Your printer says, “I need that in vector.”

Your web designer says, “Can you get me a low-res jpeg of that image?”

Your social media marketer says, “Do have your logo in a transparent PNG?”

And you’re like…

via GIPHY

In a world of JPEG, PDF, PNG, EPS and GIF (wait… is it GIF or JIF?), things can be super confusing! Let me try to explain them all and hopefully next time someone is asking you for a certain file format, you’ll be able to respond with “No problem - Here you go!”

Raster vs. Vector

Raster images are made up of a grid of pixels, or blocks of color that all come together make an image.  Think Minecraft. Each pixel has certain proportions, so the image looks great - crystal clear. But if you stretch or shrink that image from its original size, you often end up with a pixelated look - blurry or blocky looking.  Raster files are typically photographs, animation, video, and web graphics.

All raster images can be saved in one of two primary color models: CMYK and RGB.  CMYK is a four-color printing process that stands for cyan, magenta, yellow and key (black). These colors represent the four inks that are used during the printing process. Files saved in this format are meant primarily for printing. RGB is a light-based color model that stands for red, green and blue. These are the three primary colors of light that combine to produce other colors. Files saved in this format are ideal for anything that will be viewed on a screen - computers, mobile phones, video games, television, etc.

Vector files, on the other hand, are made up of points, lines, curves in a specific proportion that is calculated by the computer - instead of using blocky pixels like in raster images. In the more sophisticated vector format, all of the equations that make up a graphic can be adjusted in size infinitely without losing resolution.  You can make create billboard-sized graphics or make them tiny enough to be printed on a pen and the image would look equally clear on both.

So let’s jump into the different file formats!

Did you ever realize there were so many different file formats for images?  Hopefully, this helps you understand the various image files, and in turn, what formats you can ask for to help your next project!