Raster vs Vector: File Formats for Design Noun Project

This has led to multiple approaches to compressing the data volume into smaller files. The most common strategy is to look for patterns or trends in the pixel values, then store a parameterized form of the pattern instead of the original data. Common raster compression algorithms include run-length encoding (RLE), JPEG, LZ (the basis for PNG and ZIP), Lempel–Ziv–Welch (LZW) (the basis for GIF), and others.

All Microsoft Office clipart uses vector art and most charts and graphs produced by Office or by statistical analysis software are vector-based. Typically vector art is created in illustration applications such as Adobe Illustrator or CorelDRAW. Vector illustrations are great for logos, illustrations/artwork, animations, and text. Vector images are not as accessible as rasters, but you can save your vector image as a vector PDF for sharing, as that’s a format most users can open. As a graphic designer, it’s important to know the difference between raster and vector image types. When working with digital files, these are two terms you’ll come across often.

What’s the Difference Between Vector and Raster Images?

They are ideal for use when an image will only be used once, and will never need to be enlarged, or if portions are coming from a photograph or other real-world image. Vectors’ scalability make them ideal for design work consisting of logos and icons. Both logos and icons require immense detail and many size options, usually depending on their application. For example, you might use a logo on something as small as a business card or something as large as a billboard. Vectors are ideal for both large and small format prints, because rasterized designs will lose quality when resized.

Whenever you take a photo with your phone, or take a screenshot on your computer, you’re creating a raster image. The way to know for sure if your image is a vector file is to open it with a vector-based program, like Adobe Illustrator, Inkscape, or Affinity Designer, and inspect it. But, if you can zoom in very close, even at 1000% or more, without seeing any pixelation, there’s a good chance the image is a vector. I understand from prior knowledge that there are two different image format / composition options available for creating images; raster and vector. If you want to create an image with intricate details mimicking natural textures like a digital painting choose Raster.

Raster graphics

This is one of the main differences between raster and vector images. Vector and  Raster graphics are two types of digital graphics used in various projects. The difference between raster and vector vector image consists of mathematical formulas that control the path of the image. While a raster image comprises of a series of individual colored pixels.

These graphics consist of anchored dots and are connected by lines and curves, similar to the connect-the-dot activities you may have done as a kid. Because these graphics are not based on pixels, they are known as resolution independent, which makes them infinitely scalable. Their lines are sharp, without any loss in quality or detail, no matter what their size. These graphics are also device-independent, which means their quality doesn’t depend on the number of dots available on a printer or the number of pixels on a screen. Because they consist of lines and anchor points, the size of the file is relatively small.

Vector vs raster: Which is right for you?

Avoid raster-based programs, such as Adobe Photoshop, when incorporating vector elements that need to be scaled. In Raster images the resolution is made up of thousands of square pixels, pixels per inch (PPI) or dots per inch (DPI). Their size is always fixed so if you expand a Raster image it will become blurry. If you want to preserve the quality of a Raster image you can only scale down the image.

They are ideal for situations in which an image might be used at various resolutions and dimensions. Knowing when to use raster and when to use vector in specific applications is an essential skill for anyone engaged in graphic design. Notice I couldn’t upload because it was in .svg (vector) format. The image below shows a comparison of how Vector and Raster images are created.

Three-dimensional rasters

For example’s sake, let’s say you have a logo that needs to be constantly resized for different purposes, or a graphic that consists of solid colors and simple shapes. This is a screenshot of the farmer’s face on the example vector logo from above, zoomed in as far as the computer would allow. No matter how far you zoom in on a vector image, you will always see smooth lines. They’re more flexible as each shape is separate and you can scale up and down as much as you like, but it’s harder to make the images look natural. Vector graphics are graphics in which the image is represented in a mathematical fashion. What this allows one to do is to zoom in an image to infinite precision.

• The main difference between raster and vector images is raster images are composed of pixels, which are tiny square units of color.
• Like we mentioned above, raster images, or bitmaps as they are often called, are digital images that are made up of pixels.
• Vector images are infinitely scalable as the mathematical formulas change when you resize the image.
• Since their building blocks are pixels, raster images do not feature the kind of scalability that vector images do.

A Raster image is not scalable as they have a fixed resolution and dimensions. The pixels get enlarged if you try to zoom the image that makes the image blurry. You can always scale down a Raster image to maintain its quality. If you look closely at a scalar image you will see many equally sized squares. The number of pixels or pixels per inch (PPI) or the dots per inch (DPI) decides the raster image’s resolution. The higher the value of PPI or DPI, the higher the resolution of the raster image.

With raster images, you’re basically telling your computer, “this pixel should be blue, the next one should be purple, the one after that should be pink,” and so on. But with vector images, you’re saying, “fill the background with a left-to-right gradient that fades from blue to pink.” Vector images are slower the more complex they are, so it takes longer for the computer to render them.

The word “raster” has its origins in the Latin rastrum (a rake), which is derived from radere (to scrape). The word rastrum is now used to refer to a device for drawing musical staff lines. If you’re one to surf the web, chances are that you’ve seen and used tons of raster images before.

A vector image is a type of digital image that’s created using mathematical equations instead of pixels. Vector images are created in specialized programs like Adobe Illustrator or Inkscape. Unlike raster images, which are dependent on resolution, vector images can be scaled to any size without loss of quality. This is because each equation defines a single line or shape in the image. Some common examples of vector files include logos, flyers, and illustrations.