JPEG gets its name from the acronym for the subcommittee that helped create the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) compression standard. This group of experts created in addition to other types of still image encoding under the group called ISO. We tend to think if JPEG and JPG are the same, we can say yes but with a small difference. JPEG is the name of the format while JPG is the extension (.jpg) of JPEG files.
JPEG is one of the most famous formats in which we save digital images, if not the most famous. And this is so because it is the one that basically provides more versatility and possibility by making files up to 10 times smaller than other formats. For this reason, digital cameras give us the option to save our photographs in this format. When we archive the images in JPEG the camera reduces the amount of original colors to a smaller palette. This does not change the appearance of the image with respect to other formats that are later converted through editing programs.
Before web design appeared, graphic designers opted for large images thinking that the resolution would also be higher. Later, when web design appeared, it was necessary that these large images could be compressed and reduce their weight to be able to load them easily.
And it is at that moment in which to be able to compress, the JPEG format acts by allowing the compression level of each image to be graduated. This compression system focuses on reducing information by interceding in degraded areas. Therefore the color value of certain pixels is calculated in relation to the surrounding pixels. This is what makes its efficiency stand out, allowing you to preserve images that have many shades and color gradients.
Advantages of JPEG
Its main advantages are therefore:
- The quality of the images.
- The simplicity when using it.
- Handling of multiple colors.
- Adjusting the degree of compression.