Showing posts from October, 2011

Can't open vector file!

New to vector graphics?
You need vector graphics editing software to open a vector file and maintain the vector data.  Common vector programs are Adobe Illustrator, CorelDraw, FreeHand and many more including free and open source. See Wikipedia list of graphic vector editors.

Open the appropriate vector program and from the menu select: FILE >> OPEN or IMPORT.  If you simply double click on the file, your computer may find another program to open it and change the file's native format. Opening the file with a raster program like Photoshop will rasterize the image and the file will be of no use to anyone requiring vector art.

If you are not familiar with vector files and do not have a vector graphic editor but simply acquired vector art for a third party: a printer, sign-maker, etc.,  my suggestion is don't bother trying to open it, just send the vector file to your supplier and request a proof. Your supplier should give you a proof in a format that can be easily viewed.

Vectorization and Vector Graphics

In computer graphics, vectorization is to the process of converting raster graphics into vector graphics. Vectorization can be automated with tracing software or manual with vector drawing software.

What is a vector graphic and why or when do I need it? 
Has a commercial printer, engraver, sign company or other service provider ever asked you to provide an image in vector format? There are two major types of images in the graphic industry; Raster and Vector.

Raster images are the most common type and are made of pixels. If you zoom in to a raster image or you scale it up, you will probably see something that looks like little tiny squares, these are the pixels The very common jpg, gif, and png, are raster images.

Vector graphics are object oriented, they do not contain pixels. They are actually mathematical calculations from one point to another. Vector graphics can be scaled to any size without losing quality which is something you cannot do with raster images. See Raster vs Vector.