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Why Use PNG Images in Your Web Design...... |
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The PNG image file format is really not all that revolutionary a concept for web developers. Perhaps it was to some till even a few months back and it vaguely reminded designers of an arcade video game that they must have played as a child. Quite simply it was developed in the 90s to solve certain technical problems of the traditional GIF image format.
However, because early browsers were unable to give the surfer the “the proper picture”, web designers were forced to limit its use. Especially Internet Explorer, the most popular browser by far, offered an abysmal support to the PNG format. But then entered the IE 7 and numerous JavaScript hacks and voila the much maligned PNGs were back in business.
So what makes the PNG so hot? Allow us to share with you three reasons why PNGs are so great. |
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Using light images: PNGs make it possible |
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PNGs as compared to GIFs offer less transparency. With GIFs colors can be saved as transparent thus leaving them either wholly opaque or entirely transparent. There is no middle path. PNGs are better in comparison. Using light images is possible with PNGs. This format perfectly supports “semi-transparent pixels" which means that they allow themselves to be saved with a soft drop shadow.
Thus, they float over any background. Moreover, they can also be used as a watermark on a background that is a gradient or textured. PNGs can be faded out smoothly from opaque to transparent. Using light images through PNGs becomes easy as they reveal the contents beneath the web page.
PNGs look awesome (another reason for using light images) |
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They Look Great! (Lossless Compression): |
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A JPEG file looses some of its original information every time it’s saved and compressed. Thus the image quality degrades a few notches. A GIF though it doesn’t “lose color” supports only very limited 256 color palette which make it useless for complex image functions.
PNG offers excellent solutions to both the problems. It displays excellent full color photographic images. It displays full color photographic images, like the JPEG, but like GIF formats it too supports a managed color palette. But here to it offers a distinct advantage, (another reason for using light images). The compression of PNGs means that the images will never suffer from any degradation in quality what-so-ever. |
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They are Self Optimizing! So try using light images): |
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The problems of adjusting the brightness and adjusting the contrast of images to look appealing on different types of monitors is a problem that baffles even the more talented of web designers. This happens primarily due to different Gamma settings of monitors. This perhaps is the main reason why web designers prefer using light images.
It is through the Gamma radiation that monitors distribute their luminance properly and evenly across the display screen. So an image designed keeping in mind the Macintosh operating system may look awfully dark on the Windows system.
The PNG offers a perfect solution to this problem. By using light images or PNGs, the image file can be saved with an in built correction in its Gamma radiation. PNGs allow designers to color correct the image as per their personal systems and the PNG file format takes care of the rest. |
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