This material is intended to inform the simple users about the features of the PNG format. So, it will pass over some details like for example the freedom from patents, as this has no connection to the end-user, being more of a concern for the developers.
The PNG format was intended to be used like a substitute for the GIF and TIFF formats. So, it was created with two main ways of usage in view:
World Wide Web
Image editing
PNG can be widely used for the web, having several advantages over the GIF format: the possibility of
"For the Web, PNG really has three main advantages over GIF: alpha channels (variable transparency), gamma correction (cross-platform control of image brightness), and two-dimensional interlacing (a method of progressive display). PNG also compresses better than GIF in almost every case, but the difference is generally only around 5% to 25%, not a large enough factor to encourage folks to switch on that basis alone. One GIF feature that PNG does not try to reproduce is multiple-image support, especially animations; PNG was and is intended to be a
One of the biggest complaints with the Internet is that web pages load too slowly. People don't want to wait while graphics with large file sizes load. To overcome this problem graphics need to be compressed.
Graphics for the web are usually in 72dpi resolution this is a much lower resolution than used in the print industry.
The most common graphic formats supported by web browsers for compressing graphics are JPEG, GIF and PNG.
JPEG - This format is usually used for photos where there are lots of subtle colour changes and detail. The JPEG
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