1-BIT Embedded Graphics Utility

Monochrome Bitmap Converter

Create or paste a black-and-white bitmap and convert its pixels into packed 1-bit bytes. Generate binary rows, hexadecimal bytes and ready-to-use C arrays for LCDs, OLEDs, icons, fonts and embedded graphics.

✓ 1-Bit Pixels ✓ Hex Bytes ✓ Binary ✓ C Array ✓ MSB / LSB First ✓ Row Padding

BMP

Monochrome Pixel Packing

● Ready

Bitmap Width (pixels) Interactive editor supports up to 64 pixels per row.

Bitmap Height (pixels) Interactive editor supports up to 64 rows.

Bit Order Inside Each Byte Choose the bit packing expected by your display or graphics library.

Pixel Polarity Invert bit meaning when the target hardware uses opposite pixel polarity.

Row Padding Byte-aligned rows are common for embedded bitmap arrays.

C Array Name Used in the generated C array output.

Pixel Editor 8 × 8

Binary Bitmap Text Optional. Enter one row per line using 0 and 1. When valid text is present, it is used as the source for conversion and synchronized to the pixel grid.

Packing model: with MSB-first byte packing, the leftmost pixel in each 8-pixel group becomes bit 7 and the rightmost becomes bit 0. For example, 10110010₂ = 0xB2. If the width is not divisible by eight and row padding is enabled, unused bits at the end of each row are filled with zero.

Monochrome Bitmap Result Converted

Packed Bitmap —

Dimensions —

Total Pixels —

ON Pixels —

OFF Pixels —

Bits Stored —

Bytes Generated —

Bytes Per Row —

Bit Order —

Pixel Polarity —

First Byte —

Last Byte —

Memory Size —

Binary Rows —

Hex Byte Array —

C Array —

Conversion Breakdown —

What Is a Monochrome Bitmap?

A monochrome bitmap stores each pixel using only one bit. Each pixel therefore has two possible states, commonly interpreted as black and white, OFF and ON, transparent and filled, or background and foreground.

One-bit graphics are widely used by embedded LCDs, OLED modules, status displays, icons, fonts and microcontroller user interfaces because they require very little memory.

How Much Memory Does a 1-Bit Bitmap Use?

The theoretical minimum storage is one bit per pixel:

Bitmap Bits =
Width × Height

Minimum Bytes =
ceil(Width × Height / 8)

If every row is separately byte aligned, additional padding can be required when the width is not divisible by eight.

8×8 Monochrome Bitmap Example

8 pixels × 8 pixels
= 64 pixels

At 1 bit per pixel:
64 bits

64 / 8
= 8 bytes

An 8×8 monochrome icon therefore needs only eight bytes when each row maps to one byte.

Binary Pixels to Hexadecimal

Each group of eight bitmap bits can be represented as one hexadecimal byte.

Pixels:

10110010

Binary:
10110010₂

Hex:
0xB2

Decimal:
178

MSB-First Bitmap Packing

In MSB-first packing, the leftmost pixel in an eight-pixel group is stored in bit 7.

Pixels:
1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0

Bits:
7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

Byte:
10110010
= 0xB2

LSB-First Bitmap Packing

Some displays and firmware libraries interpret the first pixel as the least significant bit instead.

Pixels:
1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0

LSB-first bit positions:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Packed byte:
01001101
= 0x4D

Bitmap Row Padding

Suppose a bitmap is 10 pixels wide. Ten pixels require more than one byte, so a byte-aligned row requires two bytes.

Width:
10 pixels

Required row bits:
10

Byte-aligned storage:
ceil(10 / 8)
= 2 bytes

Allocated:
16 bits

Padding:
6 bits

Continuous Bit Packing

Continuous packing places the next row immediately after the previous row’s last real pixel rather than starting every row at a new byte boundary.

This can reduce storage but makes row addressing less convenient. Many embedded graphics formats therefore prefer byte-aligned rows.

Black-Is-1 vs White-Is-1

Different display systems assign opposite meanings to bit value 1. In one system, 1 may illuminate or draw the pixel. In another, 1 may represent the background.

Black / ON = 1

Original:
10110010

Inverted polarity:
01001101

Use the Pixel Polarity control when your target expects the opposite bit meaning.

Monochrome C Array Example

Bitmap bytes are often embedded directly into microcontroller firmware as a C array:

const unsigned char bitmap_data[] = {
    0x7E,
    0x81,
    0xA5,
    0x81,
    0xBD,
    0x99,
    0x81,
    0x7E
};

Monochrome Bitmap Memory Examples

Bitmap Size	Pixels	1-Bit Minimum
8 × 8	64	8 bytes
16 × 16	256	32 bytes
32 × 32	1024	128 bytes
64 × 64	4096	512 bytes
128 × 64	8192	1024 bytes

Monochrome OLED Bitmap Data

Small OLED controllers frequently use one-bit display buffers, but their memory layout may be page-oriented rather than simple horizontal row-major bytes. Some controllers organize one byte as eight vertical pixels instead of eight horizontal pixels.

This converter produces horizontal packed bitmap data. If your display uses vertical page packing, a separate transpose or page-layout conversion is required.

Row-Major Bitmap Layout

The converter processes pixels from the top-left toward the right edge, then continues with the next row.

Processing order:

Row 0:
x = 0 → width - 1

Row 1:
x = 0 → width - 1

...

Row height - 1

1-Bit Bitmap vs Grayscale

A monochrome bitmap provides only two pixel states. Grayscale formats use multiple bits per pixel and can represent intermediate brightness levels.

For example, an 8-bit grayscale bitmap uses one full byte per pixel, which is eight times the theoretical storage of a 1-bit bitmap with the same dimensions.

Monochrome Bitmap Converter FAQs

How many bits does a monochrome pixel use?

A true monochrome bitmap uses one bit per pixel, providing two possible pixel states.

How many bytes does an 8×8 bitmap need?

An 8×8 one-bit bitmap contains 64 bits, which equals 8 bytes.

How do I convert binary bitmap pixels to hex?

Group the bitmap bits into bytes, interpret each group as a binary number and convert that number to two hexadecimal digits.

What does MSB first mean for a bitmap?

It means the first pixel in each byte group is stored in the most significant bit, bit 7.

What does LSB first mean?

The first pixel is placed in bit 0, with subsequent pixels progressing toward the more significant bits.

Why does my bitmap appear inverted?

The target device may interpret bit 1 as the opposite pixel color. Try changing the Pixel Polarity setting.

Why does my image look horizontally reversed inside each byte?

The display or graphics library may use the opposite bit order. Switch between MSB-first and LSB-first packing.

Why is my non-8-pixel-wide bitmap larger than expected?

If each row is byte aligned, partial bytes must be padded. For example, a 10-pixel row occupies 16 stored bits rather than 10.

Can I use the generated array on an OLED?

Yes if the OLED library expects horizontal row-major 1-bit data. Some controllers instead require vertically packed page data.

Does the converter accept a binary text bitmap?

Yes. Enter one binary row per line using only 0 and 1, matching the selected width and height.

Convert Monochrome Pixels to Binary and Hex

Build one-bit bitmap arrays for embedded displays, icons and fonts with configurable dimensions, row alignment, polarity and bit packing.