Ah, the age old debate.
Which is the better image format: PNG or JPG?
This has been argued for ages online, and there are certainly valid arguments to be made on either side.
Still, if you’re trying to ensure the best quality images for your purposes, you need a definitive answer.
Or at least, as close to definitive as you can get with a debate like this.
That’s what we’re going to try and do today. We’re going to take a look at the pros and cons of each image format, and get to the bottom of exactly which one is better.
PNG or JPG: Why Does It Matter?
Some of you might be wondering why this even matters at all. That’s a valid question.
Different image formats store information differently. Obviously, the computer doesn’t really have the image itself stored somewhere.
All it has is data that tells the computer where and how to render the information on the screen to reproduce the image.
Because different formats all store this information differently, they all render the image in different ways.
This can lead to wildly varying quality; some formats value speed and file size over image quality, for example. Other formats may look better, but take up more space and load more slowly.
For personal use, lower quality may be a worthy trade off in exchange for speed and low file size. But in a professional setting, you generally want the image to look as clean and sharp as possible.
After all, research has shown that the brain is more likely to retain information that is conveyed through images. That means high-quality images are important for our online presence.
What Do Different Formats Do Differently?
Before we dive in to the differences between the two formats, we should define a few of the terms we’ll be using to judge them.
There are several aspects of different formats that we’ll be taking into consideration. These include the color formats, such as 8-bit and 24-bit color.
Everything in computers is ultimately stored in binary information called bits. When we talk about 8 or 24-bit colors, what we mean is how many of those bits the format has available to store color information.
The more bits available, the more colors we have available; but our load times will often be slower, and our file sizes bigger.
We also need to understand the two types of image compression: lossy and lossless.
Simply put, lossless compression uses an algorithm within the format to perfectly recreate the image when it is loaded.
Lossy compression, on the other hand, creates only an approximation of the original image. Once again, we’re looking at a trade-off of image quality versus file size and load times.
Now that we’ve defined some important terms, let’s look at the differences between the two.
PNG: Portable Network Graphics
PNG, or Portable Network Graphics, is the most common uncompressed image format around.
PNG images use lossless compression, which as we mentioned earlier, perfectly recreates the stored image when it’s loaded. It also uses the 24-bit color palette that we talked about, which means it has a large array of colors available to choose from.
PNG images are also capable of rendering greyscale images, and perhaps more importantly, transparent backgrounds.
The PNG format, as its name suggests, was originally meant to be a portable format for transferring images between devices. However, its sharp quality, and relatively small size and quick loading, caused it to explode in popularity online.
Nowadays, PNGs are the most commonly found image format on the internet.
JPG/JPEG
JPG, sometimes written as JPEG, stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group, the organization that first created the format.
Unlike PNG, JPG images are compressed using lossy compression, meaning that the rendered image is technically only an approximation of the original image.
While this is usually not noticeable, it can cause the image to lose some of its quality. As mentioned earlier, this does come with a smaller file size and faster load times in general.
Something unique to JPG files that PNG cannot replicate is the ability to resize the image effectively.
Because of the compression techniques used, JPG can be resized with far less loss of quality than an equivalent PNG file.
The other major benefit to JPG formats is the user control. The amount of compression applied to a JPG file can be controlled, allowing you to lessen it for better quality, or increase it for smaller file size.
Making the Decision: PNG or JPG
As we’ve seen, the choice between PNG or JPG is more complex than it may seem.
The differences between the two are important to take into account, and depending on the exact nature of your website, you may even need to use both of them at different times.
As a general rule, PNG is the better choice for simple usage. It’s easy to use and is the most common format online. It gives sharp image quality right out of the gate and keeps file sizes and load times relatively low.
However, if you need to control those aspects more finely, such as when file size and load times are a high priority, then JPG is the way to go.
It’s lossy compression results in smaller files, and the ability to control the extent of the compression means that you can tweak things to the specific circumstances of the image.
However, if all you need is good, simple, and consistent image quality, PNG is going to be the way to go.
Of course, not all the images you want to use are going to be in the format you want them to be in right away. If you need to convert files between JPG and PNG, or any other formats, our free file converter will take care of that for you.
So grab those images, convert them to the format of your choice, and make your website look as clear and beautiful as it can.