transparent images, logos, and graphics with flat colors. This type has a higher quality than JPEG, but this, of course, is reflected in the file sizes. Applications for opening PNG files include Photoshop, GIMP, Paint.NET, and XnView.

GIF is a format for short videos and animations

Such a format as GIF has been known since ancient times and with the beginning of the development of the Internet. It is still used to store short video and usually looping animated images. The GIF format supports transparency and animation, while having a small palette limited by the number of colors. GIF files can be opened with the following programs: Photoshop, GIMP, Paint.NET and XnView.

TIFF format for high quality images

TIFF is a so-called lossless graphic file format that has high quality support for graphic data and multicolor. It is preferred for professional printing and processing of all kinds of photos. Applications recommended for opening files in this TIFF format are GIMP, IrfanView, Photoshop, and XnView.

Scalable image format or vector SVG

SVG stands out from previous formats because it represents vectors, ie. scalable images without quality loss. It is used for logos, icons and graphics with simple shapes and clear outlines. SVG format is easiest to open with programs such as CorelDRAW, Inkscape or Adobe Illustrator.

BMP is a popular raster image file format

So, BMP is a simple format that stores images “digitally” as pixels or dots on a grid. It provides the best possible quality, but at the same time affects the file size. You can use programs such as Microsoft Paint, GIMP, XnView, and finally Photoshop to open BMP files.

Enhanced JPEG 2000

JPEG 2000 Image File Format is an improved version of the JPEG format that provides better image quality when compressed. It can also support both lossy and lossless compression. JPEG 2000 files can be opened by Adobe, as well as GIMP, IrfanView, and XnView.

WEBP – an innovative Internet format for graphics

WEBP is a newly developed graphic format by Google Corporation to provide high image quality in a small file size. This format is well suited for web graphics (for all kinds of websites) and accelerated loading of Internet pages. It is recommended to use programs such as like Google Chrome, Photoshop, XnView and GIMP.

Conclusion about graphic files of the above formats

The right software to open images in various similar formats is essential in graphics workflows. In our review, we examined several well-known graphic formats and provided recommendations for choosing programs that can work with such files. Keep in mind that these recommendations are based on the broad use of the programs and may be supplemented by other options depending on your needs and preferences.