Artwork files- what are they?

Do you know your bitmap from your vector? Or your layered PDF vs transparent PNG???

Often you don’t need to, as that’s what we are for!

As a general rule of thumb the vector file of your logo is the holy grail of files.  This can be used by virtually all printers and machines in the industry; or if the machine doesn’t read vectors, a vector will have all the info so save it as another file type without losing quality.

Bitmaps VS vectors

Often we find customer have a JPEG or PNG of their logo.  These basic files are fine for some types of printing, but not all.  For instance, a digital print can be done from a JPEG if the quality of the image is good enough.

Vector graphics and bitmap (also known as raster) graphics are two different types of digital image formats that differ in the way they store and display images.

1. Vector graphics: Vector graphics are made up of mathematical equations that describe the properties of lines, shapes, and colors. These graphics are resolution-independent, which means they can be scaled to any size without losing quality. Examples of vector graphics include logos, illustrations, and fonts.
2. Bitmap graphics: Bitmap graphics, on the other hand, are made up of a grid of pixels (dots) that represent the colors and shades of an image. These graphics are resolution-dependent, which means they can only be scaled to a certain point before they begin to lose quality. Examples of bitmap graphics include photographs, scanned images, and digital art.

Some of the key differences between vector and bitmap graphics are:

• Scalability: Vector graphics can be scaled up or down without any loss of quality, while bitmap graphics will start to look pixelated and blurry when scaled beyond their original size.
• File size: Vector graphics files are usually smaller than bitmap graphics files, since they only need to store the mathematical equations that describe the image, rather than the individual pixels that make up the image.
• Editing: Vector graphics can be easily edited and manipulated, since they are made up of editable mathematical equations. Bitmap graphics can also be edited, but it can be more difficult to make precise changes without affecting the overall quality of the image.
• Resolution: Bitmap graphics have a fixed resolution, which determines how many pixels are used to display the image. Vector graphics, on the other hand, have no fixed resolution and can be scaled to any size without affecting the quality of the image

Likewise with embroidery, as we need to send the file off to be redrawn as stitches as a special designer a bitmap image is fine.  The designer just needs to see the logo in order to redraw it.