PNG (Geospatial)

.png

Supported

PNG (Portable Network Graphics) is an image format supporting lossless compression and an Alpha transparency channel. In GIS, PNG is often paired with world files (.pgw) and projection files (.prj) to carry georeferencing — suitable for raster tiles and map graphics that need a transparent background.

Specifications

Standard: W3C

MIME: image/png

Key Features

Lossless compression, no quality loss
Supports Alpha transparency channel
Carries georeferencing via world files

Advantages

Small file size, ideal for web transfer
Natively previewable in browsers

Limitations

8-bit color only, not for high dynamic range
Georeferencing requires external world files

Common Use Cases

Map tiles and basemaps
Raster graphics with transparency

Related Tools

PNG → GEOTIFF PNG → JPG GEOTIFF → PNG

View All Formats

GeoTIFF ASCII Grid (AAIGrid)JPEG (Geospatial)MBTiles WebP (Geospatial)