WebP Format: Google's Modern Image Standard
WebP is an image format created by Google in 2010 supporting both lossy and lossless compression. Lossy WebP uses VP8 video codec technology. Lossless WebP uses a prediction-based algorithm. Both modes produce smaller files than JPEG and PNG at equivalent visual quality.
As of 2024, WebP is supported by Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari, and Opera — covering 97%+ of global web traffic.
WebP Compression and OCR Performance
WebP lossy compression introduces fewer block artifacts than JPEG at the same file size. JPEG uses 8×8 pixel DCT blocks. WebP uses variable-size prediction blocks that better follow text edges, resulting in 2-3% higher OCR accuracy compared to JPEG files of the same size.
- Lossy WebP: 25-34% smaller than JPEG. OCR accuracy 96-99%.
- Lossless WebP: 26% smaller than PNG. OCR accuracy 98-99.9%.
- Animated WebP: Only the first frame is extracted for OCR processing.