
JBIG-KIT lossless image compression library
-------------------------------------------

by Markus Kuhn


The latest release of JBIG-KIT can be downloaded from

  http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/jbigkit/

JBIG-KIT implements a highly effective data compression algorithm for
bi-level high-resolution images such as fax pages or scanned
documents.

JBIG-KIT provides a portable library of compression and decompression
functions with a documented interface. You can very easily include
into your image or document processing software. In addition, JBIG-KIT
provides ready-to-use compression and decompression programs with a
simple command line interface (similar to the converters found in Jef
Poskanzer's PBM graphics file conversion package).

JBIG-KIT implements the specification

  International Standard ISO/IEC 11544:1993 and ITU-T Recommendation
  T.82(1993), "Information technology - Coded representation of picture
  and audio information - progressive bi-level image compression",
  <http://www.itu.int/rec/recommendation.asp?type=folders&parent=T-REC-T.82>,

which is commonly referred to as the "JBIG1 standard". JBIG (Joint
Bi-level Image experts Group) is the committee which developed this
international standard for the lossless compression of images using
arithmetic coding. Like the well-known compression algorithms JPEG and
MPEG, JBIG has also been developed and published by the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU). See also

  http://www.jbig.org/jbighomepage.html
  http://www.iso.ch/
  http://www.itu.int/

The JBIG compression algorithm offers the following features:

  - Close to state-of-the-art lossless compression ratio for high
    resolution bi-level images.

  - About 1.1 to 1.5 times better compression ratio on typical
    scanned documents compared to G4 fax compression (ITU-T T.6),
    which has been the best compression algorithm for scanned
    documents available prior to JBIG.

  - Up to 30 times better compression of scanned images with dithered
    images compared to G4 fax compression.

  - About 2 times better compression on typical 300 dpi documents
    compared to 'gzip -9' on raw bitmaps.
    
  - About 3-4 times better compression than GIF on typical 300 dpi
    documents.

  - Even much better competitive compression results on computer
    generated images which are free of scanning distortions.

  - JBIG supports hierarchical "progressive" encoding, that means it is
    possible to encode a low resolution image first, followed by
    resolution enhancement data. This allows, for instance, a document
    browser to display already a good 75 dpi low resolution version of
    an image, while the data necessary to reconstruct the full 300 dpi
    version for laser printer reproduction is still arriving (say
    over a slow network link or mass storage medium).

  - The various resolution layers of a JBIG image in progressive
    encoding mode together require not much more space than a
    normal non-progressive mode encoded image (which JBIG also
    supports).

  - The progressive encoding mode utilizes a quite sophisticated
    resolution reduction algorithm which offers high quality low
    resolution versions that preserve the shape of characters as well
    as the integrity of thin lines and dithered images.

  - JBIG supports multiple bit planes and can this way also be used
    for grayscale and color images, although the main field of
    application is compression of bi-level images, i.e. images with
    only two different pixel values. For grayscale images with up to
    6 bit per pixel, JBIG performs superior to JPEG's lossless
    mode.

JBIG-KIT is free software under the GNU General Public License. Other
license arrangements suitable for commercial applications are
available as well, please contact the author for details. JBIG-KIT
provides a portable library implemented in ANSI/ISO C for encoding and
decoding JBIG data streams, along with documentation. The library is
not intended for 8-bit or 16-bit machine architectures (e.g., old
MS-DOS C compilers) on which a number of very efficient optimization
techniques used in this software are not possible. For maximum
performance, a 32-bit processor is required (64-bit systems work too,
of course). On architectures with 16-bit pointer arithmetic, only very
small images can be processed.

Special features of the JBIG-KIT implementation are:

  - Fully reentrant multithread-capable design (no global or static
    variables, isolated malloc()/free() calls, etc.).

  - Capable of handling incomplete and growing JBIG data streams in
    order to allow earliest display of low resolution versions.

  - Capable of handling several incoming data streams simultaneously
    in one single process and thread.

  - Especially designed with applications in mind that want to display
    incoming data as early as possible (e.g., similar to the way in
    which Netscape Navigator handles incoming GIF images).

  - Implements all JBIG features and options including progressive and
    sequential encoding, multiple bit planes, user specified
    resolution reduction and deterministic prediction tables, adaptive
    template changes for optimal performance on half-tone images,
    deterministic prediction, typical prediction in lowest and
    differential layers, various stripe orderings, etc. Only the SEQ
    and HITOLO options are currently not supported by the decoder
    (they are normally never required, but could be added later in
    case of user requirements).

  - Suitable for fax applications, satisfies ITU-T T.85 profile

  - Efficient code, optimized utilization of 32-bit processor
    registers.

  - Very easy to use documented C library interface.

  - Included Gray code conversion routines for efficient encoding
    of grayscale images.

  - Ready-to-use pbmtojbg and jbgtopbm converters.

I will try to provide free support and maintenance for this software
for the foreseeable future, depending on my available time.

Happy compressing ...

Markus Kuhn

--
Markus Kuhn, Computer Laboratory, University of Cambridge
http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/ || CB3 0FD, Great Britain
