A popular compressed image format ideal for photographs and complex images
JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) is one of the most widely used image formats in the world. Created in the early 1990s by the Joint Photographic Experts Group, JPEG was designed specifically to efficiently store photographic images while maintaining reasonable visual quality.
The format uses lossy compression, meaning it reduces file size by permanently removing certain information from the image. This compression technique makes JPEG ideal for photographs and complex images with smooth color transitions, as it can achieve significant file size reduction with minimal visible quality loss.
JPEG has become a standard format for digital photography, web images, and general image storage due to its excellent balance of quality and file size. The format is supported by virtually all image viewing and editing software, web browsers, and operating systems.
JPEG uses a complex compression algorithm based on the Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT). The compression process divides the image into 8×8 pixel blocks and applies mathematical transformations to reduce data while preserving visual appearance. The degree of compression can be adjusted to balance file size against image quality.
JPEG is the standard format for storing digital photographs. Most digital cameras save images as JPEGs by default, as the format's compression works well for photographic content while keeping file sizes manageable.
Due to its efficient compression and universal support, JPEG is widely used for photographs and complex images on websites. The smaller file sizes help web pages load faster while maintaining acceptable visual quality.
JPEG files with low compression (high quality) are suitable for printing photographs. Most photo printing services accept JPEG files as their standard input format.
When sharing photos via email, JPEG's compression makes it ideal for keeping attachments small enough to send while preserving reasonable image quality.
Most social media platforms use JPEG (or convert uploads to JPEG) for photo sharing, as it provides a good balance between quality and bandwidth usage.
JPEG files can be opened in virtually all image viewers and editors:
All modern web browsers support JPEG images natively. It remains one of the most widely used formats for photographs on the web, alongside newer formats like WebP.
JPEGs can be viewed on virtually any device with a screen, including computers, smartphones, tablets, digital photo frames, and many digital cameras. This universal support makes JPEG one of the most widely compatible image formats available.
| Feature | JPEG | PNG | WebP | GIF | TIFF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compression | Lossy | Lossless | Lossy & Lossless | Lossless | Lossy & Lossless |
| Transparency | No | Yes | Yes | Yes (1-bit) | Yes |
| Animation | No | No (except APNG) | Yes | Yes | No |
| Color Depth | 24-bit (8-bit per channel) | Up to 48-bit | Up to 32-bit | 8-bit (256 colors) | Up to 48-bit |
| File Size for Photos | |||||
| Web Compatibility |
JPEG excels for photographs and complex images where small file size is important. PNG is better for graphics, screenshots, and images requiring transparency. WebP offers advantages over both but has more limited browser support. GIF is primarily used for simple animations, while TIFF is preferred for professional printing and archiving where quality is paramount.
When converting from lossless formats like PNG, be aware that some quality loss will occur. Choose an appropriate quality level based on your needs - higher quality settings (90-100%) minimize visible loss but result in larger files.
When converting from camera RAW formats to JPEG, consider using higher quality settings to preserve detail. Remember that once converted to JPEG, the extended dynamic range and editing flexibility of RAW is lost.
These uncompressed formats will see significant file size reduction when converted to JPEG. For archival images or those you may need to edit later, consider keeping the original TIFF/BMP as a backup.
Converting JPEG to PNG will not recover any quality lost during JPEG compression. The PNG will faithfully preserve the JPEG including any compression artifacts, but at a larger file size.
WebP can offer better compression than JPEG at equivalent quality levels. When converting for web use, WebP can reduce file size while maintaining similar visual quality.
Converting to TIFF creates a lossless container for your image, but cannot restore detail already lost to JPEG compression. This is useful primarily for archiving or when you need a format compatible with professional printing workflows.