When on a journey of becoming anything, that has something related to web or publishing. You will come across various types of graphics. And not all images are the same. Although there are a lot of graphics/images file formats. But generally, all the graphics can be divided into two categories. They are raster and vector graphics. Here you will get to know how they differ from each other and which one is suitable for your purpose.
Raster Images:
Raster images are bitmap images. This means raster images are a collection of small square-shaped individual units called pixels. Every individual pixel can have a different or the same color from each other. And to create one simple image millions of pixels are used.
Due to this, Raster graphics exhibited some characteristics, that are unique to vector graphics. Like, they are usually larger in size than vector graphics because each and every pixel of the image has its own unique data. The raster graphics can’t be stretched infinitely, as they use a predetermined number of pixels. Increasing the pixel count will result in increased size. So you need to make some tradeoffs while making raster graphics. You need to keep in mind the purpose for which you are creating the graphic.
Most of the web graphic you see on the internet are in raster format. The graphic in this blog are rasterize too.
Popular file formats for raster:-
- .Jpg or .jpeg (Joint Photographic Expert Group)
- .PNG (Portable Network Graphic)
- .Gif (Graphics Interchange Format)
- .PSD(Adobe Photoshop native Document)
- .BMP (Bitmap Image File) etc.
Vector graphics:
Vector graphics use patterns, shapes, and formulas to create an image. As the images use patterns, shapes with definite mathematical formulas thus they require much less file size to save a vector image compared to raster graphics. As the mathematical formulas are being used to create the graphics, they can be stretched indefinitely. So what that means for graphic designers, is that the same logo they once created to use as a favicon, can also be used to make a banner.
Vector images are rarely used for the web, but they are very popular in the publishing industry. The major reason for the popularity is the flexibility that they can offer. They can be repeatedly used for various purposes.
Popular file formats for vector:-
- .SVG (Scalable Vector Graphic)
- .EPS (Encapsulated PostScript)
- Ai (Adobe Illustrator’s native file)
- PDF (Portable Document Format), if saved from a vector software.
Quick Difference Between Vector and Raster Graphic/images
Final Remarks:
Raster and Vector, both have their own pros and cons. All that necessary is to know when to chose Vector instead of raster and vice-versa. We hope this blog might have helped you in knowing the difference between vector and raster graphics.
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