Removing gray areas around text in images

Question

Example :

This seems to be a problem with using Jpep, my questions are

1. How to remove the grey areas around the text? ( what filter/process in gimp/imagemagic other free image editing/scripting mediums would you recommend?
2. What would be a programmatic approach cleaning an image like this would be? e.g. turning it to bitmap and applying some filter or process using scripting etc.
3. What is the preferred web friendly file format to not end up with such dirty looking images?

Answer 1

All it really takes is a Levels, Curves, or Brightness adjustment. Almost any free or paid raster editing application has the capacity to raise the white point and lower the black point. This would, in turn, remove the grey, brighten the white, and darken the black.

Images don't customarily "end up" like that without some serious alteration somewhere such as saving a jpg as a jpg over and over again. (Don't do that with jpgs)