Transparency with TGA image format

The TGA file format supports to read and write of 1, 4, 8, 16, 24 bits per pixel. Targa is used for defining raster or bitmap images. This image format is pretty outdated, but is still functional and supports color maps, alpha channel, gamma value, and textual information. There are two variations of the TGA format – 24-bit and 32-bit. The 32-bit Targa format contains 24 bits of color data and 8 bits of transparency data. Color support ranges from black and white, indexed and RGB color. 32-bit TGA supports the alpha channel, and that’s what makes it different from a 24-bit TGA. Saving images as 32-bit TGA is advisable only with reference to images requiring transparency. Fully opaque images should be saved as 24-bit. Using 32-bit unnecessarily increases an image’s file size by 33%, and can cause display problems. ImageConverter Plus provides support for both variations of the TGA image format for both input and output conversion.