Note: Web D&D students may wish to be more picky about some of these choices

Very short introduction to graphic file types

NOTE: Web D&D students may wish to be more picky about some of these choices.

1. The two most common file types are GIFs and JPEGs (also called JPGs).

     GIFs are best for large areas of one flat color - e.g. in a logo.   JPEGs are used for images with many variations in color, such as in photos.

2. The number of different colors rendered will affect the size of the file -- and since we all want our files to download quickly there is a trade-off between file size and subtlety of image.

     Often this is resolved, of course, by compromise -- for example, one may compress the image, using fewer colors.   

     Lynda.com (available thru the Library) has a lot of information on this.
3. Three technical terms:

     lossy/lossless comprehension--- In lossy comprehesion  we might make the image file more compact, have it look great as a thumbnail, but when we enlarge the image back up lose some of the detail.  In lossless comprehension we don't lose the detail.

      dithering - this is a method of using fewer colors but scattering them a little around a point to make it appear as tho' we have more colors.

      jaggies - these are the jagged lines you get when you try to enlarge a curve, such as a circle, and don't have a fine enough grid to make it look like a curve.  You've all seen these.

4. What to read:

    a. https://sanstudio.com/tech/GraphicFileTypes.html   Read about Web-Graphics file formats.  (Don't bother with Postscript files types etc.)

    b. https://www.webstyleguide.com/wsg3/11-graphics/5-web-graphics-formats.html  is a short summary

    c. OPTIONAL - if you want more examples look at https://1stwebdesigner.com/image-file-types/