Graphic File Formats and Extensions

These are some widely used graphics or image file formats and extensions.

GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) .gif

Raster format for DOS, Windows, Macintosh and UNIX
GIF files are used for screen presentation (72dpi) not for print applications. You can store several GIF images in one file and exchange them at specified time intervals. These changes make it look like an animated file. GIF should only be used on the Internet if the image only requires 256 colors. Images that have more than 256 colors should be saved as any other format. The GIF file format is limited to supporting 256 colors, and therefore it is more effective for scanned images such as illustrations rather than color photographs. GIF can also be good for line drawings, black and white images, and small text that is only a few pixels high. GIF supports animation and transparent backgrounds.
JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) FileFormat .jpg or .jpeg

It is a raster graphics format which compresses an image to save space for DOS, Windows, Macintosh and UNIX. JPG has a highly efficient way of compressing images and is used for large photos. (Images with a maximum of 256 colors should be stored as GIF, which have a more efficient way of compressing these images.) JPG compression will reduce file size by about 5 to 20 percent.The JPEG file format supports 16 million colors and is best suited for photographs and complex graphics. Transparency is not available. JPEG-compressed images are usually stored in the JFIF (JPEG File Interchange Format) file format. JPEG compression is (in most cases) lossy compression. The JPEG/JFIF filename extension in DOS is JPG (other operating systems may use JPEG). Nearly every digital camera can save images in the JPEG/JFIF format, which supports 8 bits per color (red, green, blue) for a 24-bit total, producing relatively small files. When not too great, the compression does not noticeably detract from the image's quality, but JPEG files suffer generational degradation when repeatedly edited and saved. The JPEG/JFIF format also is used as the image compression algorithm in many Adobe PDF files.
Exif

The Exif (Exchangeable image file format) format is a file standard similar to the JFIF format with TIFF extensions; it is incorporated in the JPEG-writing software used in most cameras. Its purpose is to record and to standardize the exchange of images with image metadata between digital cameras and editing and viewing software. The metadata are recorded for individual images and include such things as camera settings, time and date, shutter speed, exposure, image size, compression, name of camera, color information, etc. When images are viewed or edited by image editing software, all of this image information can be displayed.
RAW

RAW refers to a family of raw image formats that are options available on some digital cameras. These formats usually use a lossless or nearly-lossless compression, and produce file sizes much smaller than the TIFF formats of full-size processed
images from the same cameras. Although there is a standard raw image format, (ISO 12234-2, TIFF/EP), the raw formats used by most cameras are not standardized or documented, and differ among camera manufacturers. Many graphic programs and image editors may not accept some or all of them, and some older ones have been effectively orphaned already. Adobe's Digital Negative (DNG) specification is an attempt at standardizing a raw image format to be used by cameras, or for archival storage of image data converted from undocumented raw image formats, and is used by several niche and minority camera manufacturers including Pentax, Leica, and Samsung. The raw image formats of more than 230 camera models, including those from manufacturers with the largest market shares such as Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Olympus, can be converted to DNG. DNG was based on ISO 12234-2, TIFF/EP, and ISO's revision of TIFF/EP is reported to be adding Adobe's modifications and developments made for DNG into profile 2 of the new version of the standard.
PICT

PICTure is a Raster format mainly for Mac applications. PICT holds QuickDraw vector images, bitmapped images and text and is the Mac counterpart to the Windows Metafile (WMF) format. When PICT files are converted to the PC, they use the .PCT file extension.
PNG (Portable Network Graphics) Format .png

PNG was designed to replace the GIF format. PNG files can hold up to 48-bit color and can use variable transparency (alpha
channels). PNG compression is in most cases slightly better than GIF. (approximately 10-30% better compression.)
PNG was approved as a standard by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to replace GIF. PNG does not support animation as GIF does, and some older browsers do not support this file format. PNG format was created as the free, open-source successor to the GIF. The PNG file format supports truecolor (16 million colors) while the GIF supports only 256 colors. The PNG file excels when the image has large, uniformly colored areas. The lossless PNG format is best suited for editing pictures, and the lossy formats, like JPG, are best for the final distribution of photographic images, because in this case JPG files are usually smaller than PNG files. Many older browsers currently do not support the PNG file format; however, with Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer 7, all contemporary web browsers now support all common uses of the PNG format, including full 8-bit translucency (Internet Explorer 7 may display odd colors on translucent images ONLY when combined with IE's opacity filter). The Adam7-interlacing allows an early preview, even when only a small percentage of the image data has been transmitted. PNG provides a patent-free replacement for GIF and can also replace many common uses of TIFF. Indexed-color, grayscale, and truecolor images are supported, plus an optional alpha channel. PNG is designed to work well in online viewing applications, such as the World Wide Web, so it is fully streamable with a progressive display option. PNG is robust, providing both full file integrity checking and simple detection of common transmission errors. Also, PNG can store gamma and chromaticity data for improved color matching on heterogeneous platforms. Some programs do not handle PNG gamma correctly, which can cause the images to be saved or displayed darker than they shouldbe. eg:mspaint
Animated formats derived from PNG are MNG and APNG. The latter is supported by Firefox and Opera and is backwards compatible with PNG.
TIFF (Tag Image File Format) (.tif)

The TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) format is a flexible format that normally saves 8 bits or 16 bits per color (red, green, blue) for 24-bit and 48-bit totals, respectively, usually using either the TIFF or TIF filename extension. TIFF's flexibility can be both an advantage and disadvantage, since a reader that reads every type of TIFF file does not exist. TIFFs can be lossy and lossless; some offer relatively good lossless compression for bi-level (black&white) images. Some digital cameras can save in TIFF format, using the LZW compression algorithm for lossless storage. TIFF image format is not widely supported by web browsers. TIFF remains widely accepted as a photograph file standard in the printing business. TIFF can handle device-specific color spaces, such as the CMYK defined by a particular set of printing press inks. OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software packages commonly generate some (often monochromatic) form of TIFF image for scanned text pages. TIFF is the best file format for storing bit-mapped images on personal computers. TIFF graphics can be any resolution, and they can be black and white, gray-scaled, or color.
Bitmap (.bmp)

Bitmap is a raster image format used to store and display color and grayscale images. The format supports 24 bit color, which makes it suitable for photos. A bitmap is a representation, consisting of rows and columns of dots, of a graphics image in computer memory. The value of each dot (whether it is filled in or not) is stored in one or more bits of data.
Windows Metafile .wmf

A 16-bit graphic (for use with Microsoft Windows 3.x and later).WMF is a vector graphics format for Windows-compatible computers.Enhanced Windows Metafile .emf
A 32-bit graphic (for use with Microsoft Windows 95 and later).EPS (Encapsulated PostScript)
It is a platform-independent printing format used for storing vector information. EPS is the standard format for the graphics industry because of it's scalability and excellent print quality.
PSD (Photoshop Document)

Adobe Photoshop’s native file format.
SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics)

SVG is used to describe two-dimensional graphics in XML. SVG supports vector graphics which make files very small and fast to transmit. SVG is supported by most web browsers.
TGA (Targa)

Raster format for PC, Unix, Linux, Mac
WPG (WordPerfect Graphics Metafile)

WPG is the native graphics file format for WordPerfect.
PPM, PGM, PBM, PNM

Netpbm format is a family including the portable pixmap file format (PPM), the portable graymap file format (PGM) and the portable bitmap file format (PBM). These are either pure ASCII files or raw binary files with an ASCII header that provide very basic functionality and serve as a lowest-common-denominator for converting pixmap, graymap, or bitmap files between different platforms. Several applications refer to them collectively as the PNM format (Portable Any Map).
WEBP

WebP is a new image format that uses lossy compression. It was designed by Google to reduce image file size to speed up web page loading: its principal purpose is to supersede JPEG as the primary format for photographs on the web. WebP is based on VP8's intra-frame coding and uses a container based on RIFF.
CGM (Computer Graphics Metafile)

CGM is a file format for 2D vector graphics, raster graphics, and text, and is defined by ISO/IEC 8632. All graphical elements can be specified in a textual source file that can be compiled into a binary file or one of two text representations. CGM provides a means of graphics data interchange for computer representation of 2D graphical information independent from any particular application, system, platform, or device. It has been adopted to some extent in the areas of technical illustration and professional design, but has largely been superseded by formats such asSVG and DXF.
SVG

SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) is an open standard created and developed by the World Wide Web Consortium to address the need (and attempts of several corporations) for a versatile, scriptable and all-purpose vector format for the web and otherwise. The SVG format does not have a compression scheme of its own, but due to the textual nature of XML, an SVG graphic can be compressed using a program such as gzip. Because of its scripting potential, SVG is a key component in web applications: interactive web pages that look and act like applications.PNS
The PNG Stereo (.pns) format consists of a side-by-side image based on PNG (Portable Network Graphics).It's a 3d graphics
format.
JPS

The JPEG Stereo (.jps) format consists of a side-by-side image format based on JPEG.It's a 3d graphics format.
MPO

Also known as a Multi-Picture Object or Multi-Picture Format, the MPO file format was first used in the FinePix REAL 3D W1 camera, made by FujiFilm. The format is proposed as an open standard by CIPA (Camera & Imaging Products Association) as CIPA DC-007-2009. It's a 3d graphics file format