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Image MIME Reference
Epson-ERF

Epson Raw Format

image/x-epson-erf
VS

JPEG 2000 Compound Image File Format

image/jpm
JPM

A complete technical comparison of Epson Raw Format and JPEG 2000 Compound Image File Format — covering compression, feature support, browser compatibility, magic bytes, and when to choose each format.

Equal browser support

Feature Support

Feature Epson-ERF JPM
Transparency (Alpha) ✕ No Yes
Animation Support ✕ No ✕ No
Progressive Loading ✕ No Yes
HDR Support Yes ✕ No
EXIF Metadata Yes Yes
ICC Color Profile ✕ No Yes
Epson Raw Format
image/x-epson-erf
Extension
.erf
Container TIFF/EP
Compression Uncompressed / Lossless JPEG (ITU-T81)
Algorithm
NoneLossless JPEG
Color Depth 12-bit (Per Channel)
Developed by Seiko Epson Corporation
Released 2004
Magic Bytes
49 49 2A 00 or 4D 4D 00 2A
Full Epson-ERF reference →
JPEG 2000 Compound Image File Format
image/jpm
Extension
.jpm.jpgm
Container ISOBMFF / JPM (ISO/IEC 15444-6)
Compression Lossy / Lossless / Mixed Raster Content (MRC)
Algorithm
JPEG 2000JBIG2JPEGMMR
Color Depth 1-bit (Text/Masks), 8-bit, 16-bit, 24-bit
Developed by Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG)
Released 2003
Magic Bytes
00 00 00 0C 6A 50 20 20 0D 0A 87 0A ... 66 74 79 70 6A 70 6D 20
Full JPM reference →

Browser Support Comparison

Browser Epson-ERF JPM
Chrome Chrome
✕ ✕
Firefox Firefox
✕ ✕
Safari Safari
✕ ✕
Edge Edge
✕ ✕
IE IE (Legacy)
✕ ✕
Epson-ERF

Epson-ERF Strengths

  • Preserves original raw sensor data, allowing extreme recovery of highlights and shadows compared to in-camera JPEGs
  • Utilizes the standard TIFF container structure, making it relatively easy for open-source software (like dcraw and LibRaw) to parse and decode
Limitations
  • Completely obsolete proprietary format tied to a defunct line of digital cameras
  • Requires parsing EXIF metadata to differentiate it from standard TIFF files programmatically
  • Cannot be natively viewed in web browsers or standard operating system image viewers without specialized codecs
JPM

JPM Strengths

  • Highly optimized for scanned documents, drastically reducing file sizes without sacrificing the readability of text or the quality of embedded photos
  • Supports multi-page documents within a single file
  • Object-based architecture allows for complex layout representation and independent extraction of elements
Limitations
  • Failed to achieve widespread adoption, largely being overshadowed by PDF/A and DjVu
  • Zero native web browser compatibility
  • Requires complex, specialized software to properly encode and decode the multi-layered MRC structure

When to choose which format

Epson-ERF
Use Epson-ERF when…
  • Vintage Digital Photography (Epson R-D1)
  • Non-destructive Image Post-Processing
  • Raw Imaging Archival
JPM
Use JPM when…
  • Scanned Document Archiving
  • Mixed Raster Content (MRC) Imaging
  • Digital Libraries

More comparisons

Epson-ERF vs ACES → JPM vs ACES → Epson-ERF vs APNG → JPM vs APNG → Epson-ERF vs AVCI → JPM vs AVCI → Epson-ERF vs AVCS → JPM vs AVCS → Epson-ERF vs AVIF → JPM vs AVIF → All comparisons →
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