Chapter 6. Raster vs. Vector

People think of graphics as images: a company logo, a smiling child, a beautiful sunrise, and so on. Computers identify graphics as data stored in a file. That data can be stored in two main formats: raster (sometimes called bitmap or pixel-based) and vector.

Common raster formats include PSD, JPEG, PNG, MOV, GIF, and TIFF. Common vector formats are AI, EPS, SVG, and SWF. Confusing things a bit is that these formats sometimes “blend” and support both. For example, EPS and SWF are usually vector-based but can contain a mixture of raster and vector graphics.

Adobe Photoshop is often used to create and edit raster graphics, although it has some vector capabilities; Adobe Illustrator is often used to create vector graphics, ...

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