png over gif
 

Why do designers prefer png over gif or likewise?

Personally i have found png to look sharper with a smaller file size.

I know png can't be animated but like gif can be transparent.
I know png has built-in gamma correction and error detection code.

Unisys is throwing a fit about using the Gif LZW compression technology, unlike png.

Some older browsers don't support png which i believe to be its major downside.

Your thoughts ..

Ummm.. I don't understand the question...

"Why do designers prefer png over gif or likewise? "

Can I answer when I'm sober? Wo(rl)ds fail me right now....

Both are loss-less compression (no loss of data). Both images will look exactly the same.

PNG compresses more than GIF. It does not compress more than JPG because JPG is lossy (loses data).

I always use jpeg for pictures with lots of detail like photographs. For text and cartoonish logos i want it to look sharp and crisp so i use gif and i just recently started using png. The files are smaller, i'm just wondering what the downside is, if any, :glugglug

Actually png can contain animation, and when it was added as a standard to the newer browsers, they should actually be able to play those animations.

Using Fireworks for your PNG development gives you more freedom as MM made it the proprietary format for FW.

If I still worked for MM I would be able to pull the specs out for you, but I know they made the PNG format better in FW MX.

Anyways, Im rambling

Macro

i'm pretty sure PNG isn't just limited to 256 colors like GIF, but i'm sure someone will correct me if i'm wrong. it's supposed to have some special transparency properties too (like you can have different levels of transparency). it's superior in every way to GIF.

It has some innate gamma correction, well you can learn more about PNG here, http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-png

I didn't read about being able to have more than 256 colors though unfortunately :(

you can get 24bit (16.7 million colours) and 48 bit (281 trillion) PNG's although there is the "optimized pallette" 256 colour version.. now, the main difference for my uses between standard GIF and a PNG is the alpha channel - a GIF only supports 1 colour alpha, leaving shitty pixelated edges, whereas a PNG has a full alpha channel giving it millions of alpha colours - allowing for fine gradiated edges and feathering.. PNG is a superior format.. but i still only use PNG's in flash.

I'm curious how jpeg 2000 is coming along or jp2. It's a lot better than jpeg supposedly but not streamable yet unfortunately... that i know of ...

PNG has 8-bit (256 color - like GIF) and true color modes.