GRAPHIC GUIDELINES File formatting for printable artwork
UNDERSTANDING FILE FORMATS
Vector Files
A vector image is a set of geometrically defined shapes. Vector images can be scaled infinitely, both larger and smaller, with no loss of clarity. A vector file is the most flexible to use. This makes vector files the PREFERRED files to use.
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UNDERSTANDING FILE FORMATS
Vector Line
Lines in vector files are made up of vector points creating a smoother curve.
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Vector Files 6 | Graphic Guidelines Examples of vector file extensions: UNDERSTANDING FILE FORMATS • ai Adobe Illustrator • pdf Adobe Illustrator • eps Adobe Illustrator • cdr CorelDRAW • fhx Macromedia Freehand • svg Adobe Illustrator or CorelDRAW
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UNDERSTANDING FILE FORMATS
Raster files are not vector files.
Rather an item is vector or raster depends on the way the file is created.
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UNDERSTANDING FILE FORMATS
Raster Files
In a raster file, sometimes referred to as a bitmap file, each pixel is defined individually. This makes the file essentially a very fine grid of squares containing information about the color of each square.
Digital photographs, for example, are made up of pixels and are therefore by nature raster files.
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Raster Files
If a raster file needs to be enlarged, the computer will have to guess to create new pixels between the old ones. This results in a raster file becoming blurry when its size is increased.
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UNDERSTANDING FILE FORMATS
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UNDERSTANDING FILE FORMATS
Raster Line
A line in a raster file is made up of individual pixels creating a jagged curve.
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UNDERSTANDING FILE FORMATS
Raster Files
Raster files can be reduced in sized, however if they are enlarged from their original size, they become blurry or pixelated.
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File formatting for printable artwork | 17 Original size Enlarged size
Raster Files
18 | Graphic Guidelines Most suppliers will NOT accept raster files. Exceptions would be when a specific printing process is being used that accepts raster art like four color process printing or digital photographic printing.
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UNDERSTANDING
FORMATS
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Raster Files 20 | Graphic Guidelines Examples of raster file extensions: UNDERSTANDING FILE FORMATS • jpg Adobe Photoshop • bmp Adobe Photoshop • tif Adobe Photoshop • psd Adobe Photoshop • gif Adobe Photoshop • eps Adobe Photoshop* • ppt PowerPoint *This is unique as sometimes this can be a vector file. For explanation go to page 21 “When a File Seems Like a Vector But Isn’t and Why”
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When a File Seems Like a Vector but Isn’t and Why
Fonts in Vector File
When a vector file contains fonts, they MUST be converted to curves (or outlines) to reproduce properly.
If this is not done, then a copy of the actual font file MUST be submitted along with the vector file so the printer can reproduce the font.
Raster Images Not Converted to Vector but Inserted and Saved in Design Software
If a raster file is inserted into a design software like Adobe Illustrator, it will remain a raster until it is converted into lines.
A file could have a vector extension but not be vector if it was saved in this manor. This happens often in .eps and .pdf files
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UNDERSTANDING FILE FORMATS
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Spot Color
Spot color is a solid flat fields of color. Used in silk screening, a printer can lay down several solid areas of color to produce multi-colored artwork. Spot color can sometimes be used as an add on to another printing process and is sometimes referred to as touch plate.
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COLOR
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Color Matching 26 | Graphic Guidelines PMS colors are Pantone, Inc.’s standard trademarks for color reproduction. Specifying these colors assures consistency. PMS identifies over 500 colors. Four-color process printing can only approximate many of these colors. COLOR
PMS
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COLOR
Four-Color Process
Four-color process, also know as 4CP or CMYK, is a printing process where by using a combination of dots in four colors, Cyan, Yellow, Magenta and Black, millions of colors can be reproduced.
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File formatting for printable artwork
Four-Color Process Sample
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YELLOW YELLOW, MAGENTA & CYAN
YELLOW & MAGENTA YELLOW, MAGENTA, CYAN & BLACK
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