ICO vs PPM
Ein detaillierter Vergleich von ICO Icon und PPM Color Image — Dateigröße, Qualität, Kompatibilität und welches je nach Workflow zu wählen ist.
ICO Icon
Raster & Vector ImagesICO is the icon file format used for favicons and Windows application icons. A single ICO file can contain multiple image sizes and color depths for different display contexts.
Über ICO-DateienPPM Color Image
Raster & Vector ImagesPPM (Portable Pixmap) stores color images in a simple uncompressed format.
Über PPM-DateienVorteilsvergleich
ICO Vorteile
- Multi-resolution: one file, many sizes, OS picks the right one.
- Universal favicon support in every browser since IE5.
- Supports transparency (1-bit since 1985, full alpha since XP).
- Tiny file size — an entire favicon pack typically fits in under 15 KB.
- No licensing or patent concerns — fully in the public domain spec-wise.
PPM Vorteile
- Simplest possible RGB image format.
- Ideal Unix pipeline intermediate.
- Universal tool support via Netpbm.
- Lossless — no JPEG-style artifacts.
- Supports 16-bit per channel for scientific precision.
Einschränkungen
ICO Einschränkungen
- Cannot compress continuous-tone images efficiently — use PNG or WebP for photos.
- Format is essentially frozen in 1999 — no HDR, no wide gamut, no modern features.
- Maximum image dimension is 256×256 px (inside an ICO container).
- Editing requires specialized tools — most image editors treat it as a curiosity.
PPM Einschränkungen
- No compression — files are huge.
- No color profile, metadata, or transparency.
- Strictly pipeline intermediate, not delivery.
Technische Spezifikationen
| Spezifikation | ICO | PPM |
|---|---|---|
| MIME type | image/vnd.microsoft.icon | image/x-portable-pixmap |
| Max resolutions per file | 65 535 images | — |
| Max single image size | 256×256 px | — |
| Color depths | 1, 4, 8, 24, 32 bits per pixel | — |
| Compression | Uncompressed bitmap or embedded PNG (Vista+) | — |
| Extension | — | .ppm |
| Variants | — | P3 (ASCII), P6 (binary) |
| Bit depth | — | 8 or 16 bits per channel (24 or 48-bit RGB) |
| Siblings | — | .pbm (1-bit), .pgm (grayscale), .pnm (umbrella) |
Typische Dateigrößen
ICO
- Classic favicon (16×16 only) < 2 KB
- Multi-size favicon pack (16/32/48/256) 5-15 KB
- Full Windows app icon set 20-100 KB
PPM
- 1920×1080 RGB 8-bit (binary P6) ~6 MB
- 1920×1080 RGB 16-bit ~12 MB
- 4K RGB 8-bit ~24 MB
Bereit zum Umwandeln?
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Häufig gestellte Fragen
ICO (Icon) is Microsoft's 1985 multi-resolution icon format, originally shipped with Windows 1.0. A single .ico file holds multiple sizes (16×16, 32×32, 48×48, 256×256) so the OS can pick the best one for the current display context. Since 1999, every website uses a favicon.ico to show its icon in browser tabs.
On Windows, ICO files open natively in File Explorer and Photos. On macOS, Preview handles basic display. For editing, use GIMP (free), Photoshop with a plugin, or dedicated icon editors like IcoFX.
Use the PNG-to-ICO converter on KaijuConverter — upload a PNG (ideally square, at least 256×256) and download a multi-resolution ICO with all standard favicon sizes embedded.
A complete favicon pack includes 16×16, 32×32, 48×48, and 256×256 px variants all in one ICO file. The total file size is typically 5-15 KB. Browsers automatically pick the right size for tabs, bookmarks, and desktop shortcuts.
ICO for /favicon.ico (every browser requests this URL automatically). PNG for everywhere else — social media profile images, in-page icons, app logos. Modern favicon best practice includes both an .ico at the root and multiple .png sizes referenced via <link> tags in HTML.
Yes. Every browser still requests /favicon.ico on every domain as its first icon fallback. Modern sites typically provide both favicon.ico and higher-quality SVG or PNG icons via <link rel="icon"> tags — browsers pick the best match.