PNG files are a great way to store images (like logos) that require transparency and fading. They do this all the while maintaining their original appearance on any color background. We’re going to go over a couple ways you can convert your images into PNG format.
What Is a PNG File?
PNG, or Portable Network Graphics, is a popular image format used in internet graphics for its ability to support transparency in browsers. It was first developed in the 1990s as an open alternative to GIF, which uses a proprietary compression algorithm. PNG is royalty-free.
PNG supports both 8-bit and 24-bit color, just like GIF and JPG, respectively. They also are considered a lossless file, which means that they will not degrade in quality, regardless of how many times you open and save the file.
How to Convert an Image to PNG
One of the main benefits of PNG over formats like JPG or GIF is that PNG is a lossless format with 24-bit color support. If you’re converting from JPG, take into consideration that JPGs are lossy files and may lose some quality from their initial compression. However, because PNG is lossless, your file won’t lose further quality any time you open or save the image again.
There are two main ways you’re able to convert an image into PNG format. You can either use an image viewing program on your computer or use one of the many file conversion sites available on the web.
Converting an Image With Windows
I know we say it a lot, and you may be getting tired of hearing about it, but IrfanView is one of the best, free image viewing programs on Windows. Period. You can do the same kind of conversion we’re about to show you in most editors (including Paint), but we’re going to use IrfanView for our example here.
- Open the image you want to convert into PNG by clicking File > Open.
- Navigate to your image and then click “Open.”
- Once the file is open, click File > Save As.
- In the next window make sure you have PNG selected from the drop-down list of formats, and then click “Save.”
By default, the compression rate is set on “Best,” but if you want a little more control over the compression of your file, then the Save Options window has a couple of extras to check out. Changing the compression rate will determine the size of the file, the higher the number, the less compression will be used when saving your image.