graphics formats

There is a wide variety of graphics formats in use today. The following list contains most of them. The formats are in order by extension name under bitmapped or vector category. Some formats appear in both categories because they can hold both raster and vector images. See graphics conversion.

 BITMAPPED FORMATS (RASTER GRAPHICS)

 AG4  Access G4 document imaging
 ATT  AT&T Group IV

 BMP  Windows & OS/2
 BRK  Brooktrout fax

 CAL  CALS Group IV
 CIT  Intergraph scanned images
 CLP  Windows Clipboard
 CMP  Photomatrix G3/G4 scanner format
 CMP  LEAD Technologies

 CPR  Knowledge Access
 CT   Scitex Continuous Tone
 CUT  Dr. Halo

 DBX  DATABEAM
 DCM  DICOM medical image
 DCX  Intel fax
 DX   Autotrol document imaging

 ED5  EDMICS (U.S. DOD)
 ED6  EDMICS (U.S. DOD)
 EPS  Encapsulated PostScript

 FAX  Fax
 FMV  FrameMaker
 FPX  FlashPix

 GED  Arts & Letters
 GDF  IBM GDDM format
 GIF  CompuServe
 GP4  CALS Group IV - ITU Group IV
 GX1  Show Partner
 GX2  Show Partner

 ICA  IBM IOCA (see MO:DCA)
 ICO  Windows icon
 IFF  Amiga ILBM
 IGF  Inset Systems (HiJaak)
 IMG  GEM Paint

 JFF  JPEG (JFIF)
 JPG  JPEG

 KFX  Kofax Group IV

 LV   LaserView Group IV

 MAC  MacPaint
 MIL  Same as GP4 extension
 MSP  Microsoft Paint

 NIF  Navy Image File

 PBM  Portable bitmap
 PCD  PhotoCD
 PCX  PC Paintbrush
 PIX  Inset Systems (HiJaak)
 PNG  Portable Network Graphics
 PNM  Unix portable bitmap
 PPM  Unix portable bitmap
 PSD  Photoshop native format

 RAS  Sun
 RGB  SGI
 RIA  Alpharel Group IV document imaging
 RLC  Image Systems
 RLE  Various RLE-compressed formats
 RNL  GTX Runlength

 SBP  IBM StoryBoard
 SGI  Silicon Graphics RGB
 SUN  Sun

 TGA  Targa
 TIF  TIFF

 WPG  WordPerfect image

 XBM  X Window bitmap
 XPM  X Window pixelmap
 XWD  X Window dump


 VECTOR GRAPHICS FORMATS

 3DS  3D Studio
 906  Calcomp plotter

 AI   Adobe Illustrator

 CAL  CALS subset of CGM
 CDR  CorelDRAW
 CGM  Computer Graphics Metafile
 CH3  Harvard Graphics chart
 CLP  Windows clipboard
 CMX  Corel Metafile Exchange

 DG   Autotrol
 DGN  Intergraph drawing format
 DRW  Micrografx Designer 2.x, 3.x
 DS4  Micrografx Designer 4.x
 DSF  Micrografx Designer 6.x
 DXF  AutoCAD
 DWG  AutoCAD

 EMF  Enhanced metafile
 EPS  Encapsulated PostScript
 ESI  Esri plot file (GIS mapping)

 FMV  FrameMaker

 GCA  IBM GOCA
 GEM  GEM proprietary
 G4   GTX RasterCAD - scanned images into vectors
       for AutoCAD

 HPGL HP graphics language

 IGF  Inset Systems (HiJaak)
 IGS  IGES

 MCS  MathCAD
 MET  OS/2 metafile
 MRK  Informative Graphics markup file

 P10  Tektronix plotter (PLOT10)
 PCL  HP LaserJet
 PCT  Macintosh PICT drawings
 PDW  HiJaak
 PGL  HP plotter
 PIC  Variety of picture formats
 PIX  Inset Systems (HiJaak)
 PLT  HPGL Plot File (HPGL2 has raster format)
 PS   PostScript Level 2

 RIS  AUCOTEC CAD format
 RLC  Image Systems "CAD Overlay ESP" vector files
       overlaid onto raster images

 SSK  SmartSketch
 SVG  Scalable vector graphics (XML)

 WMF  Windows Metafile
 WPG  WordPerfect graphics
 WRL  VRML

Conversions Can Be Problematic
Do not take for granted that just because an application says it imports and exports a file format, that it does so perfectly. It takes years to perfect the translations so that the copy in the new format is as identical to the original as possible, and graphics formats are the most difficult. Look at the two images below. The top one is the original, and the bottom was created using the JPEG export filter in the application. They may be similar, but are by no means identical.

Original (top) and JPEG Equivalent (bottom)

Export filters don't always work perfectly. If exact replication is required, be sure to test your application's export filters long before you are on deadline to finish the job. (Original image courtesy of Cedar Waxwing Design.)