CONVERT BMP → PCX (BMP to PCX)
Fast, secure BMP to PCX conversion. No registration required.
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Automatic format identification and lossless transcoding across 201+ formats.
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EXIF & Color Verification Audit ISO Verified
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GPS Coordinates (37.1773° N, 3.5986° W): Stripped (Zero Location Leak)
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Device Serial & Lens ID: Stripped (EXIF / IPTC / XMP Clean)
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Color Space Profile: Display P3 → sRGB IEC61966-2.1
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Chroma Subsampling: 4:4:4 High Fidelity (High-fidelity algorithmic conversion)
HOW TO CONVERT BMP → PCX
Drop the BMP file
Drag and drop or click to upload your BMP. The image is transferred securely over HTTPS and queued for conversion.
Re-encode with ImageMagick
ImageMagick decodes every pixel of the BMP and writes a matching PCX with sensible default quality settings.
Download the PCX
The converted PCX is ready to download as a single file; both files delete automatically within two hours.
Here is the short version — BMP is the uncompressed Windows bitmap format — bulky but pixel-perfect. Hence the need for PCX. If you have ended up with a BMP and need a PCX, the mismatch is almost always about where the image is going next rather than the picture itself. Our server reads the BMP with ImageMagick, decodes each pixel, and re-writes it as a PCX using defaults tuned for fidelity first and file size second. Background. BMP is the uncompressed Windows bitmap format — bulky but pixel-perfect. Destination side, PCX is the legacy ZSoft/PC Paintbrush bitmap format from the DOS era.
Why convert BMP to PCX
Both BMP and PCX describe a grid of pixels — the difference lies in how that grid is compressed, whether transparency is supported, and which software opens it natively. Moving from BMP to PCX is worth it when the PCX ecosystem is broader for your use case, or when PCX compresses photographs more efficiently than BMP.
BMP vs PCX — Technical specifications
Side-by-side comparison of the technical details.
BMP
- MIME type
- image/bmp
- Extensions
- .bmp, .dib
- Compression
- None (typical); RLE 4/8 bit (rare)
- Color depths
- 1, 4, 8, 16, 24, 32 bits per pixel
- Byte order
- Little-endian
- MIME Type
- image/bmp
- Extension
- .bmp
- Category
- Raster & Vector Images
- Full Name
- BMP Image
- Conversion Engine
- IMAGEMAGICK
PCX
- MIME type
- image/x-pcx
- Compression
- Run-Length Encoding (RLE)
- MIME Type
- image/x-pcx
- Extension
- .pcx
- Category
- Raster & Vector Images
- Full Name
- PCX Image
- Conversion Engine
- IMAGEMAGICK
- Header
- 128 bytes fixed
- Creator
- ZSoft Corporation (1985)
| Specification | BMP | PCX |
|---|---|---|
| MIME type | image/bmp | image/x-pcx |
| Extensions | .bmp, .dib | — |
| Compression | None (typical); RLE 4/8 bit (rare) | Run-Length Encoding (RLE) |
| Color depths | 1, 4, 8, 16, 24, 32 bits per pixel | — |
| Byte order | Little-endian | — |
| MIME Type | image/bmp | image/x-pcx |
| Extension | .bmp | .pcx |
| Category | Raster & Vector Images | Raster & Vector Images |
| Full Name | BMP Image | PCX Image |
| Conversion Engine | IMAGEMAGICK | IMAGEMAGICK |
| Header | — | 128 bytes fixed |
| Creator | — | ZSoft Corporation (1985) |
BMP vs PCX — Strengths and limitations
What each format does best, and where it falls short.
BMP Strengths
- Dead-simple format — trivially easy to read and write.
- Lossless and uncompressed — perfect bit-exact pixel storage.
- Universally supported in Windows applications since 1985.
- Supports 1, 4, 8, 16, 24, and 32-bit color depths.
Limitations
- Enormous file sizes — no meaningful compression in typical use.
- Not a web format — browsers support it but nobody serves BMPs over HTTP.
- No metadata support (no EXIF, no ICC profile in practice).
PCX Strengths
- Simple format — easy to parse in any language.
- RLE compression keeps flat-color images compact.
- Historic archive format for 1985-1995 PC art.
- Stable since 1985 with no breaking changes.
Limitations
- Legacy — no new content created as PCX in 2026.
- Inefficient for photographs (RLE is wrong algorithm).
- Limited to 24-bit color depth.
Quality & Compatibility
If PCX is a lossless format (PNG, TIFF, BMP) the output keeps every pixel of the decoded BMP exactly. If PCX is a lossy codec (JPEG, WebP, HEIC), the encoder re-compresses the image at the quality level you select — default 85 is transparent for photographs, quality 92+ for illustrations with hard edges.
Tips for Best Results
- Keep the original BMP alongside the PCX output — re-encoding already-lossy images accumulates detail loss on each round.
- If the PCX will be uploaded to a CMS, check whether the platform has a max dimension and downscale once on export rather than letting the CMS resize automatically.
- For thumbnails and avatars, export the PCX at exactly the display size; browsers will otherwise resample and the image may look soft.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on the codecs involved. If both BMP and PCX are lossy, the pixels are re-encoded and a small amount of detail is discarded — invisible at default quality settings on photographs. If PCX is lossless (PNG, TIFF, BMP) the output keeps every pixel of the decoded BMP exactly, but cannot recover detail that BMP had already compressed away.
Often yes, especially when PCX is lossless. BMP tuned for efficient web delivery will usually produce smaller files than PCX's default settings. If file size matters, drop the quality in Advanced or pick a more compressed target format instead.
KaijuConverter uploads over HTTPS, processes the image in an isolated container and deletes both the source and the output within two hours. No account is required, file contents are never logged, and we do not use uploads to train any model. For confidential material, the paid plan includes a data-processing agreement.
BMP Image
Source formatBMP is an uncompressed raster image format native to Windows. Files are large but preserve exact pixel data with no compression artifacts. Rarely used on the web due to file size.
PCX Image
Target formatPCX (PiCture eXchange) is a legacy raster image format created by ZSoft for their PC Paintbrush program. It was one of the first widely supported image formats on IBM PC compatibles and uses simple run-length encoding compression.
Going the other way? Convert PCX back to BMP with the same engine.
Common Use Cases
Share across platforms
Send PCX files to anyone without worrying about whether they have the right software for BMP.
Embed in documents
Drop PCX output into Word, Google Docs, PowerPoint, Notion or a website without conversion warnings.
Optimize size
PCX often produces smaller files than BMP for web, email and storage.
Archive & future-proof
Store in a widely-supported format that will still open on future operating systems without legacy plugins.
BMP vs PCX — Typical file sizes
Approximate file sizes for common scenarios.
- Small icon (32×32) 4 KB
- Screenshot (1920×1080) ~6 MB
- 4K image (3840×2160) ~25 MB
- Simple clipart 2-40 KB
- VGA-era screenshot (320×200) 30-80 KB
- Scanned page 200 KB - 2 MB
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Convert thousands of camera RAW files (CR3, NEF, ARW) to WebP, AVIF, or TIFF in one pass.
GPU-accelerated RAW development with end-to-end 16-bit ICC color profile management.
Related comparisons
See these formats side by side to understand which fits your use case best.
Related Guides
BMP Bitmap Format: The Complete Technical Guide
Everything about the BMP format: DIB header variants, pixel storage, color depths (1 to 32-bit), RLE compression, alpha channels, and BMP vs PNG vs TIFF.
Read guide →BMP Format: Windows Bitmap Images Explained — Headers, Compression & Use Cases
Learn what BMP files are, how the Windows Device Independent Bitmap format works, supported colour depths, compression options, and when to use BMP vs PNG.
Read guide →BMP Bitmap Format: Complete Technical Guide to Windows Bitmap Images
Learn BMP (Windows Bitmap): BITMAPINFOHEADER structure, pixel encoding, color palettes, RLE compression, and raster fundamentals for legacy graphics.
Read guide →
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