Unit 30

P2: Different graphic

formats
Roksana Rzezniczak

Table of Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................ P.2

Bitmap Graphics ...................................................................................................................... P.2

Vector Graphics....................................................................................................................... P.2

Bitmap vs Vector .................................................................................................................... P.3

File Formats .........................................................................................................................P.3-4

Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... P.4

References .............................................................................................................................. P.5

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Introduction
In this report, I will explain and describe different graphic formats and how they relate to
file formats. The images you see on the internet or the ones you take with your camera can
be saved in a variety of file formats (1). A file format is a format for encoding data in a file. In
other words, encoding is putting a sequence of characters into a specialised format. File
formats are used to represent graphical images, such as bitmap and vector images. Graphics
packages like Photoshop allow the user to save their work in compatible file formats (1).

Bitmap graphics
A bitmap graphic is composed of individual pixels of different colours (2). Each colour is
represented by 3 bytes, one for each primary colour. The physical size of the bitmap
determines the size of the graphic, and since the computer has to store information about
each individual pixel, the size of the graphic is often large (2). It is possible to edit each pixel
using bitmap software, such as Paint. However, editing the size of a bitmap often ruins the
quality of it because pixels have to be either added in or taken out. GIF, PNG, BMP and JPEG
are examples of bitmap files.

Vector graphics
Vector graphics are composed of shapes. Each shape can be edited individually and/or
grouped together. The good thing about vector graphics is that even graphics that are quite
large do not require a lot of computer memory, so the file size of a vector graphic is often
quite small (2). Also, since vector graphics are not composed of a specific number of dots, if
you edit them then they do not lose their quality (2). Therefore, vector graphics are useful
when creating logos because you can resize the logo in order to put on both a business card
and a billboard.

(7)

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Bitmap vs Vector
Bitmap graphics
Composed of pixels
Loses quality when edited
Use less processing power
Pixels cannot be grouped together
Usually take up a lot of memory when stored
on the computer

Vector graphics
Composed of shapes
Doesnt lose quality when edited
Using more processing power
Shapes can be grouped together
Do not take up a lot of memory when stored
on a computer

File formats
Graphics can be saved as different file formats on a computer. Different types of
information are saved differently because each individual file format is designed for a
specific task, for example JPEG file format is designed to store images and PDF file format is
designed for document exchange. All of this depends on the type of application which
created the file to begin with. The type of file is always
shown next to the file name. Microsoft Word, for
example, saves documents as *.doc or *docx. These are
known as file extensions. So no matter what name you
give to the document created in Word, it will still have
the *doc. or *docx. written at the end of the file name.

(4)

Raster images use a variety of colored pixels in order to create a full image (6). The common
types of file formats that are designed to store raster images are JPEG and GIF (6). Raster
graphics are created using a fixed number of coloured pixels, so they cannot be edited
without losing quality (8). JPEG is probably the most useful file format for saving digital
graphics, especially on the internet, as it is suitable for saving images which consist of many
colours. The advantages of this type of file format is that the information stored as JPEG
doesnt take up a lot of computer memory and any JPEG that you send over the internet
gets sent quiet quickly. The disadvantages are that you cant edit a JPEG file as it will lose its
quality. GIF is often used to display images, graphics and animations on the internet. In
contrast to JPEG, GIF when edited doesnt lose its quality, and the images can be used as
transparent backgrounds. Likewise, however, both are sent over the internet quiet quickly,
without having to wait a long time for the information to load. The disadvantage of GIF is
that the quality of it is quite poor as GIF cannot store as many colours as JPEG can. Vector
images on the other side allow for vector graphics to be edited without worrying about
losing quality. This is because vector graphics are made up of shapes called objects instead
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of pixels like raster images. Each object can be edited separately, in order to change the
colour, size or position of an image. Examples of vector image file formats are Al, PDF, and
SFV. The file extension AI stands for Adobe Illustrator which is a program used for creating
logos, illustrations and print layouts (8). PDF is a popular format for storing documents. The
benefits of PDF include, being independent of the software, hardware and operating system
used to view and print it. It is usually a read-only file which means that to whoever you send
it to wont be able to change the content of the document. The disadvantages are that PDF
is only supported by Mac and Windows operating systems, so you cannot read and/or print
a PDF file on any other system. Also, PDF files can sometimes be difficult to read, as they are
laid out in standard A4 or A3 format pages, whilst most computer screen fall between 4:3
and 16.9 ratio (5).

Conclusion
In conclusion, images, graphics and animations etc. are stored on the computer in file
formats. There are different types of file formats, depending on what type of information is
being stored. For instance, the most popular file format for storing images is JPEG. Raster
images, otherwise known as bitmap, are composed of many tiny pixels that create the
image. Vector images, on the other hand, are made up of shapes called objects, which can
be grouped together. Both vector and bitmap graphics have their pros and cons. The biggest
advantage of vector graphics is that when edited, the quality of them remains, whereas with
bitmap, because bitmaps are made up of pixels, they lose out on quality. However, bitmaps,
unlike vector graphics, use less processing power.

References
1. File format
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/dida/graphics/selectingrev6.shtml Date
accessed: 04/05/2016
2. Bitmap and vector graphics
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/dida/graphics/bitmapvectorrev1.shtml
Date accessed: 05/05/2016
3. File formats
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/dida/graphics/selectingrev6.shtml Date
accessed: 10/05/2016
4. File formats http://thevisualcommunicationguy.com/2013/06/23/10-file-formats-allhuman-beings-should-know/ Date accessed: 10/05/2016
5. PDF file format
http://www.sysinfotools.com/What%20is%20PDF%20file%20format.html Date
accessed: 10/05/2016
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6. Raster graphics http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/raster-graphics Date

accessed: 10/05/2016
7. Digital graphics http://carolanndigitalgraphics.blogspot.co.uk/p/task-2.html Date
accessed: 10/05/2016
8. Vector & Raster https://modassicmarketing.com/understanding-image-file-types
Date accessed: 10/05/2016

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