PBM vs PGM
PGM stores one grayscale sample per pixel. It is suitable for grayscale processing and masks; exporting a colour image requires a deliberate luminance conversion and removes colour information.
Image format
PBM
Portable Bitmap: simple uncompressed raster samples for image-processing pipelines.
Explore the format
Convert PBM to
Choose a target format for your PBM images.
JPEGJPEGPBM → JPEGPNGPNGPBM → PNGWebPWebPPBM → WebPAVIFAVIFPBM → AVIFHEICHEICPBM → HEICHEIFHEIFPBM → HEIF
All 21 conversions
Marked paths may need steps such as flattening, rasterization, tone mapping or animation loss.
Convert to PBM
Choose a source format to convert to PBM.
JPEGJPEGJPEG → PBMWith caveatPNGPNGPNG → PBMWith caveatWebPWebPWebP → PBMWith caveatAVIFAVIFAVIF → PBMWith caveatHEICHEICHEIC → PBMWith caveatHEIFHEIFHEIF → PBMWith caveat
All 36 conversions
GIFGIFGIF → PBMWith caveatTIFFTIFFTIFF → PBMWith caveatBMPBMPBMP → PBMWith caveatSVGSVGSVG → PBMICOICOICO → PBMWith caveatJPEG XLJPEG XLJPEG XL → PBMWith caveatJPEG 2000JPEG 2000JPEG 2000 → PBMWith caveatQOIQOIQOI → PBMWith caveatTGATGATGA → PBMWith caveatPCXPCXPCX → PBMWith caveatPPMPPMPPM → PBMWith caveatPGMPGMPGM → PBMWith caveatPAMPAMPAM → PBMWith caveatHDRHDRHDR → PBMWith caveatEXREXREXR → PBMWith caveatPSDPSDPSD → PBMWith caveatPDFPDFPDF → PBMWith caveatDNGDNGDNG → PBMWith caveatCanon CR2Canon CR2Canon CR2 → PBMWith caveatCanon CR3Canon CR3Canon CR3 → PBMWith caveatCanon CRWCanon CRWCanon CRW → PBMWith caveatNikon NEFNikon NEFNikon NEF → PBMWith caveatSony ARWSony ARWSony ARW → PBMWith caveatFujifilm RAFFujifilm RAFFujifilm RAF → PBMWith caveatOlympus ORFOlympus ORFOlympus ORF → PBMWith caveatPanasonic RW2Panasonic RW2Panasonic RW2 → PBMWith caveatPentax PEFPentax PEFPentax PEF → PBMWith caveatSigma X3FSigma X3FSigma X3F → PBMWith caveatKodak RAWKodak RAWKodak RAW → PBMWith caveatHasselblad 3FRHasselblad 3FRHasselblad 3FR → PBMWith caveat
Marked paths may need steps such as flattening, rasterization, tone mapping or animation loss.
About PBM
Portable Bitmap
PBM is the original Netpbm-family format for black-and-white raster images. Each pixel is either white or black, without intermediate gray levels or colour components. Its minimal structure was designed for trouble-free interchange, including a textual representation that could pass through early email systems.
P1 uses textual zeroes and ones; P4 packs pixels into bits with row padding. In PBM, one means black and zero means white, a convention that should not be confused with grayscale intensity. There is no alpha, animation or compression. A binary file uses one bit per pixel apart from header and row-padding overhead.
Use PBM for bitonal line art, binary masks and thresholded processing results. A photo or grayscale scan needs thresholding or dithering before it fits this model. That reduction discards continuous tonal information; converting PBM to an RGB format can colour the two states but cannot recreate the original shading.
Key capabilities
Netpbm stores these samples without compression. Reducing colour, thresholding or changing maxval can still lose information before storage; text and binary representations change the layout, not its image meaning.
History of PBM
This format belongs to the documented Pbmplus/Netpbm evolution. The history distinguishes the original bitmap idea, later channel models and library development.
PBM compared
Different formats, different trade-offs. Choose for the image and the workflow.
PBM vs PPM
PPM stores three RGB samples per pixel without compression or alpha. It is easy to inspect in processing pipelines, but sacrifices compactness and rich metadata; select it when direct sample interchange is the priority.
PBM vs PAM
PAM extends Netpbm with explicit tuple types and depths, including RGB_ALPHA and GRAYSCALE_ALPHA. It suits channel-aware processing, but receiving tools must agree on the tuple meaning and it remains uncompressed.
PBM vs PNG
PNG preserves decoded pixels losslessly and can carry alpha. It is useful for transparent graphics and screenshots; it does not preserve editable document layers or camera sensor data, and photographic files can be large.
PBM FAQ
What does this format store?
PBM is the original Netpbm-family format for black-and-white raster images. Each pixel is either white or black, without intermediate gray levels or colour components. Its minimal structure was designed for trouble-free interchange, including a textual representation that could pass through early email systems.
How does compression affect quality?
Netpbm stores these samples without compression. Reducing colour, thresholding or changing maxval can still lose information before storage; text and binary representations change the layout, not its image meaning.
Can PBM keep gray shading?
No. It stores only black and white. Dithering approximates gray with spatial patterns of those two values; PGM is the related format for actual gray samples.
What should I check before opening the file?
Check the magic number, sample precision and tuple or channel meaning. Many simple readers accept only one binary image and 8-bit samples even though the specifications permit more.
What changes when I export to another format?
Preserve maxval and colour interpretation when creating the rendered output. Grayscale and bitonal targets remove information deliberately; alpha requires an alpha-bearing tuple or a separate mask. Optional comments may not transfer.
When is this format useful?
Use PBM for bitonal line art, binary masks and thresholded processing results. A photo or grayscale scan needs thresholding or dithering before it fits this model. That reduction discards continuous tonal information; converting PBM to an RGB format can colour the two states but cannot recreate the original shading.