ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the bitmap formats, but include the Portable Document Format (PDF), which is an example of a vector-based format used widely nowadays for proofing documents that contain both graphics and bitmaps. Bit-depth support defines the image modes that can be stored by a particular file format. The image mode relates to how many colour channels and how many bits per channel are stored for an individual pixel. The file format will define which types of compression algorithms are available and importantly whether the compression is lossless or lossy. Lossy compression is only suitable for applications where some loss in image quality can be tolerated. Proprietary file formats are developed by individuals or companies who then 'own' them, meaning that they control the distribution and availability of the format, as well as the ability to make changes to it.
