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Different types of images

There are two kinds of computer graphics - raster (composed of pixels) and vector (composed
of paths). Raster images are more commonly called bitmap images.

A bitmap image uses a grid of individual pixels where each pixel can be a different color or
shade. Bitmaps are composed of pixels.

Vector graphics use mathematical relationships between points and the paths connecting
them to describe an image. Vector graphics are composed of paths.

The image to the left below is representative of a bitmap and the image to the right is
representative of a vector graphic. They are shown at four times actual size to exaggerate the
fact that the edges of a bitmap become jagged as it is scaled up:
Bitmap Image: Vector Graphic:

With Adobe® Systems' introduction of the PostScript® page-description language computers

could display fonts and images using point-to-point math rather than by pixels alone. The
advantage to using a page-description language such as PostScript becomes clear when you
scale an image up. The larger you display a bitmap, the more jagged it appears, while a vector
image remains smooth at any size. That is why PostScript and TrueType® fonts always
appear smooth - they are vector-based.

The jagged appearance of bitmap images can be partially overcome with the use of "anti-
aliasing". Anti-aliasing is the application of subtle transitions in the pixels along the edges of
images to minimize the jagged effect (below left). A scalable vector image will always
appear smooth (below right):
Anti-Aliased Bitmap Image: Smooth Vector Image:

Bitmap images require higher resolutions and anti-aliasing for a smooth appearance. Vector-
based graphics on the other hand are mathematically described and appear smooth at any size
or resolution.
Bitmaps are best used for photographs and images with subtle shading. Graphics best suited
for the vector format are page layout, type, line art or illustrations.

Wherever possible use the vector format for all your type, line art and illustrations and only
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use bitmaps for photos or images with complex or non-uniform shading. If the graphics
application recognizes native vector files such as those created by Deneba Canvas™ (a
filename with an extension of .CNV- for versions 6 and 7), Adobe Illustrator® (a filename
with an extension of .AI), CorelDRAW® (a filename with an extension of .CDR), or
Macromedia® FreeHand® (a filename with an extension of .FH8 - for version 8), then use
them first.
The EPS File Format
If the graphics application you are using cannot read native vector files the next best thing
would be to save them as EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) files. These are self-contained
PostScript files which contain the same mathematical descriptions as the vector files they are
made from. Even bitmaps can be saved in the EPS file format. EPS files are supported by
most all graphics applications. It is the most portable format for this reason. It is best to use
EPS files for all line art and illustrations because they can be reproduced at any size or
resolution and still display exactly as they were drawn. Use them wherever native vector files
cannot be used.
A Little of Both In Today's Applications
Today's graphic artist has to master both skills - image editing and illustration. In fact, Adobe
Photoshop® - an image editor - incorporates vector based paths which can be exported as
native vector files. Four of the major illustration programs - Deneba Canvas, Adobe
Illustrator, CorelDRAW and Macromedia Freehand - allow bitmaps to be embedded in the
vector files they create.
I believe that the ideal page layout program of the future would be primarily a vector-based
application which would create, import, display and print native vector objects side by side
with bitmaps. As computing power becomes more affordable I believe this will happen.

Four basic file formats:

There are many graphic image file formats - more than necessary to list here. The
most frequently used ones are listed below:
For Web Pages:
GIF - Graphics Interchange Format - Images using a fixed color palette (limited to
only 256 colors - not the full spectrum of colors available to your monitor). The
GIF format uses compression for smaller files and faster downloads. This format
is best for images with solid colors or areas of uniform color such as illustrations
and logos.

JPEG - Joint Photographic Experts Group - Used for photographic (continuous

tone) images. Unlike GIF files the JPEG format can take advantage of the full
spectrum of colors available to your monitor. The JPEG format also uses
compression for smaller files and faster downloads. However, unlike the
compression method used in GIF files, the JPEG compression is "lossy" which
means it discards data in the process. Once a file is saved in JPEG format the data
is permanently lost. If you want all the image data available for future use, save
the image using no compression or "lossless" compression and make JPEG copies
from it.

For Printed Documents:

TIFF - Tagged-Image File Format - Used for bitmaps only. The TIFF format is
supported by virtually all graphics applications.
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EPS - Encapsulated PostScript® - A file format used for both vector graphics and
bitmaps. EPS files contain a PostScript description of the graphic data within
them. EPS files are unique in that you can use them for vector graphics, bitmap
images, type or even entire pages.

Vector vs Raster Graphics:

Before we begin with what vector graphics and raster graphics are, we must
understand a few basic terms:
Pixel: In Computer graphics a pixel, dots, or picture element is a physical point in a picture.
A pixel is simply the smallest addressable element of a picture represented on a screen.
A majority of pictures that we see on our computer screen are raster images. The selfie that
you click with your mobile phone is another example of a raster image. An image is made up
using a collection of pixels referred to as a bitmap.

Bitmap: In computer graphics, a bitmap is a mapping from some domain (for example, a
range of integers) to bits, that is, values which are zero or one. It is also called a bit array or
bitmap index.The more general term pixmap refers to a map of pixels, where each one may
store more than two colors, thus using more than one bit per pixel. Often bitmap is used for
this as well. In some contexts, the term bitmap implies one bit per pixel, while pixmap is used
for images with multiple bits per pixel.

Raster Graphics
Raster images use bit maps to store information. This means a large file needs a large bitmap.
The larger the image, the more disk space the image file will take up. As an example, a 640 x
480 image requires information to be stored for 307,200 pixels, while a 3072 x 2048 image
(from a 6.3 Megapixel digital camera) needs to store information for a whopping 6,291,456
pixels. We use algorithms which compress images to help reduce these file sizes. Image
formats like jpeg and gif are common compressed image formats. Scaling down these images
is easy but enlarging a bitmap makes it pixelated or simply blurred. Hence for images which
need to scaled to different sizes, we use vector graphics.
File extensions: .BMP, .TIF, .GIF, .JPG
Vector Graphics
Making use of sequential commands or mathematical statements or programs which place
lines or shapes in a 2-D or 3-D environment is referred to as Vector Graphics. Vector
graphics are best for printing since it is composed of a series of mathematical curves. As a
result vector graphics print crisply even when they are enlarged. In physics: A vector is
something which has a magnitude and direction. In vector graphics, the file is created and
saved as a sequence of vector statements. Rather than having a bit in the file for each bit of
line drawing we use commands which describe series of points to be connected.
AS a result a much smaller file is obtained.
File extensions : .SVG, .EPS, .PDF, .AI, .DXF
Conversions:
Vector to Raster: Printers and display devices are raster devices. As a result we need to
convert vector images to raster format before they can be used i.e displayed or printed. The
required resolution plays an vital role in determining the size of raster file generated. Here it
is important to note that the size of vector image to be converted always remains the same. It
is convenient to convert a vector file to a range of bitmap/raster file formats but going down
opposite path is harder.( because at times we need to edit the image while converting from
raster to vector)
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Raster to Vector: Image tracing in computing can be referred to vectorization and it’s
simply the conversion of raster images to vector images. An interesting application of
vectorization is to update images and recover work. Vectorization can be used to retrieve
information that we have lost. Paint in Microsoft Windows produces a bitmap output file. It is
easy to notice jagged lines in Paint. In this kind of a conversion the image size reduces
drastically. As a result an exact conversion is not possible in this scenario. Due to various
approximations and editing that is done in the process of conversion the converted images are
not of good quality.

Differences between Vector and Raster graphics

The main difference between vector and raster graphics is that raster graphics are composed
of pixels, while vector graphics are composed of paths. A raster graphic, such as a gif or jpeg,
is an array of pixels of various colors, which together form an image.