File Formats

Fi le Format

JPG JPG files are the preferred format for photographs and realistic paintings with smooth variations of tone and color. JPG files are not recommended for line drawings and other textual or iconic graphics, where the sharp contrasts between adjacent pixels can cause an undesirable image quality. For printing, JPG files must be 300 ppi (pixels per inch) and for web use must be 72 ppi. When using a JPG file, it is acceptable to scale the image down in size, but please refrain from increasing the size, or scaling up.

PNG PNG was created as an improved replacement for GIF format, and is the most used lossless image compression format on the web. PNG was designed for creating web images with transparent backgrounds, not for professionalquality print graphics. PNG format does not support CMYK mode.

AI (Adobe Illustrator) AI files are the preferred format for use when offset printing. It is recommended to use this file format when providing outside vendors with your artwork—this is a vector file and may be scaled up or down in size. PDF PDF (Portable Document Format) is a file format that has captured all the elements of a printed document as an electronic image that you can view, navigate, print or forward to someone else. PDF files are created using Adobe Acrobat and other similar products. To view and use the files, you need Acrobat Reader, which you can easily download for free.

ABOUT VECTOR FILES/GRAPHICS Vector graphics are made up of lines and curves defined by mathematical objects called vectors. Vectors describe an image according to its geometric characteristics. Vector graphics are resolution-independent—that is, they can be scaled to any size and printed at any resolution without losing detail or clarity. As a result, vector graphics are the best choice for representing graphics that must retain crisp lines when scaled to various sizes.