A Picture's Worth 1,000 Words:
Why Can’t I Print You – Vector vs Raster.
Posted June 13, 2011
"Raster/Bitmapped images saved in an EPS are not Vector."
If a picture paints a thousand words,
Then why can't I paint you?
A question asked by the musical group “Bread” in the first line of the hit song “If” from the 70’s. How could they know in the 70’s that there would be such confusion over Picture Raster and Vector images. Well I’m fairly certain they didn’t.
The song says a picture is worth 1,000 words. As a song writer I admire this beautifully written and imaginative description of the value of a picture. And, most of the time, especially in a love song, the words are on point. But there’s always an exception. In the world of print production there could be nothing more off point. Pun intended.
You can paint a picture and make a raster image but when it comes to print production you’ll need to consider point to point (wire frame) vectored images if you want a quality product.
I prefer bullet point information so I’m going to share with you in this way first.
Raster (Bitmapped Image)
*Structure: Made of pixels; small squares of information.
*Advantage: Deals better with photo images or any image using continuous tone or blended quality.
*Disadvantage: Cannot Scale and some service providers are unable to use for production.
Vector (Calculated Object)
*Structure: Made of mathematical calculations that form objects.
*Advantage: Scalable to any size large or small without sacrificing quality. It is not bound by the limitation of resolution. It can be produced at any resolution and with fewer colors. File sizes are smaller.
*Disadvantage: Does not handle photographs or blended continuous tone images affectively because there are simply too many mathematical equations.
So now that we understand there are two types of graphics created for use in many different ways – raster or bitmap (made of pixels) and vector (made of point to point paths). Let’s take a closer look…pictures really are worth 1,000 words.
• Common vector files: eps* ai, cdr, ps, pdf originating from vector files
• Common vector programs: drawing programs like Illustrator, CorelDraw, FreeHand
• Common vector graphics: drawings, illustrations, cartoons
* eps and pdf can originate from either raster or vector programs, and can include raster & vector elements.
Is EPS Vector? ONLY if it is created as a vector file and saved as an EPS. Raster/Bitmapped images saved in an EPS are not Vector. You can create vector files in a variety of programs but I would suggest Adobe Illustrator. Raster images are best manipulated in Adobe Photoshop.
NOTE: While there is a smal fee, Crigital can convert most raster images to vector.
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