Graphic Formats

Graphic images can be used to enhance the look of Web pages as well as to provide content that supports the textual information on a page. When used judiciously, images can be attractive and informative; when used to excess, they can be distractive and bothersome. When choosing images to place on a page you need to make sure that they support the purposes of the page and that they do not detract from them. Plus, you need to make sure that the file sizes of images, many of which can become quite large, do not cause unnecessarily long download times.

GIF Image Format

GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) is the most widely supported graphics format. Pictures saved in this format have the .gif file extension. GIF format can display images in black and white, grayscale, or color. When used for color pictures the GIF format is limited to displaying up to 256 colors. Normally when a graphics program saves an image in GIF format the software uses (up to) 256 colors that best represent the colors in the picture. Because of the compression technique used for GIF images, this format is best for pictures with spot colors rather than continuous colors. In other words, this is a good format for line drawings, logos, icons, text, and other images with discontinuous colors; however, it is not the best format for photographic images.

One of the concerns about using graphics on a Web page are the file sizes produced by the format. Larger file sizes mean longer download times that cause visitors to wait longer than necessary before being able to view the page. In general, it is not the size of the GIF image that affects the size of the file, it is the number of different colors in the image. Therefore, the most effective way of reducing file sizes and reducing download times is to reduce the number of colors in the image.

Most graphic programs permit choices of the number of colors saved with an image. In Figure 5-1 are shown two save options for GIF files permitted by Adobe PhotoShop. The default option on the left uses the full complement of 256 colors. The color pallet for the image is shown in the bottom-right of the picture. It produces a file size of approximately 10.9 KB. On the right is the same image formatted with 16 colors. There are no noticeable differences between the two pictures. The one on the right, however, produces a file size of only 3.5 KB. If you are creating your own images, you should explore techniques that make your file sizes as small as possible without distorting the image or misrepresenting its colors.

Transparent Images

One version of the GIF format -- GIF89a -- has the capability of producing transparent images. You can specify one particular color in the image which is then rendered transparent when the image is displayed on the page. Most often this is the single background color in the picture. When set to transparent, the background disappears, and leaves only the foreground image displayed against the page background. The following figure shows the transparent effect.

Both the standard and transparent images are created on a white background and are saved as GIF89a files. The "Transparent" image, however, has the color white selected as the transparent color. When the images are displayed on a textured background, the white background of the transparent image is rendered transparent to permit the page background to show through. Of course, if the background color of the page is the same as the background color of the image, then there is no need to make the picture background transparent.

Interlaced Images

Another feature of GIF89a format is its ability to produce interlaced images. Normally, when an image is loaded into the browser it is revealed a few lines at a time beginning at the top of the picture. If the file size is large and the connection speed is slow you see the picture revealed a little at a time until the complete picture is downloaded.

If you choose to save your images as interlaced then the entire picture is revealed at increasingly higher resolutions. That is, it is first revealed as a low-resolution version of the entire picture. As more of the picture is downloaded it becomes sharper and sharper as more details are added. Although the time taken to download an interlaced image is the same as for a regular image, it often appears to download faster since the complete, although not final, image is viewable much quicker. Whether you use standard or interlaced images is more a personal preference than technical need.

Animated Images

Multiple single images can be packaged together to produce animated GIF images. These are image files containing two or more images that are revealed in a timed sequence.

The following Adobe ImageReady screen shows the creation of a few of the 60 images used to produce the above clock whose second hand iterates through 60 seconds. Each hand position is created as a different layer of the image. The software converts the layers to animation frames, or cells that are revealed in sequence when saved as a GIF file.

A slightly different animation technique is used in other animation programs. Some GIF animators require the creation of separately saved GIF images. Each image represents a different frame of the animation. These individual GIF files are imported into the software and are converted into sequenced cells of the animation.

An animated GIF file is retrieved by the browser just like any other GIF file. When displayed in the browser, the file produces the animation. Of course, if you are not particularly skilled in working with graphics or you do not have the patience to put together the series of pictures to be animated, you can probably find animated GIF images on the Web that suit your needs.

Image Compression

When images are saved, they are compressed to help reduce redundancy of the image data so that the image can be stored or transmitted in an efficient form. Image compression may be lossless or lossy. With lossless compression nothing in the original image is lost. When viewed in the browser, the image will contain the same number of pixels as the original image. Lossless compression is used when the GIF is saved. In contrast, lossy compression means that some of the pixels in the original image are lost or removed. When viewed in the browser the image will be similar, but not exactly the same as the original image.

PNG Image Format

A newer format that is increasing in popularity is PNG (Portable Network Graphic) format, pronounced "ping." This format is used for the same purposes as GIF; however, it produces smaller file sizes and faster loading times without loss of resolution quality. It can reveal interlaced images and produce them faster than GIF format.

The most noticeable difference between PNG and GIF formats occurs with transparent images. PNG format permits up to 254 levels of transparency, and allows images to better blend with the background color or pattern of a page. Figure 5-6 shows the blending differences between PNG and GIF images.

In the GIF image on the right, transparency of pixels is either "on" or "off," and produces hard edges surrounding what would otherwise be a smooth transition between the drop shadow and full transparency of the image's background. A white "halo" surrounds the drop shadow at its boundary with full transparency. In contrast, the PNG image on the left blends smoothly with the background color. This results from its multiple levels of pixel transparency whereby pixels surrounding the drop shadow take on increasing levels of transparency the further removed they are from the image.

JPEG Image Format

The JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) format is designed for storing photographic images with millions of colors at different compression rates. During compression, graphics programs use special algorithms to sample and render colors close to those in the original picture but without retaining full color information in order to minimize file sizes.

You normally have a choice of compression settings when saving pictures in JPEG format. Smaller file sizes normally mean greater loss of picture details. Still, with moderate compression you can display an image on screen that appears very similar in quality to the original picture. The four pictures below show the original image and three compressions along with resulting file sizes.You can notice a loss of sharpness in those images with higher compressions and smaller file sizes.

Figure 5-7 JPEG images at various compressions.

For Web images that are displayed at normal 72 pixels per inch, compression percentages that reduce file sizes to as small as 1/8 to 1/4 of original file sizes still retain satisfactory visual precision.

JPEG images are saved as files with the .jpg extension. JPEG format does not support interlacing or transparency; plus, it is not a good format for text or line drawings since the precision needed to produce straight lines or hard edges is not as accurate with compression.

The following table provides a summary of the image file types.

Sources for Graphics

How do you obtain graphics for your pages? There are many sources for obtaining graphics: create graphics using a graphics application such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and Jasc Paint Shop Pro; download graphics from a graphics web site; purchase a graphics collection online; take digital photographs; or scan existing photographs. The following are a few sites that may be helpful when looking for graphics:

• Microsoft Clip Art
• Free Stock Photo Search Engine
• SuperStock
• Free Images
• FreeFoto
• OpenPhoto
• Stock Photography
• Search Engine for Stock Photos

Always use caution when downloading graphics from the Web. Materials on a Web site are copyrighted and are not free to use unless the owner of the site permits it.

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