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BITMAP VS VECTOR

Converting Formats

Converting from one format to another

Sometimes it is necessary to convert from one format to another:

• The process of converting from a bitmap to a vector is called vectorizing or outlining. You can use a program like Adobe Illustrator.

  TYPICAL EXAMPLE:

  • If you are creating a logo, it may be helpful to convert it to a vector format so that it can be easily scaled.
    
    
• The process of converting from a vector to a bitmap is called rastering. You can use a program like Adobe Photoshop.

  TYPICAL EXAMPLES:

  • You can take a screen shot of the vector image or you can open it in Photoshop and save it as a bitmap.
  • You could rasterize a text object which is a vector in Photoshop so that you can modify the text font outline as a bitmap object.
    
    
• You can also convert from one bitmap or vector type to another bitmap or vector type.

  TYPICAL EXAMPLES:

  • You could convert a jpg to a png if you have need of using transparency
  • You could convert a jpg to a gif format if the image has a lot of solid colors.
  • You could convert an Adobe Illustrator file (*.ai) to a Scalable Vector Graphics (*.svg) file.