Computer Hardware Terms, Glossary and Dictionary

A raster graphics image, also known as digital image or bitmap, is a data file or structure representing a generally rectangular grid of pixels, or points of color, on a computer monitor, paper, or other display device. The color of each pixel is individually defined; images in the RGB color space, for instance, often consist of colored pixels defined by three bytes—one byte each for red, green and blue. Less colorful images require less information per pixel; an image with only black and white pixels requires only a single bit for each pixel. Raster graphics are distinguished from vector graphics in that vector graphics represent an image through the use of geometric objects such as curves and polygons.

Related Terms

Raster graphics