What is JPG?
JPG is short for JPEG which is a standard in image file formats. JPEG stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group, which is actually the group behind making the said standard. When saving image files using the JPEG standard, the file extension is .JPG.

JPEG or JPG is an image compression standard which is said to be “lossy” type. “Lossy” literally means it allows some “losses” to image quality for it to be compressed to a smaller file size. Images saved in JPG formats are widely used on the internet, especially on web pages, because this format allows for saving a file into smaller sizes with good enough quality. Other file formats like BMP, GIF, and PNG are considered “lossless” file types because the image compression involved in these standards do not result to loss of image quality. But the problem with these lossless file formats is that they can only be compressed to 1O or 40% of its size. In this case, file sizes will still be quite large.

JPEG file standards meanwhile are capable of file compression to fit web page and email requirements. In these two platforms, many prefer smaller file sizes for easy access and downloading. Though files saved in this format lose some quality and integrity, it is still widely used by people. For most images, the naked eye wouldn’t even be able to identify if there was a decrease in image quality or sharpness. The only time that users will get to really see the loss in quality is in images that are simple, especially those that involve letterings and fine lines. In these types of images, there isn’t much detail to compress so a decrease in sharpness may be noticed.

For platforms other than webpages and emails, one may choose to save images in various “lossless” file formats and not JPG. If one wants to maintain image quality and not worry on the file size, then GIF, BMP, or PNG file formats may be the best options.