JPG vs PNG

When it comes to images, there are a number of formats to choose from in saving to a digital copy. Each format has its own strengths and weaknesses, and choosing the right format can be a great advantage. Two of these formats are JPG and PNG. The main difference between JPG and PNG is the compression algorithms that they use. JPG uses a lossy compression algorithm that discards some of the image information in order to reduce the size of the file. In comparison, PNG uses a lossless algorithm that keeps all the information. With PNG, the quality of the image will not change, but the size of the file will usually be larger. On the other hand, JPG images can be made very small, but the quality can degrade very quickly from a certain point.

Because of these attributes, there are key applications where the two are suited. JPG is widely used, and rightfully so, in photos. This is because photos tend to have smooth transitions between colors and tones. JPG also provides excellent compression with little or no loss in the perceived image quality; reducing the size to a tenth of the size you would get if you used lossless compression like PNG does. With PNG, it is used mostly when creating or altering images like cartoons and other non-realistic images. For example, a background image that contains a single color can be compressed by PNG into a very small size because the content of the pixel is identical.

Another feature of JPG that makes it better for photographs is its ability to embed EXIF. EXIF contains the information that is related to the image like when or where it was captured, color profiles, and the like. This information can be very helpful to the photographer when browsing through or editing his images. PNG cannot embed EXIF, but it does have the ability to make areas of the image transparent. Transparency is necessary if you want to render images of objects in different backgrounds. Many websites make use of transparencies to make their pages look more appealing to the viewer.

Summary:

1.JPG is a lossy format while PNG is a lossless format.
2.JPG is better for photographs while PNG is better for created images.
3.JPG supports the embedding of EXIF data while PNG does not.
4.PNG supports transparency while JPG does not.

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