BMP (Bitmap Image File)

BMP is an uncompressed raster image format native to Microsoft Windows. It stores pixel data with no compression, resulting in very large files but zero quality loss. BMP is primarily used in Windows system graphics and as an intermediate format during image processing.

MIME Type

image/bmp

Type

Binary

Compression

Lossless

Advantages

+ Zero compression means zero quality loss
+ Simple format easy to read and write programmatically
+ Native Windows support without external libraries

Disadvantages

− Extremely large file sizes
− Not suitable for web delivery
− Limited browser support outside Windows

When to Use .BMP

Use BMP only when uncompressed pixel data is required, such as in Windows system programming or as a lossless intermediate format.

Technical Details

BMP stores pixel data in a device-independent bitmap with optional RLE compression. It supports 1-bit through 32-bit color depths including 8-bit alpha channels.

History

BMP was introduced with Windows 1.0 in 1985 as the native image format for the OS/2 and Windows platforms. It has been updated several times with the latest version supporting ICC color profiles.

Convert from .BMP

.bmp → .avif .bmp → .gif .bmp → .heic .bmp → .heif .bmp → .ico .bmp → .jpeg .bmp → .jpg .bmp → .jxl .bmp → .png .bmp → .psd .bmp → .qoi .bmp → .raw .bmp → .tif .bmp → .tiff .bmp → .webp

Convert to .BMP

.avif → .bmp .gif → .bmp .heic → .bmp .heif → .bmp .ico → .bmp .jpeg → .bmp .jpg → .bmp .jxl → .bmp .png → .bmp .psd → .bmp .qoi → .bmp .raw → .bmp .tif → .bmp .tiff → .bmp .webp → .bmp

Related Formats

.ai .apng .arw .avif .cr2 .dng .eps .gif .heic .heif .ico .jpeg .jpg .jxl .nef .png .psd .qoi .raw .svg .tif .tiff .webp .xcf

Related Terms

BMP FLIF

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