JPEG

• JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) is a commonly used method for lossy compression of digital images.
• Lossy compression: This means the image undergoes a process that discards some data to significantly reduce its file size. While some detail is lost, the images usually remain visually appealing for most purposes.
• Popular applications: JPEG is widely used in web publishing, photography, and digital cameras due to its efficient file size and good balance between quality and compression.
• File extensions: Images saved in JPEG format typically have the extensions .jpg or .jpeg.

Here are some interesting things to know about JPEG:

• Compression levels: You can adjust the compression level of a JPEG image to balance file size and quality. Higher compression results in smaller files but lower quality, while lower compression produces larger files but retains more detail.
• Lossy vs. lossless: Unlike lossless compression formats like PNG that preserve all data, JPEG sacrifices some information for smaller file sizes. However, for most images, the quality loss is often imperceptible to the human eye.
• Artifacts: In some cases, especially with high compression levels or low-quality images, JPEG compression can introduce visible artifacts like blockiness or blurring.
• Alternatives: For images where preserving every detail is crucial, like graphics or text-heavy images, lossless formats like PNG are preferred.