Portable Network Graphics

Portable Network Graphic, or PNG, is a type of lossless bitmapped image format.

The format was created to rival GIF and JPEG in 1996.

Unlike JPEG, however, because they are lossless, the files do not loss any detail when saved/compressed.

PNG files support up to 48-bit color/16-bit grayscale and compress better than GIF.

The best use for PNG is for images that need transparent backgrounds, such as cut out "renders." (An example to the side placed on a transparent checkerboard background).

Unfortunately, PNG does not support animation like GIF.