Have you ever had issues expanding a photo from your mobile phone to fit into your laptop screen, as a wallpaper? If you did, and you noticed the image became blurred and less quality, you definitely want to read this post. We will explain the different file formats we use in print or web to get the best display for the graphic files for any project.

A graphic file can have the format of either a vector file or a raster file. We are going to look into what a vector file is and how it is different from the raster file format.
Raster(Bitmap) VS Vector Image File Formats
bendstack image file formats and extension

The Raster File Format (or Bitmap FIle Format) is the most common type of image files . They are pixel based graphics with each pixel representing an individual color within the image. Raster file formats depends on resolution i.e must be presented at a set size, else it become pixelated (the blocks you see when you expand most web photos). Common raster image file extensions include JPG(JPEG) PNG, RAW, GIF, BMP and TIFF.

The Vector File Formats unlike the raster files, can be scaled indefinitely, because it is curve-based graphics (mathematical point based system). The vector file format are excellent for creating graphics that frequently require resizing, vector files are ideal for logo , icons, e.t.c. Common vector files include ESP, PDF, SVG, AI .

We are going to proceed to explaining the most common extension types, but just before that , we have to clarify what extensions of a format give a lossy or lossless file.

Lossy VS Lossless
A lossy file simply mean a file that can allow the removal of unnecessary file data to reduce the file size, the result is usually undesirable and small, because of the quality of original file has been affected . This can happen for an image, audio , or video file. jpeg, mpeg , and mp3 are in these category.

Lossless files on the other hand maintain all data from the original file. e.g gif, png, tiff e.t.c

There are file extensions in the category of raster and vector, understanding the file extensions will present your project in the best quality.

Different Raster file extensions jpeg, png etc
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http://www.bendstack.com/image-file-formats-explained/