A Guide To File Types

Raster images are composed of pixels and have a defined proportion determined by their resolution. This means if they were created at at certain size, that size cannot be stretched or altered without compromising quality or becoming distorted. You should always save raster files at the size they are intended for use to maintain their resolution integrity. Standard raster files are JPEG, PNG and GIF (more on these file types below.

Vector images are composed of proportional formulas, rather than having a defined proportion or a set number of pixels. this makes vector files very “Flexible” and it is helpful to know of you need a create a graphic that requires any kind of resizing – like a logo that is used on a business card or even as a bus wrap! Common vector files are EPS, AI and PDF.

Hi or Low Resolution refers to the density of pixels in an image. Dots per inch (DPI) or Pixels per inch (PPI) are units of measure that communicate the density of pixels in an image. Images used for the web will have lower resolution, with 72 DPI as the standard. Images used for print will have higher resolution with 300 DPI or greater as the standard. Be careful not to create an image for print that is low-res; otherwise it will end up pixelated and distorted; or an image for the web that is too hi-res, otherwise it will take forever to load.

Lossless or lossy refers to the way data is compressed in a file and how much information it retains. Lossless files preserve all of the file’s original data and allow the date to be perfectly reconstructed after it’s been compressed. Lossy files lose some of that original data when compressed or converted. PNG files are lossless, while GIF and JPEG files are lossy.

JPEG is the most widely used file format and the majority of your graphics will be provided this way. It is commonly used for photos and graphics. JPEGs are ‘pixel based’, which means that when you scale them up, your image will start to loose quality and become blurry or pixelated.

Pronounced “jay-peg” and short for Joint Photographic Experts Group, this is likely the file type you are most familiar with. You’ve used JPEGs in yearbook class, have seen them on print ads or even created them by taking photos on your smartphone.

JPEGs are raster images and are composed of hundreds and hundreds of tiny pixels. They are known as “lossy” files because when a JPEG is created, to maintain a smaller file size, some unnecessary information is permanently deleted or lost. Think of it like taking a photocopy of your favorite picture, the photocopy still looks like the original photo, but some of the original data ist lost. Likewise, because the information in a JPEG is limited, they cannot be made lager once they are a certain size.

Have you ever taken a photo off of Facebook and tried to get it printed despite the small file size or low-resolution warning? Did you end up with a super blurry, pixelated photo? That’s because once they are saved to a specific size, JPEGs cannot be scaled up – their purpose is to make large photographic files smaller but using less information. Despite their aversion to scale, JPEGs can be used for both print and web. A rule of thumb: web images can have a lower resolution (like 72 DPI, so that the image loads quickly), while print images require a higher resolution (like 300 DPI, to retain as much image information as possible).

PNGs are also a pixel based file format. However, differentiating from JPEG, PNGs are transparent, meaning that the background will be removed from any of your graphics. Short for “Portable Network Graphics” and pronounced “ping”, PNGs were designed as a more open alternative to GIFs. One of the factors that make a PNG stand out most is that they support transparency. This allows you to have a transparent background on a logo file, instead of the file having a white background that cannot be altered.

PNG file compression is lossless, so there is no loss in quality, giving them the ability to handle detailed, high contrast information. PNGs are great for use on the web but are not ideal for print. They are crucial to producing files that JPEGs can’t effectively create and are the top (or only) choice for when you need a clean logo or text over other visual elements on the web.

You know them, you love them, but you’re not quite sure: are they a video or a photo? Trick question, a GIF is actually defined as a lossless format for image files that supports both animated and static images. Short for “Graphics Interchange Format”, GIFs are an image file that is sometimes animated. So sometimes you may see them in animated form, like the “YAAAS QUEEN” dance you send to your group text, and sometimes you may see them in static image form.

GIFs are commonly used in the digital space, where images need to load quickly: like digital banner ads, websites or emails. Rather than using a high-resolution image, many GIFs retain their most basic form of 256 colors in RGB. This allows the file to be much smaller in size, due to the limited color and helps them to load more quickly. So now that you understand GIFs, the real question is: when it comes to pronounced with the soft “j”, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t prefer the hard “g”!

An AI file is a vector-based image created in Adobe Illustrator. We designers use this file to create and edit your logo. They are commonly called the “working file”, “source file”, or “master file”. These files can be modified as needed without reducing the quality of the logo – this is exactly what you want! You won’t be able to view or open this file unless you have the Adobe Illustrator software. That’s why I will export your final AI file logo to an EPS file and many other formats for you to use.

An EPS file is the gold standard for your logo files. It is a vector-based image, when exported from Adobe Illustrator, and is meant for print usage. This means, an EPS file can be sized up or down without deteriorating the image quality. These files have a transparent background and are easily scalable for print – they can be as large as a billboard and as small as a business card. If you want to get your logo printed, I will send it to a print professional as AI or EPS file, unless another format is specifically requested. He can export this file into another file format if needed.

Keep in mind you might not be able to open or place this file in some software, upload an EPS to your website or social media sites. If the software you are using does not let you place or import an EPS, then you’ll be forced to use an alternative logo file format.

This file format is used for online documents and printing purposes. It was created by Adobe with the goal of displaying files in the same format, no matter what device they are viewed on or what software they are opened with. Thanks to the reliability of PDFs you can create long documents and share them with others without risking a loss to your original design – text is not larger, images are not smaller, etc. PDF files can contain many different elements: text, photos, vector images, videos, audio files and even interactive elements like forms and buttons. It’s possible to create this file using many different kinds of software, from Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, and Acrobat to Microsoft Word, Google Docs and more. But to be able to view a PDF, you need to have a PDF reader installed on your device.