WSQ

File Format
Name	WSQ
Ontology	Electronic File Formats Graphics WSQ
Extension(s)	.wsq

WSQ (Wavelet Scalar Quantization), also known as FBI Fingerprint Format, is a raster image file format used for storing images of fingerprints. It uses lossy wavelet compression, and supports only grayscale images.

Format

WSQ is similar to JPEG format, though it is not compatible with it.

Identification

Files begin with bytes FF A0, and end with FF A1.

Specifications

• WSQ Specification v3 (1997-12-19)
• WSQ Specification v3.1 (2010-10-04)

Links

• FBI Fingerprint Format (from archive.org)
• Wikipedia article