Quick Facts 2 of 4
Primary Purpose
PNG's primary purpose is the lossless storage and exchange of raster images while supporting portability, compression, image integrity, and optional transparency.
It is particularly suited to raster imagery where preserving the encoded pixel information is important, including artwork with:
- transparency
- sharp edges
- text
- line art
- flat-color graphics
- screenshots
- interface elements
- digital illustrations
PNG can serve as a final digital image, an exported design asset, or an artwork input for compatible production workflows.
PNG is not primarily an editable design format or machine-instruction format. It does not inherently preserve editable vector paths, design layers, CAD geometry, embroidery stitch instructions, CNC toolpaths, or other production-specific structures.
Primary Purpose at a Glance
- 1
Create or edit image
- 2
Export as PNG
- 3
Lossless raster image
- 1
Digital Use
- 2
File Exchange
- 3
Production Input