JBIG2 Image Conversion and Viewers

Snowbound Software offers powerful support for JBIG2 — both viewing and saving. JBIG2 compression is currently available in our RasterMaster Windows Imaging SDK (ActiveX, DLL, and .NET). JBIG2 viewing is available across all platforms including Java. Using our imaging SDK you now have the ability to build powerful applications for image and document manipulation that include the extremely powerful black and white compression JBIG2 provides.   Of special interest is support for JBIG2 within PDF documents, offering you the ability to create highly compressed documents that are easily readable by Adobe Acrobat as well as Snowbound products.

Document Compression

• Our RasterMaster Imaging SDK allows you to build viewing and conversion applications that utilize JBIG2 compression, as well as over 100 other formats and that provide 140 expert imaging functions. JBIG2 compression works especially well with PDF documents, allowing compression without sacrificing image quality, and scanned documents or faxes.

• SnowBatch, our batch conversion application, provides you the capability to perform rapid batch conversion right from your desktop or server.  The easy-to-use interface will enable you to quickly compress your files using JBIG2.

What is JBIG2?

JBIG2 is a highly-compressed black and white image format that uses symbol recognition and substitution for very dramatic compression results. Any black and white image can be compressed using JBIG2 including images stored as Group 4, Group 3, MO:DCA, TIFF, PDF and others.

The JBIG2 compression algorithm works by searching for groups of pixels that are arranged in similar shapes and using them to define a symbol. Rather than retaining information on the placement of each pixel, a table is created for common symbols. This allows users to see incredible reductions in file sizes. Compression rates of up to 100:1 compared to uncompressed black and white TIFFs are possible.

Important: As we all know document and image specifications are intentionally loosely written and rarely updated. As a result many applications create documents “incorrectly” and they do not adhere to the latest specifications.

In order to maintain the highest ethical standards and help provide customers with the most positive user experience, Snowbound Software recommends that, as part of your purchase process, you test your own sample documents against our products.  Snowbound, unlike most competitors, develops its own technology. If in the rare case you come across a problem or non-conforming document or image, we can often fix it.