Presentation on file types

1. Digital Graphics
File Formats
Jack Head

2. Raster Graphics
A raster graphic is a graphic made up of pixels,
which are small squares containing the colour
information of that section of the image.
It has a set resolution depending on the amount of
pixels within the image, meaning that when the
image is resized or adjusted, distortion can occur
and the image can appear pixelated or “blocky”.
Raster graphics are often used online or for basic
images, when the image only needs to be one size.

3. Vector Graphics
Vector graphics differ from raster graphics, as
they are made up of paths, which are complex
mathematic equations forming triangles and
curves. These paths are between a start and an
end point, meaning that the shape can be
adjusted without distortion occurring.
Vector graphics are often used for company
logos, as the logo can be made large or small
without losing quality, for use on things from
pens to billboards.

4. Raster Graphics

5. JPEG
Stands For Joint Photographic Experts Group
Used For/Example Universal photo format-used for images on
computers and online. Most images on a computer
are saved as JPEGs.
Advantages Universal-can be opened on nearly all devices,
through most applications. Also very small file sizes
due to compression, making it perfect for
publishing images online, unlike other file types
such as BMP, which has a large file size to avoid
quality loss.
Disadvantages Through compression and recompression, loss of
quality can occur. The file type also does not
support layering or transparency, meaning that any
graphics saved must be final. Text may also appear
lower quality through this file format.

6. TIFF
Stands For Tagged Image File Format.
Used For/Example Used often for desktop publishing, such as
magazines made on Adobe InDesign.
Popular with publishers and designers
Advantage Allows multi-page document saving, unlike
other raster formats such as JPEGs. No
quality lost through compression, meaning
large file sizes can be avoided.
Disadvantage File sizes before compression are very
large, and files often require exporting
before viewing and sending, as not all
software supports TIFF file formats.

7. GIF
Stands For Graphics Interchange Format
Used For/Example Used for short digital animations. Often
published to the Internet, as a replacement
for videos.
Advantage Allows a series of images looped, which
makes it unique to other raster types, giving
the appearance of video, but with a much
smaller file size.
Disadvantage No way to edit the GIF once coded. Unlike
other rasters, GIFs are restricted to 8-bit,
whereas JPEGs are capped at 24-bit, meaning
a lower quality for GIFs.

8. BMP
Stands For Bitmap Picture
Used For/Example Used similarly to JPEGs, for saving general
photos onto a computer/uploading to the
Internet. Also used for graphics.
Advantage Like JPEGs, can be opened by most systems
and through most pieces of software.
Unlike JPEG as there is no loss of quality
through compression, giving it an
advantage over JPEGs.
Disadvantage Due to its ability to not lose quality
through compression, file sizes are often
very large, which makes a JPEG preferable
for photos and basic graphics.

9. Vector Graphics

10. PSD
Stands For Photoshop Document.
Used For/Example Saving photos and graphics made on
photoshop, often before exporting as a
raster image.
Advantage Very good for image manipulation. Saves
layers, colour swatches and page formatting,
allowing re-editing. Unlike rasters, allows
transparency. Good for front covers of
magazines.
Disadvantage Huge file sizes due to layers and vector
processing. Photoshop is also needed to
view the image as a raw PSD, and a PSD
file cannot be published onto the internet
raw.

11. AI
Stands For Adobe Illustrator Art
Used For/Example Logo creation through drawing and
graphics creating. Used to make pictures
to represent companies.
Advantage Allows small and large scaling without
loosing definition. Allows the use of things
such as tablets, letting users directly draw.
Useful for both complex and simple graphics.
Disadvantage Large file sizes due to scaling advantages.
Also, Adobe Illustrator needed to view the
image, unless converted to raster, e.g.
BMP.

12. FLA
Stands For Flash File
Used For/Example Used for animations and games, run
through Adobe Flash Player extensions
online or locally.
Advantage Produces high quality images and files
that support sound and movie, but also
keeps file sizes small, as well as allowing
re-editing, unlike GIF formats.
Disadvantage Conversions to FLV (Flash Video) may be
forced upon by Adobe before publishing.
As well as this, computers may not already
have a FLA/FLV player installed.

13. WMF
Stands For Windows Media File
Used For/Example Often used for logos, but primarily used
for clip art and basic graphic uses on
websites or flyers. Similar to AI file types.
Advantage Incorporates both bitmap and vector
elements, meaning the graphics can be
upscaled and retain quality. Small file sizes
compared to bitmap alternatives such as
BMPs.
Disadvantage Very few applications allow the editing of
WMFs. Bitmap elements of WMFs will
bring down the overall quality of the
image during scaling down.

14. File Format Capture and
Optimising

15. Compression
Definition Compression is reducing a file size, by
reducing the amount of information saved.
This often results in the files quality being
adjusted, as less of the original file is
saved.
Advantage Means that larger files such as PSDs or
FLAs take up less room. Allows faster web
publication due to smaller file size, as well
as freeing up space on computers.
Disadvantage Reduces quality of the file, leaving photos
more pixelated. Occasionally files will need
to be uncompressed after sending them.
Compressing large amounts of data can
effect a computers performance.

16. Image Capture
Method Scanner
How is it used for image capture of
graphics
Used for digitising physical images, such as
notes and books. With the use of OCR
software, existing text can be edited.
Method Camera
How is it used for image capture of
graphics
Takes images of physical objects which can
be then imported onto the computer and
edited. Quality of the camera can effect
quality of the image.
Method Graphics Tablet
How is it used for image capture of
graphics
Used to turn the cursor into a digital pen.
Allows easier drawing and electronic
handwriting. often used by designers.

17. Optimising
Why would you optimise? You may want to optimise a file to publish
it online and make it more suitable for a
website and reduce loading times online.
How can you optimise? Optimising is often done by the website
that the file is being published to, such as
Facebook. You can also optimise through
Photoshop, by reducing bit depth and size
Advantage to optimising Reduces the loading time on websites, and
also means that the images are the correct
sizes for websites.
Disadvantage to optimising Sometimes reduces quality and depth.
Reduces resolution and the amount of
pixels within the images.

18. Storage

19. File Size
What could affect a Working Scale
(Photoshop) document file size?
Files made on Photoshop often have large
file sizes due to a large amount of layers
and shapes. File size also relates to the
pixel dimensions.
How could you reduce the file size of a
Working Scale document without affecting
quality?
The most obvious solution is changing the
file type, however if it needs to remain
Working Scale, the Bicubic Automatic
image type can be changed to Bicubic
sharper to keep the image quality high
during scaling.
What is an advantage of scaling up images
before exporting?
Scaling up images before exporting allows
them to be resized without losing quality
after exporting, making resizing much
easier.
What is a disadvantage of scaling up
images before exporting?
Scaling up images often makes the file size
much easier, making the image harder to
send and publish.

20. File Naming Conventions
What naming conventions could you use
when creating your assets?
• When naming a file, a easy to
remember, simple file name is a good
option. Leaving a default of “Untitled”
or “New document” is a bad idea, as it
can lead to confusion. If an image of,
say, a bike is going to be named and it
is a first edit, a name such as “Bike (1)”
would be appropriate.
Why is it a good idea to accurately name
your assets?
Not accurately naming assets can lead to a
messy set of documents, and can mean
that it is hard to find certain documents.
Within a large project, a lot of similar
assets may be made, so accurate naming
is essential.

21. Asset Management
Why would you use folders when storing
your assets?
Folders can help a lot with organisation,
especially when working on a large
project/several small projects. Folders also
help when sharing projects, as a single
folder can be sent rather than sending
individual files.
What folders would you create and what
would you save within them
• I would create one main folder for the
course, and within that a folder for
each different unit. Within the units
folder, I would have folders for
research, images, final products and
analysis. The main course folder would
also include a folder for Work Related
Learning.