The short answer to raster vs vector
Raster files are made of pixels. Vector files are made of math. A raster image (JPEG, PNG, TIFF, PSD) stores a fixed grid of coloured dots, so it looks great at its intended size and falls apart when you push it bigger. A vector file (SVG, AI, EPS, vector PDF) stores points, curves and fills as equations, so it can be scaled from a business card to a building wall with zero loss.
That is the theory, and every article on page one repeats it. The part that actually costs people money is the decision: which file do you hand over for this specific job? That is what the rest of this guide covers.
The 10 second decision table
| If the artwork is… | Use | Hand over |
|---|---|---|
| A logo, icon, monogram or wordmark | Vector | AI or EPS plus SVG and a PNG set |
| A photograph or photo composite | Raster | TIFF or high quality JPEG at 300 PPI |
| Screen print, vinyl cut, embroidery, laser or CNC | Vector | EPS or PDF with outlined text |
| A website hero banner or product shot | Raster | WebP or AVIF with a JPEG fallback |
| UI icons, charts, maps, diagrams | Vector | Optimised SVG |
| A mixed layout (photos plus type plus logo) | Both | Press ready PDF/X with linked assets embedded |
What a raster file really is (and why it has a ceiling)
A raster image is a grid. A 3000 x 2000 pixel photo contains six million coloured squares and nothing else. There is no record of “this is an edge” or “this is a circle”, only the colour of each square. Source: https://vector-conversions.com.
Two numbers decide whether a raster file works:
- Pixel dimensions (for example 3000 x 2000). This is the only real measure of how much detail exists.
- Output resolution in PPI or DPI. This decides how large those pixels get spread when printed.
Divide the pixel dimension by the resolution and you get the maximum print size. 3000 pixels at 300 PPI equals 10 inches. That is the hard ceiling. Enlarging past it means the software invents pixels that were never captured, and the result looks soft, blocky or smeared.
Maximum print size for a raster file
| Pixel size | At 300 PPI (brochures, cards) | At 150 PPI (posters) | At 50 PPI (billboards, viewed far away) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1000 x 1000 | 3.3 x 3.3 in | 6.7 x 6.7 in | 20 x 20 in |
| 2000 x 3000 | 6.7 x 10 in | 13.3 x 20 in | 40 x 60 in |
| 4000 x 6000 (24 MP camera) | 13.3 x 20 in | 26.7 x 40 in | 80 x 120 in |
| Vector file | No limit. Same file works on a lapel pin and a stadium wrap. | ||
Note on viewing distance: a billboard printed at 50 PPI looks perfect from the road and terrible from two feet away. Large format printers routinely accept lower resolutions for exactly this reason, so always ask them for a target PPI before you panic about file size.
What a vector file really is (and why it is not magic)
A vector file stores anchor points, Bezier curves, stroke weights and fill colours. When you scale it, the software recalculates the shapes at the new size, so edges stay razor sharp at any dimension. Files are usually tiny because a circle is one instruction rather than 40,000 pixels.
Vector also gives you things raster cannot:
- Editable colour. Swap a brand blue to a spot Pantone in one click across every shape.
- Separations. Screen printers need one layer per ink. Vector gives that instantly.
- Cut and tool paths. Vinyl plotters, laser cutters, routers and embroidery digitisers all read paths, not pixels.
- Live text until you choose to outline it.
Raster vs vector side by side
| Criteria | Raster | Vector |
|---|---|---|
| Built from | Pixels on a fixed grid | Mathematical points and curves |
| Scaling | Degrades when enlarged | Infinite, lossless |
| Photographic realism | Excellent, millions of colours and subtle shading | Poor, needs thousands of shapes to fake it |
| Typical file size | Large, grows with dimensions | Small, grows with complexity |
| Editing | Destructive unless layered | Fully re-editable shapes |
| Common formats | JPEG, PNG, GIF, TIFF, PSD, WebP, AVIF, HEIC, BMP | SVG, AI, EPS, vector PDF, CDR, DXF |
| Software | Photoshop, Affinity Photo, GIMP, Lightroom | Illustrator, Affinity Designer, Inkscape, CorelDRAW, Figma |
| Best for | Photos, textures, screenshots, painted artwork | Logos, icons, type, diagrams, signage, cut files |
File format cheat sheet
| Format | Type | Use it for | Avoid it for |
|---|---|---|---|
| JPEG | Raster | Photos on web and in print | Logos, flat colour, anything needing transparency |
| PNG | Raster | Transparent screen graphics, UI mockups | Large format print, being used as a “logo master” |
| TIFF | Raster | Press quality photos, CMYK, scans | Websites, email |
| PSD | Raster (layered) | Working retouch files | Final delivery to a printer |
| WebP / AVIF | Raster | Fast loading web imagery | Print, archival masters |
| SVG | Vector | Web logos, icons, animation, responsive graphics | Photographs, CMYK press work |
| AI | Vector | The editable master logo file | Sending to clients who cannot open it |
| EPS | Vector | Universal handover to printers and sign makers | Web use, transparency effects |
| Either | Final print delivery (PDF/X-4) | Assuming it is vector without checking |
Warning about PDF: a PDF is a container, not a guarantee. A PDF exported from Photoshop is pure pixels. Open it, zoom to 1600 percent, and if the edges go fuzzy you are looking at a raster file wearing a vector costume. coreldraw.com walks through the specifics.
Where raster breaks down: five real scenarios
- The client sends a 400 px PNG logo for a 3 metre exhibition wall. Upscaling introduces mush. The only real fix is redrawing it in vector, which is a paid job, not a favour.
- Screen printing a JPEG logo. JPEG compression leaves halo artefacts around edges and there is no clean way to split spot colours. The printer will ask for vector or charge a recreation fee.
- Rebranding the colour. Changing a flat vector logo from navy to teal takes seconds. Doing it on a raster file with anti aliased edges and a drop shadow takes an hour and rarely matches exactly.
- Vinyl cutting or embroidery. The machine needs a path to follow. Pixels give it nothing. Every raster job goes through a manual tracing step first.
- Retina and high density screens. A 200 px wide PNG logo looks soft on modern displays. An SVG stays crisp at any pixel density with one file and no @2x, @3x juggling.
Where vector breaks down (yes, it does)
- Photographs. Auto tracing a portrait produces a poster effect with flat colour bands, plus a monstrous file the RIP may choke on.
- Complex gradients, blurs and transparency. These often flatten unpredictably on older RIPs and in EPS exports. Rasterise those effects deliberately at a known resolution instead of letting the printer decide.
- Extremely detailed illustrations. Tens of thousands of anchor points can slow browsers to a crawl. An SVG that weighs 900 KB is worse for the web than a 40 KB WebP.
- Live text. If the printer does not have your font, live text reflows or substitutes. Always convert text to outlines before sending, and keep an editable copy with live text for yourself.
- Hairlines. A 0.1 pt stroke that scales down below the printer’s minimum line weight simply disappears.
Deliverable by deliverable: what to actually hand over
| Deliverable | Format to send | Key spec |
|---|---|---|
| Logo master to client | AI plus EPS plus SVG plus PNG set | Outlined text, CMYK and RGB versions, mono version |
| Business cards, flyers, brochures | PDF/X-4 | 300 PPI images, 3 mm bleed, CMYK, fonts embedded |
| Roll up banner or exhibition panel | PDF with vector logo and type | 100 to 150 PPI photos at final size |
| Billboard or building wrap | PDF at 10 percent scale | Vector type mandatory, 300 to 600 PPI at the scaled size |
| Screen printed apparel | Vector EPS or AI | One layer per ink, Pantone spot colours named |
| Embroidery | Vector for digitising, then DST or PES | Simplify small detail, minimum 4 mm text height |
| Vinyl signage, decals, vehicle graphics | Vector EPS or PDF | Closed paths, no open strokes, cut line on its own layer |
| Laser cutting, CNC, engraving | DXF or SVG | Real world units, no duplicate overlapping paths |
| Website logo and icons | SVG | Minified, viewBox present, sensible IDs |
| Website photography | WebP or AVIF plus JPEG fallback | sRGB, responsive srcset, lazy loading |
| Favicon and app icons | SVG plus PNG at 16, 32, 180, 512 px | Simplified mark, not the full lockup |
| Email signature and social profiles | PNG | Email clients do not reliably render SVG |
| LED wall and digital signage | Raster export at exact panel pixel size | Design in vector, export to the native canvas, never scale up |
| Office documents (Word, PowerPoint, Google Slides) | PNG with transparency | Export at 3x the largest intended use |
The logo handover package that stops all the emails
If you deliver logos, this folder structure prevents about 90 percent of “can you send another version” requests:
- 01-Master: layered AI or Affinity file with live text, plus a text outlined copy.
- 02-Print: EPS and PDF, CMYK, plus Pantone versions if the brand uses spot colours.
- 03-Web: SVG (full colour, mono black, mono white) and PNG at 500, 1000 and 2000 px wide with transparency.
- 04-Social: square and circular safe crops for profile pictures.
- 05-Guidelines: one page PDF with clear space, minimum size, colour codes in HEX, RGB, CMYK and Pantone, and a short line telling the client to send the EPS to any printer.
Add a plain text README explaining which folder to use for what. Clients do not know what EPS means, and that is not their job.
Converting between the two
Vector to raster (easy)
Export at the final size and resolution you need. Decide the resolution yourself rather than letting a print RIP guess. This direction is always safe because you are going from more information to less.
Raster to vector (hard)
Auto trace tools such as Illustrator Image Trace and Inkscape Trace Bitmap work acceptably on high contrast, flat, simple shapes. They produce wobbly edges, hundreds of stray points and false colours on anything else. For a real logo rebuild, redraw it manually over the raster reference. Budget 30 to 90 minutes for a typical mark and charge for it, because a traced logo with lumpy curves will haunt every future application.
Quick quality control checklist before you send anything
- Zoom to 1600 percent. Fuzzy edges mean raster.
- Check the colour mode: CMYK or spot for print, sRGB for screen.
- Outline or embed every font.
- Confirm bleed and safe margins with the printer, not with a template you found online.
- Check the effective PPI of every placed image at its final scale, not its original size.
- Remove hidden layers, stray points and unused swatches before exporting.
- Name the file so a stranger understands it: brandname-logo-cmyk-outlined.eps beats final_final_v3.eps.
FAQ
What is the difference between raster and vector?
Raster images are grids of coloured pixels with a fixed resolution, so they blur or pixelate when enlarged. Vector images are mathematical descriptions of points, curves and fills, so they can be resized to any dimension with perfectly sharp edges. Raster wins for photographs, vector wins for logos, type and anything that has to be printed or cut at multiple sizes.
Is a JPEG a raster or vector file?
A JPEG is raster. It stores pixels and uses lossy compression, which means it also loses a little quality every time it is re-saved. It cannot store transparency and should never be used as a logo master.
Is a PNG a vector file?
No. A PNG is raster. It supports transparency and lossless compression, which makes it excellent for screen use, but it still has fixed pixel dimensions. A transparent background does not make a file vector, which is the single most common misunderstanding in client emails.
Is SVG raster or vector?
SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) is vector. It is an XML based format that browsers render live, so it stays sharp on any screen density, can be styled with CSS, animated, and usually weighs a fraction of an equivalent PNG. Note that an SVG can contain an embedded raster image, so check the contents before assuming it is fully scalable.
Which is better, raster or vector?
Neither is better in general, only better for a given job. Ask one question: does this artwork need to be resized, recoloured or cut by a machine? If yes, go vector. Does it contain continuous tone photography? If yes, go raster. Most real projects use both in the same document.
Can I turn a low resolution logo into a vector automatically?
Partly. Auto tracing handles simple, high contrast marks reasonably well. For anything with fine detail, gradients or custom lettering, manual redrawing gives a far cleaner result and is what any professional printer expects.
What about raster vs vector in GIS and mapping?
The same logic applies with different vocabulary. In GIS, vector data stores discrete features as points, lines and polygons with attributes, while raster data stores continuous values in a grid of cells, such as elevation or satellite imagery. Vector suits boundaries and networks, raster suits surfaces and analysis over continuous areas.
The takeaway
The raster vs vector debate is not really about pixels and maths. It is about whether your file can survive its next use. Design in vector whenever the artwork is made of shapes and type, use raster for photographic content, and export deliberately rather than exporting whatever was open. Do that and you will never again receive the email that starts with “the printer says the file is not usable”.
