PNGrepresentaties

PNGrepresentaties refer to the use of the Portable Network Graphics (PNG) file format for storing visual information. PNG is a raster graphics format that was introduced in 1996 as an improved, royalty‑free alternative to GIF. The format is designed to support lossless compression using the Deflate algorithm, which preserves image quality while keeping file sizes smaller than uncompressed bitmap data.

A PNG file is organized into a series of chunks that hold both image data and ancillary information. The crucial chunks are the IHDR chunk, which defines the image width, height, bit depth, and color type, and the IDAT chunks, which contain the compressed pixel data. PNG supports several color types, including grayscale, truecolor, indexed-color, and combinations of these with alpha transparency. The flexible color model allows for a wide range of applications, from web graphics to vector graphic export.

Transparency is handled via an alpha channel or a palette entry, enabling images to be composited over different background colors without loss. PNG files may also contain textual metadata in the tEXt, zTXt, and iTXt chunks, as well as optional informational chunks such as the palette (PLTE) and gamma (gAMA). Additionally, support for interlacing via Adam7 allows progressive rendering.

Advantages of PNGrepresentaties include broad device and browser support, lossless quality, and robust error resilience. Disadvantages can be larger file sizes compared to lossy formats such as JPEG when used for photographs. PNG is widely employed in web development, graphic design, and document imaging, and remains a standard format for data that require preservation of original detail and transparency support.