How exactly does one go about making a .png formatted image. Does it have to be compiled by a special type of program or does it have to have specific reqirements?
no you don't need any kind of special programs. if you have windows xp then you can save images as .pngs. any type of graphical editing programs will also allow you to save as png.
Also to be clear: If you insist on non lossy compression, PNG is a great alternative to JPG. The file sizes are larger (Which is increasingly less important in the new era of almost-everybody-has-broadband), but sometimes the quality difference is notable. JPG is indeed the preferred format for photographic images, but it is, and always will be, a lossy image format.
If you need to trade images with people that are going to be saved and resaved, you really should use PNG since you will not lose any info by saving it. With JPG, every time you resave an image, you are throwing away image data.
Actually, it depends on what you are doing with PNG. If you are doing a full screen shot of your monitor, the image is much bigger. However, if you are just doing a screenshot of an open window, the image file size is smaller.
I use .png almost exclusively for componant parts when illustrating in photoshop. I'll create something that is to be use multiple times, on a transparent background. I save as a .png and when I need it I bring it back as a layer. They're great in Illustrator as well as they have no image box (transp.) Really cuts down on paths and goes over and under text really well. As an illustrator, my opinion is that .png can really save a lot of time if used properly
Useful for the game screenshots as they never exceed 256 colours.
FYI, you CAN get lossless JPG images, so you don't "always" lose quality when you save.
Worcester, UKIcrontian
edited April 2005
uses PNG for most his site graphics
Useful for the game screenshots as they never exceed 256 colours.
FYI, you CAN get lossless JPG images, so you don't "always" lose quality when you save.
Comments
.PNG format would be used for charts, line graphs and other such mathematical images. .PNG is designed as the replacement for .GIF format files.
You would, however, use JPG format for photo images as a preference to PNG.
JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) for photographs
PNG (Portable Network Graphics) for everything else
If you need to trade images with people that are going to be saved and resaved, you really should use PNG since you will not lose any info by saving it. With JPG, every time you resave an image, you are throwing away image data.
As for GIF vs PNG. PNG all the way!
Get on the ball MS and fully support the entire PNG spec in IE!
Useful for the game screenshots as they never exceed 256 colours.
FYI, you CAN get lossless JPG images, so you don't "always" lose quality when you save.
Useful for the game screenshots as they never exceed 256 colours.
FYI, you CAN get lossless JPG images, so you don't "always" lose quality when you save.
Lossless is a feature of jpg2000, which is not very widely supported