TECHNOLOGY EXPLAINED

Know When to Use Which File Format: PNG vs. JPG, DOC vs.
PDF, MP3 vs. FLAC

When you save a file on your computer, do you notice the few letters in the drop-down box below the
name field? These are file extensions, and define which format your file saves as. Rarely is there a single
format for one type of file, so you might be confused on how they differ and which are best to use.

Let’s compare two of the most popular file types each for images, documents, and audio files.
Understanding the main differences between these major file types will help you decide which one to
use in the future.

Know Your File Formats

Most digital information today takes three major forms — text, sight, or sound. Whether you’re
talking about web pages, movies, or any other form of entertainment, information is presented to
the audience in one or more of those three.

So, if you’re a producer of information, how do you know what file format to use? The answer
boils down to how you want to distribute or use that file.

Images: PNG vs. JPG

Many people use JPG and PNG files almost interchangeably, and don’t understand how they
affect file sizes. However, more experienced users know that not only will smaller image sizes
reduce overall server memory consumption, they’ll also increase page load speed.

File size is the major difference between JPG and PNG, but the reasons aren’t obvious until you
take a closer look at the images themselves. Below is a picture of a forest scene in JPG format.

This is a large image — over 1,000 pixels wide — and features vibrant colors and details. JPG
(which stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group) has always been a popular image type
for photographers sharing their work online. This is due to the fact that the compression of
highly-detailed images involves finding redundancies in those files and compressing the data.
Thus, beautiful images like the one above can still be presented with little quality loss. The
resulting file size is a fraction of the original that may come straight from a digital camera.

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However, because of the compression method, JPGs have some issues with contrasting edges in photos.
This is most prevalent with text, signs, and the like. But if you zoom in far enough even into a high-
quality image like the one above, you can see the quality reduction along those straight edges in the form
of a “shadow” along the edge.
After saving the file multiple times, you can see the quality of the image reduce even further when you
zoom back in. In this case, the meshing between edges becomes more pronounced, and you can see near
highly-contrasting colors that there’s a greater amount of distortion.

The PNG Difference

Let’s next take a look at a highly-detailed PNG image of a park with strong contrasting black and
white colors. Such an image would do a number to the JPG compression process. It isn’t too
apparent from a distance, but much more obvious as you zoom in.
However, zooming into the PNG image, you can see that there’s no “shadow” effect or any significant
distortion on the contrasting edges.
PNG stands for Portable Network Graphics, and was originally created as a replacement for the
outdated GIF format. The PNG compression algorithm is non-lossy. When you save a PNG file
again, the quality of the saved image is identical to the original.

Another huge benefit to PNG files is that they support image transparency. This allows you to
use a transparent icon or image that blends seamlessly into a background without any ugly
outline. See below the JPG image on the left, and the PNG image on the right over a blue
background.
So, how do you choose which image format to use? Basically, if you want to provide high-
quality photographs, save once as a JPG file. Avoid making too many modifications and
performing multiple saves as you’ll lose quality.

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On the other hand, if you’re creating icons or images with sharp contrasting colors — like
images with text for example — then go with a PNG. Also, PNG is particularly valuable in web
design when you need transparent images. Just keep in mind that PNG file sizes are typically
larger than JPGs, so plan accordingly.

Documents: DOCX vs. PDF

Most people have sent a document online — whether it’s offering a formatted document via a
website, or email documents when applying for a job. The most common document formats are
Microsoft Word documents (DOCX) and Adobe PDF files.

Here’s what happens if you try to open a DOCX file from a web page:

That’s right, Word documents don’t work as embedded files — you can’t view them inside a
browser because it’s a proprietary file format. You could open it via Office Online, but a novice
user might not know to do that. If you aren’t certain whether your recipient has Microsoft Word
installed, then it’s better to present your document as a PDF. This is easy thanks to a variety of
PDF creation methods available.

You might think that Adobe Acrobat Reader is the de facto PDF reader, but you really don’t need it
anymore. Indeed, Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge can open PDFs just fine, so your recipient
doesn’t even need to have a desktop reader installed.

Are PDFs Always the Best Choice?

So, it might seem that PDF is always the way to go when you want to distribute documents. You
can embed them in web pages, work well for small eBook formats, and they transcend operating
systems. Do they have any downsides?

Of course, the catch is that editing a PDF is clunky, and advanced editing requires expensive
software. When you’re collaborating with someone on a project, it’s important to have the tools
that Microsoft Word offers for editing and collaborating. So, there’s a place for the DOCX
format in sharing documents, but it comes down to how you want to use that document and why
you’re sharing it.

If you’re sure that all recipients have Word installed and want them to edit it further, use DOCX. For
times when you want to preserve a document’s format and want compatibility across all platforms, go
with PDF. You should know how to reduce the size of a PDF file for more efficient sharing, too.

Audio: MP3 vs. FLAC

Perhaps you’re thinking of recording yourself playing guitar, or maybe you are buying music and
have the choice to download a lossless FLAC or a compressed MP3. Which do you choose, and
why?

This topic has seen plenty of debate around the internet. Plenty of music fans feel that MP3 files
are a high-enough quality that they’re indistinguishable from the original recordings. Other folks
— usually those within the music recording community — feel that the quality difference is
quite noticeable. We’ve even tested audio compression’s effects if you’re interested.

To take a closer look at this, we downloaded a free classical song in lossless FLAC format. Played
in Audacity, it was apparent that the music was crisp and clear.
The first test was exporting the original recording as an MP3 file using the default Audacity
export settings. Then, opening both files side-by-side, we took a closer look at the sound files.

You can see subtle differences when you look at them together. It isn’t quite as obvious in this
snapshot, but if you look close, you can see that the graphs for the MP3 file (the bottom two
tracks) are not quite as dark as the top FLAC graphs. This is most apparent in the first section of
the graph, where the far edges of the response (shown by the first arrow) are definitely more
defined in the FLAC file.
I didn’t notice a substantial difference when listening to the two audio files, but music recording
experts might pick up on distinctions between them.

Changing the MP3 Bitrate

Checking the MP3 export settings in Audacity, I saw that it was exporting an MP3 at a bitrate
of 128 kbps. This is great for reducing the file size, but doesn’t provide the best quality.
So, I tweaked this up to the maximum value — 320 kbps — and then repeated the exercise
above.

This time, the differences between the FLAC track and the MP3 track were almost
indistinguishable from each other. Given, the 320 kbps MP3 was much larger than the 128 kbps
file — 12 MB versus 5 MB, but it was still half the size of the original 24 MB FLAC file. Again,
in the image below find the MP3 track as the bottom two graphs and the FLAC track at the top.
So, how do you decide on an audio format? If you’re recording music and want to maintain the
highest possible quality, FLAC or any other lossless format is obviously the way to go. This will
ensure that you’re capturing every nuance of the performance. Thankfully, external hard drives
let you save tons of files for a low cost, so saving such audio files isn’t a huge deal.

However, if you’re a collector of music and you just want to store as much as possible on your
portable player, MP3 is clearly the way to go. If you run a podcast and want to ensure that your
listeners are not waiting forever for an episode to download, MP3 is the best choice.

Don’t forget that there are plenty of other audio formats out there, and a huge world
of difference between MP3 and MP4!

When preserving quality is of the utmost importance, a lossless format like FLAC or PNG works
best. Universal, space-friendly formats like PDF and MP3 ensure the lightest strain for those
viewing them, and the best compatibility.
Does this help with your own file format dilemmas? Do you have any other file formats you
prefer above those mentioned above? Share your own thoughts and insights in the
comments section below.