Start Date: Sun Jul 16, 2000
Wise-Women List Archive File
Are Adobe Illustrator .eps files different from Adobe Photoshop .eps files?
Question:
I saved a picture in PS as an .eps file, but when trying to import it to
Flash, it said that only Illustrator .eps files can be imported.
Adobe makes both programs, but are the formats different?
Also, you know in Flash you can specify during a fill to close pixel
gaps? Is that option available in any other graphic program? (I can't
find it in PS)
Thanks in advance!
Hey, L. Flash will import .eps (Encapsulated PostScript) files from
Illustrator because they're vector or "outlines," a format Flash
understands very well. It will also import .eps and .swf files from
Macromedia Freehand (also a vector program -- the same makers of Flash).
An .eps file from Photoshop is raster, or made up of pixels instead of
outlines. While Flash does support some raster formats, like .gif and
.jpg, it does not support the .eps raster, which is not supported on the
web anyway.
"Also, you know in Flash you can specify during a fill to close pixel gaps? Is that option available in any other graphic program? (I can't find it in PS)
"
Yes, Photoshop is a little pickier about this. If you have so much as
one pixel open in say, a circle, it'll assume you want to select pixels
outside of the circle as well. Don't know if I'm answering these
questions adequately for you or not. : )
I knew Illustrator was vector and PS wasn't, but I suppose I thought that PS would convert line art to vector if I chose to save it as an .eps file. Oh well.
If you scan a line art drawing that you did yourself, can this be
vector-ized? Or will any scanned image be a raster file? I'm still using Win95 and in order for me to get a drawing tablet, I need to have a USB port, which Win95 doesn't support. So.....I'm trying to
figure out if there is a work-around for vector-based image creation.
(besides my trackball, which I'm very inept with as far as drawing)
Then again, I may end up just going out and buying a whole new
computer!
Hmmm....so gif, jpg, bmp files are all kinda standard, but then the .eps file extension isn't. Weird. I wonder why they didn't call 'em something else then?
Yes, Photoshop is a little pickier about this. If you have so much as one pixel open in say, a circle, it'll assume you want to select pixels outside of the circle as well. Don't know if I'm answering these questions adequately for you or not. : )
I'd say a LOT pickier! I really like that option in Flash. I guess since it's not pixel-based, it can do that. And then *any* pixel based graphic program wouldn't be able to do that?
L.
The only way that I know of to convert raster images to vector is with Adobe's Streamline program. Some people like Streamline, but I always found it so hard to get the effect I wanted that I usually ditched my efforts.
Other workarounds are to use a bitmap file as a tracing image in
Illustrator, using various tools to either trace or semi-automatically trace areas of the image.
"I'm still using Win95 and in order for me to get a drawing tablet, I need to have a USB port, which Win95 doesn't support. So.....I'm trying to figure out if there is a work-around for vector-based image creation. (besides my trackball, which I'm very inept with as far as drawing)"
Consider upgrading to Win98 and adding a USB card. But don't be surprised if you find that drawing tablets aren't all that great. We have had them for years, but they usually collect dust. We find that for most of our needs, the best approach is to draw by hand on paper, scan and clean up/colorize in Photoshop (or trace in Illustrator).
"Hmmm....so gif, jpg, bmp files are all kinda standard, but then the .eps file extension isn't. Weird. I wonder why they didn't call 'em something else then?"
Well, actually, .eps is a more 'standard' extension than .bmp. You need to remember that most graphic file formats derived from early Mac days, several years before people started using PC Windows machines for graphics. Since the first Postscript printers were Apple printers, lots of Mac-specific technical stuff came into existence LONG before Windows users got into the graphics game. .bmp is a Windows-only extension, though Photoshop for Mac will open .bmp files.
.eps bitmap files have long been THE preferred format for offset printing use because of various highly technical issues concerning color separations and imagesetter film output. We graphic designers didn't particularly like using them because they were bigger files than a corresponding tiff file would have been. Back in the early 90s, our only option for removable cartridges needed to transfer files from our Macs to the service bureau for film output were Syquest cartridges. Since 45 mb Syquest cartridges used to sell for $75, we exercised every economy in file size possible. With a full page high resolution bit map image for an ad could easily be 50 to 75 mb, you can imagine how expensive it was to transfer and archive files. The nominal difference between an .eps file's and a tiff file's sizes could make the difference in whether a job would fit onto only one Syquest cartridge.
Paint Shop Pro version 6 --(I have not downloaded their new beta 7 yet) has listed
in their file conversion tool encapsulated Post Script (eps. ci. ps.)
Which can be converted to any of the other formats listed there, witch includes
victor files. Has anyone tried this function in PSP, and would it apply in this instance.
The permanent link for this article is: http://www.wise-women.org/resources/listarchives/graphics1/.
Related articles on the Wise-Women site: Alphabet Soup: Graphics formats
Creating Curved Text in Paintshop Pro
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