25+ formats. Per-format notes. Honest about edge cases.
Format Catalog
Last updated: May 2026
This page lists the formats supported by iloveimg.online with per-format notes on implementation, fidelity, edge cases, and recommended use. The conversion engine is server-side and uses standard libraries (ImageMagick, libvips, libheif, libavif, libraw); we are users of these libraries, not their authors.
1. Web-friendly formats
| Format |
What it is |
Notes |
| JPEG / JPG |
Lossy compression for photos |
Quality slider 75–95 by default. EXIF stripped on web-export by default; opt-in to retain. Progressive encoding available. The standard for photo content. |
| PNG |
Lossless with alpha channel |
8-bit / 24-bit / 32-bit (with alpha) supported. Compression level 6 default. Right format for screenshots, logos, anything with sharp edges or transparency. |
| WebP |
Google's modern format |
Lossy or lossless mode. ~25–35% smaller than JPEG/PNG at similar quality. Universal browser support since 2020. Use for web delivery when you control the destination. |
| AVIF |
AV1 still-image format |
Smaller than WebP at same quality. Browser support: Chrome / Firefox / Safari (15.4+). Not yet universal; check your audience. Slower to encode (10–20s for large files). |
| GIF |
256-colour, animation supported |
Animated GIF preserved on conversion in/out where target supports it. For modern uses, animated WebP or APNG often beats GIF on size. |
2. Mobile-default formats
| Format |
What it is |
Notes |
| HEIC / HEIF |
Apple's iPhone default since iOS 11 |
Smaller than JPEG at same quality. Decoded via libheif. Many web platforms still don't render HEIC reliably; convert to JPEG or WebP for compatibility. EXIF preserved. |
| JFIF |
JPEG variant from older mobile / scanner output |
Treated equivalent to JPEG; round-trip is fine. |
3. Print and archival formats
| Format |
What it is |
Notes |
| TIFF / TIF |
Lossless; print & archival standard |
Compression options: LZW (lossless), ZIP / Deflate (lossless), JPEG-in-TIFF (lossy). Multi-page TIFF: first page extracted by default, multi-page conversion on request. ICC colour profile preserved. |
| PDF |
Print / archival container for images |
Image-to-PDF: each input becomes a PDF page. Multi-page PDF input: each page extractable as separate image. |
| JP2 (JPEG 2000) |
Archival; medical / library use |
Wavelet-based, lossless or lossy. Limited browser support; usually used for archival rather than display. |
4. Vector and design formats
| Format |
What it is |
Notes |
| SVG |
Vector (XML-based) |
Vector input: rasterised at chosen output size for raster targets, preserved as SVG for SVG→SVG. Vector output (raster→SVG): basic edge-trace; for production logo work use Illustrator / Inkscape. |
| EPS |
Encapsulated PostScript, classic vector |
EPS input rasterised via Ghostscript at chosen DPI. EPS output: simple raster wrapped in EPS container; for true vector EPS, source the file in Illustrator. |
| PSD |
Photoshop format, layered |
PSD input flattened to single image. Multi-layer extraction is NOT supported — for that, open in Photoshop / Photopea / GIMP. PSD output: single-layer file with the image as the visible layer. |
| AI (Adobe Illustrator) |
Vector design |
AI is a PDF-superset; we treat as PDF for input. Output AI not provided (use Illustrator for AI-output workflows). |
5. System and legacy formats
| Format |
What it is |
Notes |
| ICO |
Browser favicon, Windows icon |
Multi-resolution support: output containing 16, 32, 48, 64, 128, 256 px versions of one image. Right format for favicons; serve as favicon.ico at site root. |
| BMP |
Bitmap; Windows legacy |
Lossless, uncompressed by default (large files). Supported for compatibility with older software. |
| DIB |
Device-independent bitmap (Windows) |
BMP variant; treated equivalently. |
| TGA |
Truevision / game-development legacy |
Used in game asset pipelines. Both lossless and RLE-compressed variants. |
| PCX, XBM, XPM |
Older legacy formats |
Niche but supported. |
6. Camera RAW formats
RAW input via libraw / dcraw. The library decodes the sensor data and renders a default-tone-mapped output suitable for further conversion to JPEG / TIFF / PNG. Supported raw formats include:
- CR2, CR3 — Canon
- NEF — Nikon
- ARW, SR2 — Sony
- ORF — Olympus / OM Digital
- RW2 — Panasonic
- RAF — Fujifilm
- PEF — Pentax
- DNG — Adobe's standardised RAW container
- And many others (libraw supports ~500 camera bodies)
Honest note: we provide RAW conversion for convenience — quick previews, format conversion when you don't have the camera vendor's software handy. For serious RAW workflows (real colour grading, exposure tweaks, lens-correction), use Lightroom, Capture One, darktable (free), or your camera vendor's RAW editor. We don't pretend to replace those.
7. Niche / specialist formats
| Format |
What it is |
Notes |
| APNG |
Animated PNG |
Modern alternative to animated GIF: full 24-bit colour, alpha. Browser support universal. |
| JXL (JPEG XL) |
Newer image format |
Promising for the future; current browser support limited. We support it for users who specifically want JXL output. |
| DDS |
Direct Draw Surface (game textures) |
For game-development pipelines. |
| EXR |
OpenEXR (HDR / VFX) |
HDR content; use case is film / VFX. Conversion to LDR formats applies tone-mapping. |
8. What we deliberately don't support
- Video formats (MP4, MOV, AVI). Different category; use HandBrake or similar.
- Audio formats. Image converter, not audio.
- 3D model formats (OBJ, STL, GLTF). Different category.
- Encrypted PDFs. If a PDF requires a password, decrypt it locally first.
- DRM-protected formats. Image formats don't typically have DRM; this is more about archived web content with DRM wrappers, which we don't process.
9. Conversion-pair specifics — honest expectations
Some conversions are perfect; some involve trade-offs:
- Lossless ↔ lossless (PNG ↔ TIFF, BMP ↔ PNG, etc.) — perfect quality round-trip.
- Lossless → lossy (PNG → JPEG) — quality loss based on quality setting; 90+ for archival, 75–85 for web.
- Lossy → lossless (JPEG → PNG) — output is bigger but no further loss; the original lossy compression is baked in.
- Lossy → lossy (JPEG → WebP) — double-quantisation can introduce artefacts; convert from the original lossless source where possible.
- Vector → raster (SVG / EPS → PNG / JPEG) — clean rasterisation at chosen DPI; vector advantage lost.
- Raster → vector (PNG → SVG) — basic edge-trace; for production logo work use Illustrator / Inkscape.
- RAW → anything — libraw applies default tone-mapping; for fine control use Lightroom or darktable.
10. Reporting format issues
Email info [at] iloveimg [punto] online with subject Format issue: [pair]. Include sample input (if shareable), expected vs actual output, what reference you used. We use these to drive the corrections process per Corrections Policy.
Related pages: Data Handling · Accuracy Disclaimer · Corrections Policy · Responsible Use · About Us