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#ILoveUPrinting: What's the difference raster and vector images?

FILE FORMAT GUIDE

Print-ready files are accepted in the following formats:


File Extensions Description/Program Used
.ai,

Adobe Illustrator drawing or vector graphics file
.eps

Encapsulated postscript image file created using Adobe Illustrator; designed for high resolution printing of illustrations; standard file format for importing and exporting PostScript files
.cdr

Corel Draw Vector drawing file
.tiff

Tag Image File Format; preferred bitmap graphics format for high-resolution postscript printing
.jpg or .jpeg

standard format for photographic image compression developed by the Joint Photographic Experts Group
.psd

Bitmap file created using Adobe Photoshop
.indd

InDesign Document from Adobe Systems

.pdf

Portable Document File from Adobe Acrobat

.pub

Document file associated with Microsoft Publisher


Quick Facts about Bitmap Images

  • Bitmap images are made up of colored dots (pixels) in a grid
  • Also known as raster images
  • Resolution dependent – resizing affects image quality
  • Scanned images and digital photos are bitmaps

Quick Facts about Vector Images

  • Vector Images are made up of individual objects composed of lines and shapes with different attributes such as color.
  • Resolution Independent – scaling images does not affect quality
  • Smaller file size
  • Not suitable for photo-realistic reproduction
  • Fonts are vector objects


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