- [Instructor] Graphics fall into one of two categories,
either raster or vector.
So what's the difference?
Well, vector graphics are essentially points and lines,
and that makes them scalable.
You might think of it as math plus geometry equals artwork
and that's why there's no limit for scaling
a piece of vector art.
So you use vector graphics for logos
or maps and diagrams and ads
and you create vector graphics
in a vector drawing program,
for example, Adobe Illustrator.
Here is a piece of vector art,
fairly small size, but notice when I scale it up,
I don't lose any detail.
I can scale it even farther,
and you can see it's still sharp.
And that's the characteristic of vector graphics.
Raster images are a little bit different.
They're based on pixels.
And because they're made
from a fixed number of pixels,
there's a limit to scaling.
I usually recommend that you don't go
above about 125% in layout.
Now if you have a background shot,
something without a lot of detail,
you can probably get away with scaling it up a bit more,
but anything with detail, you really don't want to scale it
up more than this or you'll see it start
to get a little bit fuzzy.
That's why raster images aren't appropriate
for logos or diagrams or maps,
anything with sharp, crisp detail.
You want that to be vector art.
And raster images are not appropriate
if you're trying to maintain small text and fine lines.
The recommended resolution for raster images
is 300 pixels per inch at final size.
Meaning if you're going to use it at six by nine inches,
it needs to be that size at 300 pixels per inch.
So let's take a look at what happens
when you scale raster images.
That looks pretty good, but when I scale it up,
you can see it's starting to get soft.
What I'm asking the page layout program
or Photoshop to do is make up pixels
where there aren't any.
And if I go even farther,
well, you see how things start to fall apart.
So keep this in mind, always be sure to create your artwork
in the appropriate format for its ultimate use.
Just remember images are made out of pixels
and that subjects them to scaling limitations.
When you're creating logos, diagrams,
maps, or artwork that you know
will be scaled up extensively,
always make sure that it's vector art.