ImageGear for C and C++ on Windows v19.4 - Updated
Format Bit Depths
User Guide > File Formats and Compressions > File Formats > Format Bit Depths

You may want to convert a file from one format to another. You can do this by saving the original file to its desired format by setting the nFormatType parameter to the appropriate value in the saving function. For more information on converting issues, see the sections Loading Images and Saving Images.

When saving a file to another format, remember to ensure that the desired file format is supported for that image. For example, you cannot convert an 8-bit DCX file to an 8-bit CAL file, because the CAL format does not support 8-bit files.

In the following table, the columns underneath the numbers indicated size in bits that can actually be saved (written). In each cell, a value of "R" indicates read-only support, and a value of "RW" indicates that the ImageGear reads and writes the corresponding file format.

Format 1 4 8 9-16 24 32 36 48 64 Notes
Adobe DNG       R       R    
Adobe PDF RW RW RW   RW RW        
Adobe PS RW RW RW   RW RW        
Adobe PSB RW   RW RW RW RW   R R  
Adobe PSD RW   RW RW RW RW   R R  
AFX         R          
AVI R R R   R          
BMP RW RW RW RW RW R        
BTR RW                  
CAL RW                  
CGM                   Read-write support. Specific bit-depths are not considered.
CLP RW RW RW   RW          
CUR RW RW RW     RW       Supports Extra ((1, 3, 4, 8)*2)-bit images also.
CUT     RW              
DCRAW       R       R    
DCX RW RW RW   RW          
DGN                   Read-only support. Specific bit-depths are not considered.
DIB RW RW RW R RW R        
DICOM RW   RW RW RW RW   RW    
DWF                   Read-write support. Specific bit-depths are not considered.
DWG                   Read-write support. Specific bit-depths are not considered.
DXF                   Read-write support. Specific bit-depths are not considered.
EPS RW RW RW   RW         Screen Preview image only when reading.
EXIF-JPEG     RW RW RW RW RW      
EXIF-TIFF RW RW RW RW RW RW RW RW RW  
FlashPix     RW RW RW          
GEM R R R              
GIF RW RW RW              
Group 3 RW                  
Group 3 2D RW                  
Group 4 RW                  
HD Photo RW   RW RW RW RW   RW RW  
Headerless Digital Camera RAW       R       R    
HPGL                   Read-only support. Specific bit-depths are not considered.
IBM AFP R R R   RW          
IBM IOCA RW R R   R          
IBM MO:DCA RW R R   R          
ICO RW RW RW     RW        
IFF RW RW RW   RW          
IMG R   R              
IMR R                  
IMT RW                  
JPEG     RW RW RW RW RW RW   8-bit grayscale.
JPEG 2000 RW RW RW RW RW RW RW RW RW  
JPX RW RW RW RW RW RW RW RW RW  
KFX R                  
LV R                  
MAC R                  
MAC PICT RW RW RW   RW RW        
MSP R                  
MULTIMEDIA         R          
NCR RW R                
PBM RW   RW RW RW     RW    
PCD         R          
PCX RW RW RW   RW          
PGM     RW RW           Supports 16-bit grayscale images also.
PNG RW RW RW RW RW RW   RW RW Supports 48(RGB) and 64(RGB+alpha) bit images.
PNM RW   RW RW RW     RW   Supports 16-bit grayscale and 48-bit color images also.
PPM         RW     RW    
PTOCA     R              
QuickTime         R          
RAS RW R RW   RW          
RAW R R R R R R        
Scitex CT           RW       The native format is CMYK. With full CMYK support enabled, you can use 32-bit images.
SGI     RW RW RW RW        
SVG                   Read-write support. Specific bit-depths are not considered.
TGA RW   RW RW RW RW        
TIFF RW RW RW RW RW RW RW RW RW Read only supports also 3 and 6 bpp for RGB and LAB color spaces for Deflate, LZW (Lempel-Ziv-Welch), Packbits compressions and uncompressed.
TXT (ASCII Text)                   Read-only support. Converts to raster image when loaded.
U3D                   Read-write support. Specific bit-depths are not considered.
WBMP RW                  
WMF RW RW RW   RW          
WPG R R R              
XBM RW                  
XPM RW RW RW   R          
XPS RW   RW RW RW RW   RW RW  
XWD RW RW RW   RW