Graphic Interchange Format refers to a bitmap image format that is used for saving images
. This format was developed by CompuServe in 1987 to exhibit images online. It gradually became popular due to its portable features. The portability of the format has made the task of the user flexible to produce high quality images. The GIF format makes use of indexed color while storing images. This indexed color is limited to a palette of 256 shades. Over the years, this format underwent revisions and modifications. The latest version is technically more advanced as compared to other formats used for images.
Why Do We Use the Graphic Interchange Format?
There are many uses of this Graphic Interchange Format. A person can save the images in this format for using the image on web pages. This format is equipped with lossless compression algorithms which compresses the file size of the images or graphics instantly. This makes the size of the file smaller. The smaller file size of the graphics enables you to easily deploy the format for web pages. You can also mail the images to any person as this format enables you to transfer the images immediately and swiftly. This format is useful for graphics giving better quality image. The appearance of the image is also clearer in GIF as compared to other formats. You can also create logos for the company using the file format. The logo of the organization can also be created in this file format. The GIF computer application also offers option to transparent the backgrounds. In this option you can show one palette color transparent in order to display the background through it. You can also use interlacing option with the GIF file format. The interlacing is the process that shows low quality image. The quality sharpens as the image download completes.
Comparison With Other Formats:
There are many other formats used for images. PDF is one among many such formats. PDF is a portable format like GIF for images. It enhances the quality of the image. However, this is not purely used for images as it can be used for storing text. You can use either PDF or GIF as an image format either for mailing purposes, creating logos or as web images. To convert different file formats into PDF like convert word to PDF, you can use PDF converter software.