When a printer asks for a vector logo, sending a larger JPEG may miss the point. The printer may need editable paths, rather than more pixels. For a product photograph on a website, the useful decision is usually its pixel dimensions and compression. Start with the intended output before choosing a file format.
What Is a Raster Image?
A pixel is a color sample in an image grid. A raster image is built from those samples: a 1,200 × 800 image contains 960,000 pixels. Resampling it to 2,400 × 1,600 creates additional pixels, but does not automatically recover real detail that the camera never recorded.
In everyday graphics terminology, “bitmap” often describes the same pixel-based structure. It is not limited to files with the .bmp extension: JPEG, PNG, and WebP also store raster images. Pixel art is a particular visual style that deliberately exposes the grid, rather than a synonym for all raster graphics.
What Are Vector Graphics?
A vector drawing describes a circle, a letter outline, or an icon using coordinates, paths, curves, and fills. When you enlarge the circle, the software draws a larger version of its geometry. If the document also contains a photograph, that photograph still has its own pixel limitations.
Keeping an editable vector master of a logo design makes it easier to change shapes and colors and prepare different outputs. Very thin lines may still disappear in a tiny icon. Scalable geometry does not guarantee that the same composition remains equally readable at every size.
Vector vs Raster: The Practical Differences
Scroll sideways to read every column. Keyboard: focus the table and use the arrow keys.
| Decision | Vector | Raster |
|---|---|---|
| Source structure | Points, paths, curves, and fills | A grid with fixed pixel dimensions |
| Enlargement | Paths are drawn again at the new size | Existing pixels are enlarged or new samples are calculated |
| Editing | Change an object's path or fill | Edit pixels, selections, masks, and retouching |
| Typical uses | Logos, icons, diagrams, line-based illustration | Photography, textures, digital painting |
| File size | Depends on paths, effects, and embedded images | Depends on dimensions, image content, and compression |
Adobe's comparison explains the underlying distinction between geometry and pixels. A single poster can use both: a raster photograph alongside vector lettering and a logo.
Which File Formats Are Vector or Raster?
- JPEG, PNG, WebP, AVIF, and TIFF: Raster image formats. Transparency, compression, and application support differ.
- SVG: Describes vector shapes for the web, but can also contain raster images. The SVG image element documented by MDN is an explicit example.
- AI and EPS: Used for vector artwork, though placed photographs still need inspection.
- PDF: Can contain text, vector paths, raster images, or a mixture. A scanned document does not become vector artwork when saved as a PDF.
Specify the purpose alongside the format: “SVG for the website,” “PNG for a transparent preview,” or “PDF using the printer's requirements.” Understanding graphics file formats helps separate the editable source from the file someone will actually publish.
How to Check Whether an Image Is a Vector
- Open the original file. A messaging-app preview or screenshot cannot establish the source structure.
- Zoom in. Visible blocks suggest raster content, but a high-resolution photograph can stay sharp for a while without being a vector.
- Inspect objects. In a suitable vector editor, can you select individual paths and anchor points? A single rectangular image object may contain an embedded raster.
- Check mixed content. The logo lettering might be vector while a shadow or photograph is raster. Inspect more than one corner.
Lettering can also depend on a font file. Check embedding and usage permissions before delivery. Converting text to outlines can preserve its appearance, but affects text editing and searching; retain an editable copy.
Pixel Dimensions, PPI, and DPI
Pixel dimensions describe the image grid. PPI describes how many image pixels occupy an inch of printed output. DPI concerns the output device's dots, so it is not the same measurement. Adobe's image-size documentation distinguishes resampling from changing physical print dimensions.
Worked example: A 1,200-pixel-wide image printed at 300 PPI is 4 inches wide, or about 10.16 cm. Print the same pixels at 8 inches and the effective density is 150 PPI. The 300 PPI figure is an example assumption, not a universal printing requirement. Ask the printer about viewing distance, material, and final dimensions.
Can You Convert a JPEG or PNG to a Vector?
Renaming logo.jpg to logo.svg does not convert it. Vectorization requires reconstructing shapes as paths. Tools such as Illustrator Image Trace estimate those paths automatically; manual tracing lets you draw the geometry yourself.
Start with a clean symbol containing a few colors. After tracing, compare small gaps, letter shapes, stray anchor points, and colors against the source. Tracing a photograph usually produces a stylized illustration rather than a perfect substitute for the photo. Do not assume an automatic tool has correctly reconstructed lettering missing from a blurry source.
Choosing Files for Web and Print
A simple SVG is often suitable for a website logo. A product photo may work better as an appropriately sized and compressed WebP, AVIF, or JPEG. MDN's image-format guide covers support and use cases. Vector content does not automatically make a page faster or improve its search rankings: complex paths and embedded images can also be expensive.
Before delivery, ask three questions: Is the output size defined? Have you retained an editable source? Have you inspected the exported file at its actual use size? Relating those choices to the purpose of the design helps avoid both unnecessarily heavy files and insufficient resolution.
