Understanding the term PNG
To begin with, we need to define the acronym PNG. It stands for Portable Network Graphics" literally "portable network graphics" in French. It is a file format that allows images to be compressed and displayed without loss of quality.
Created in 1995 by an international team of researchers and developers, the PNG format was designed to overcome the limitations of the well-known GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) format, particularly in terms of colour and transparency.
Today, PNG is widely used by content creators, graphic designers and web developers, because it offers excellent image quality and optimum compression levels, while retaining its ease of use.
The advantages of the PNG format
PNG has a number of undeniable advantages for those who want to create and share high-quality images:
- Lossless compression : Unlike other formats such as JPEG, PNG uses a compression method that does not degrade image quality. So you can reduce the size of the file without fear of damaging its visual appearance.
- Advanced transparency management : The PNG format offers precise transparency management thanks to an alpha channel that can take into account up to 256 different levels of transparency (compared with only two for GIF). This is very useful for making montages or creating graphic elements with complex, non-rectangular contours, such as logos or icons.
- High number of colours : PNG supports images of up to 48 bits, or nearly 280 trillion colours, giving it exceptional colour richness. What's more, it also manages RGB, RGBBA and even CMYK or LAB colour spaces in certain cases, offering great flexibility to image professionals.
How do I use the PNG format?
Now that you know the advantages of PNG, let's look at how you can use it in your graphics projects:
Exporting an image as a PNG file from an editing program
Most commonly used graphics editing and creation software, such as Photoshop, GIMP or Illustrator, allow you to export images in PNG format. Simply follow the procedure recommended by the software to save your file by choosing the "PNG" option in the save settings.
Compress a PNG file to reduce its size
It is sometimes necessary to compress a PNG file further without losing quality, particularly to speed up the loading of images on a website or to send smaller files by email. In this case, you can use free online tools or software dedicated to image compression, selecting the "lossless" compression mode to maintain optimum quality.
Displaying a PNG file on a web page
To embed a PNG image on your website, simply use the HTML <img>as follows :
<img src="mon-image.png" alt="Description of the image" />
Don't forget to include an alternative text (alt attribute) to improve accessibility and make your site more attractive. better referencing natural.
The PNG format and its competitors
When it comes to image formats, there are several alternatives to PNG, each with their own characteristics:
- GIF : This old format is still appreciated for its support of short, light animations, although it is limited to 256 colours and offers an unsatisfactory level of transparency.
- JPEG : This lossy compressed format is ideal for photographs and images containing many colour shades, but is less suitable for graphic elements or illustrations because of the potential deterioration in image quality if compression is excessive.
- SVG : This vector format supports infinitely resizable images with no loss of quality, and is particularly suitable for icons, logos and complex web graphics. However, it is not suitable for raster images such as photographs.
In short, PNG stands out thanks to its versatility and ability to maintain impeccable image quality, making it the format of choice for many digital projects.
Understand the term PNG definition and its implications means you can take full advantage of its benefits in your graphic design and visual communications.
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