New image format a great step forward for digital preservation
New image format a great step forward for digital preservation
20 February 2008
The Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) has examined JPEG 2000 in a report published today, www.dpconline.org/graphics/reports/index.html#jpeg2000. The report concludes that JPEG 2000 represents a great stride forward for the archival community.
The original standard for digital images popularly referred to as JPEG was developed just over 15 years ago by the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) committee. Most computer users will be familiar with the phrase ´jpeg´ or the shortened ´jpg´ as a suffix to digital images.
With the major increase in computer technology since then, it was felt to be time for a new standard capable of handling many more aspects than simply making the digital image files as small as possible, which it has done as well. So JPEG 2000 - a wavelet-based image compression standard created in 2000 - was born.
Practical digital preservation standard
The findings come as the Digital Preservation Coalition launch its latest ´Technology Watch Report´, written by Dr Robert Buckley, a research fellow with Xerox, ´JPEG 2000 - a practical digital preservation standard?´ The report is an in-depth look at the new format and the challenges with which it has to cope.
Interest in JPEG 2000 is now growing in the archival and library sectors, as institutions look for more efficient formats to store the results of major digitisation programmes.
The report is aimed at organisations involved in the management and storage of digital information. The in-depth report will help archives, libraries and other institutions make informed decisions about the JPEG 2000 format and their future storage needs.
Improved quality and speed
As well as being better at compressing images - up to 20 per cent plus, it can allow an image to be retained without any distortion or loss. Dr. Buckley says, "This new format has come at a time of heightened awareness about the access to digital documents. Any format that can assist archives and libraries to do this is welcome."
The format will also enable users to open as much of the file as they need at that time, thus making it much quicker to open.
Adrian Brown, head of digital preservation at The National Archives said: "This is a very timely addition to the DPC's Technology Watch Report series as many organisations are themselves reviewing the JPEG 2000 format. This concise, comprehensive and clear guide will be of interest to practitioners across the digital preservation community."
The report concludes that JPEG 2000 offers much more flexibility and features than JPEG, but at the cost of greater complexity. It is however a great stride forward, and of major significance for the information management community.
Find out more about The National Archives' work in the field of digital preservation.
