PBM — Netpbm Test Image (P4)
A 256×256 fruit still-life image as binary Netpbm P4 (1-bit bitmap) — the minimal, header-plus-raw-pixels family used across Unix imaging tools. For testing Netpbm parsers and conversion.
Rendered preview of the pbm file (8 KB). Download above for the original.
Specifications
- Format
- Netpbm P4
- Width
- 256
- Height
- 256
- Mode
- 1
- Depth
- 1-bit bitmap
- Encoding
- binary
What is a .pbm file?
PBM (Portable Bitmap) is the simplest Netpbm format, storing 1-bit black-and-white images as ASCII or packed binary bits after a short text header. It uses no compression and represents each pixel as a single on or off value. It is used for bilevel masks and toolchain intermediates.
How to use this file
Use an example PBM to test bilevel image parsing, bit-packing handling, and pipelines that produce or consume black-and-white masks.
How to use this file for testing
“PBM — Netpbm Test Image (P4)” is a deterministic Novus Examples fixture for Conversion testing. The same content exported across many formats and linked as a group, so you can convert one and diff against the expected twin.
Documented properties for this file: 256×256 · binary · Netpbm P4. Compare results against paired or grouped companions on this page when present (clean↔damaged, searchable↔scanned, or format twins) so scores stay reproducible across runs.
Download the file once, keep the path stable in CI or local scripts, and treat the spec table as the contract: dimensions, seeds, field lists, and roles are intentional. Corrupt or invalid samples are labelled as such — expect parsers to fail loudly rather than silently accept them.
For image AI or enhancement tools, run the model or filter on this file and diff against the clean or ground-truth companion in the same group when available. Keep seeds and documented damage parameters in your evaluation notes so regressions are attributable.
Code examples
<img src="testcard.pbm" alt="Example image" width="640" loading="lazy">Related files
- apngAPNG — Animated SpinnerA 12-frame animated PNG (APNG) of a rotating arc — a lossless, alpha-capable alternative to animated GIF. Useful for testing APNG support, frame extraction, and GIF↔APNG conversion.
- icoICO — Multi-Resolution App IconA Windows ICO containing four square sizes (16/32/48/64 px) of a simple app glyph — the classic favicon/desktop-icon container. Handy for testing icon extraction and multi-size rendering.
- pgmPGM — Netpbm Test Image (P5)A 256×256 fruit still-life image as binary Netpbm P5 (8-bit greyscale) — the minimal, header-plus-raw-pixels family used across Unix imaging tools. For testing Netpbm parsers and conversion.
- ppmPPM — Netpbm Test Image (P6)A 256×256 fruit still-life image as binary Netpbm P6 (24-bit colour) — the minimal, header-plus-raw-pixels family used across Unix imaging tools. For testing Netpbm parsers and conversion.
- tgaTGA — Truevision Test ImageA 256×256 fruit still-life image saved as uncompressed Truevision TGA — a format common in games and 3D texturing. For testing TGA decoders and conversion to modern formats.
- png16-bit Grayscale PNG (deep colour)A 16-bit (deep-colour) grayscale PNG holding a smooth 0–65535 gradient — for testing high-bit-depth support and spotting banding when a tool truncates to 8-bit.
Generated by generation/images_formats2.py. Free for any use, no attribution required — license.