Image MIME Reference
BMP
Windows Bitmap (Legacy Windows MIME Alias)
image/x-windows-bmp
VS
Clip Studio Paint Document
image/vnd.clip
CLIP
A complete technical comparison of Windows Bitmap (Legacy Windows MIME Alias) and Clip Studio Paint Document — covering compression, feature support, browser compatibility, magic bytes, and when to choose each format.
BMP wins on browser support
Feature Support
| Feature | BMP | CLIP |
|---|---|---|
| Transparency (Alpha) | Yes | Yes |
| Animation Support | ✕ No | Yes |
| Progressive Loading | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| HDR Support | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| EXIF Metadata | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| ICC Color Profile | Yes | Yes |
Windows Bitmap (Legacy Windows MIME Alias)
image/x-windows-bmp
Extension
.bmp.dib
Container
DIB (Device-Independent Bitmap)
Compression
Uncompressed / Run-Length Encoding (RLE)
Algorithm
NoneRLE4RLE8
Color Depth
1-bit (Monochrome), 4-bit (16 colors), 8-bit (256 colors), 16-bit (High Color), 24-bit (True Color), 32-bit (True Color with Alpha)
Developed by
Microsoft Corporation
Released
1985
Magic Bytes
42 4D
Clip Studio Paint Document
image/vnd.clip
Extension
.clip.lip
Container
SQLite 3 Database
Compression
Proprietary Blob Compression (within SQLite)
Algorithm
Proprietary (Celsys Blob Encoding)
Color Depth
8-bit (Monochrome), 8-bit (Grayscale), 24-bit (RGB), 32-bit (CMYK)
Developed by
Celsys, Inc.
Released
2012
Magic Bytes
53 51 4C 69 74 65 20 66 6F 72 6D 61 74 20 33 00
Browser Support Comparison
| Browser | BMP | CLIP |
|---|---|---|
Chrome
|
✓ 1
|
✕ |
Firefox
|
✓ 1
|
✕ |
Safari
|
✓ 1
|
✕ |
Edge
|
✓ 12
|
✕ |
IE (Legacy)
|
✓
|
✕ |
BMP
BMP Strengths
- Universally supported by all major operating systems and modern web browsers
- Maintains perfect, lossless fidelity because pixel data is stored without lossy compression artifacts
Limitations
- Massive file size overhead due to a lack of modern compression algorithms
- Legacy MIME strings like 'image/x-windows-bmp' can trigger validation warnings in strict security or API environments if unhandled
CLIP
CLIP Strengths
- SQLite backend provides incredibly robust data integrity, preventing catastrophic project loss if the application crashes during a save
- Allows for massive multi-page comic projects and animation timelines to be handled efficiently without loading the entire project into RAM simultaneously
- Industry standard for manga, anime, and webtoon professional workflows
Limitations
- Heavily closed-source and proprietary, meaning no third-party applications (like ImageMagick or GIMP) can parse or render the files
- Standard MIME identification tools will misidentify the file as a generic SQLite database, causing friction in automated file-upload validations
- Zero web browser support
When to choose which format
BMP
Use BMP when…
- Legacy Windows Desktop Registry Associations
- Older Enterprise Intranet Applications
- Windows Graphics Archival
CLIP
Use CLIP when…
- Digital Illustration and Concept Art
- Manga and Webtoon Production
- 2D Frame-by-Frame Animation
- High-Resolution Print Production