number of colors they represent. For example, a 640 x 480 image contains 640 pixels and 480 pixels horizontally and vertically. If you enlarge a small area of a bitmap image, you can clearly see the pixels that are used to create it. When viewed normally, the small pixels merge into continuous tones much as newspaper photographs do. Each of the small pixels can be a shade of gray or a color. Using 24-bit color, each pixel can be set to any on of 16 million colors (Curtin 220).Bitmap File Formats BMP is a standard uncompressed format of Microsoft Windows and IBM OS/2. It has a maximum of 16.6 million colors (24 bits per pixel). PCX is a Zsoft format and is used widely for paint and desktop publishing programs. It has a maximum of 16.7 million colors (24 bits per pixel). GIF (Graphic Interchange Format) supports up to 256 colors (8 bits per pixel). It is a compressed format that keeps file sizes smaller. This format is widely used on the Web since files can be sent faster than many other formats. Files in this format have the extension .gif. JPEG (Joint Picture Experts Group) supports 16.7 million colors (24 bits per pixel). The images are also compressed so file sizes are even smaller than GIF files. Files in this format have the extension .gpg. TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) provides the highest quality but has large file sizes. This format supports 16.7 millions colors (24 bits per pixel) and files have the extension .tif.All photographs and paintings are bitmapped and any kind of image can be saved or exported into a bitmap format. When you print any kind of image on a laser or inkjet printer, it is first converted by the computer or printer into a bitmap form so it can be printed with the dots the printer uses (Hajicek). To edit or modify these bitmap images you use a paint program.Bitmap images are widely used but they suffer from a few unavoidable problems. They must be p...
