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About Color Depth
Color depth represents the number of bits used to store the color of a pixel in an image. It is also called bit depth and pixel depth.
The color depth determines the number of colors each pixel in an image can display. Greater color depth means a pixel can display more colors and as a result of this, the image can be more accurate.
Paint Express supports images with the following color depths: 1, 4, 8, 24 and 32-bit.
- 1-bit images use 1 bit to store the color of a pixel. Such images can display 2 colors (for icons and cursors - standard 2-color palette: black and white; for bitmaps - customizable 2-color palette).Note. 1-bit images are also called monochrome images.
- 4-bit images use 4 bits to store the color of a pixel. Such images can display 16 colors (for icons and cursors - standard 16-color palette; for bitmaps - customizable 16-color palette).
- 8-bit images use 8 bits to store the color of a pixel. Such images can display 256 colors (customizable 256-color palette).
- 24-bit images use 24 bits to store the color of a pixel. Such images can display 16.7 million colors (true colors).
- Note. Paint Express uses the following name for 24-bit images: True Colors images.
- 32-bit images use 32 bits to store the color of a pixel (24 bits store the color itself and 8 bits store its opacity). Such images can display 16.7 million colors (true colors). They also contain information about the opacity of each pixel. 32-bit images may contain transparent or partially transparent areas. The 8 bits that store the opacity are called alpha channel. 32-bit images are supported by Windows XP.
- Note. Paint Express uses the following names for 32-bit images: Windows XP and Win XP images.
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