Vector File Size and Formats

A vector image is nice because it is a very small file. Since nothing deals with pixels and only mathematical descriptions they are able to become small by only changing one number. A 2 inch by 4 inch vector based logo would be the same file size as a 2 foot by 4 foot logo. Most vector based logos will be under .10 megabytes, this making them ideally suited for transfer over the internet.

Formats that are commonly used for vector images are EPS (Encapsulated PostScript), WMF (Windows Metafile), CDR (CorelDraw), PLT (Hewlett Packard Language Plot File), SVG (Scalable Vector Graphic), DXF (AutoCAD), and AL (Adobe Illustrator).

Vector Color

Coloring vector objects is similar to coloring with crayons in a coloring book. Its all about staying between the lines. With vector images you can change the color of each individual object without having to worry about pixels. With a drawing program a user can click within an object and define its color, it also enables users to define the color and the widths of lines. Vector images are much easier to color then bitmaps.

  

Vector Resolution

Unlike using dpi such as a raster image does, a vector image is defined by math. When a program sizes a vector image up and down, it is simply multiplying the mathematical description of the object by a scaling factor. An example would be, in order to double the size of a 1'' square object, it would need to be multiplied by a factor of 2. The math is simply recalculated to produce an object double the size. Since vector images are capable of scaling up or down without the loss of image quality, they can be printed at any resolution that a printer is able to produce. Because the vector images don't use dots per inch or scanning resolution like the raster images, they create a much better quality and this is a big reason why vector graphics are mainly used in clip art.

                                                        

Raster Resolution

DPI, known as Dots Per Inch, is the resolution of a raster image or scanned image. Printer and scanner resolutions are also measured in dpi. Your typical desktop laser printer will print at 300-600 dpi. At laser Sharp Sign Design we use a HP Laser Printer, with a very high dpi it gives us the ability to create smoother and cleaner products. The poducts final quality of printing depends on the resolution of the image being used to print, called the bitmap or scan.

Take a 400 dpi image and increase the size in a graphics program. When you do this, you have only made the tiny pixel squares bigger. This creates whats called the "jaggies", by making the image bigger it gave you a jaggy edge. When dealing with raster images know that in order to "blow it up" you must have a high resolution picture or be able to transvert the image into a vector file using programs such as Coreltrace or Eurovector.

Laser Sharp Sign Design

Live in Tampa Fl and need a sign of any sort? Come check us out at Laser Sharp Sign Design, located right in Tampa at 301 and Causeway, we are always ready to take any project you may have in store. With great customer service and state of the art technology and printers we will get you in and out quickly and have your sign completed within the week. Our number one goal is to satisfy the customer that starts with kind and friendly service and ends with a laser sharp final product on time.

Even if your not sure exactly what you want, come through our doors to see what the show room has to offer. This might help make your decision or you can sit down with an employee and we will help you to come out with the best finished product possible. We have plenty to offer and you have plenty to express, so bring your ideas to us and we will express them with the most laser sharp products possible. Out moto, "A business with no sign, is a sign of no business."

Road Signs

When your driving down the street every which way you look there are signs. Grocery stores, fast food, gas station, and resturaunts are seen every where. But what about the small business located between all those places? Sometimes those are the signs that are over looked. There have been times where I knew the place I was looking for but still drive past it because their sign doesnt stick out like the rest. This is your road sign, the sign people can use to locate your business, also the sign that people can recognize your business by.

Driving through the streets of Tampa I have seen some really bad signs by the road. Beat, torn, faded and more. How am I suppose to call a company if the signs so faded I cant read it. Business owners dont realize that this is a vital piece of business, this sign is thier identity and without an identity your business is nothings besides a building. 

These are the problems that we want to fix at Laser Sharp Sign Design. Get the small businesses out from underneath these large corporations signs that are hiding thiers. Does this mean get a sign that is bigger than any other out there? Well that might work, but no. This means come to Laser Sharp Sign Design where we can create an eye popping laser sharp product that will grab the attention of every person who drives by. Size does not always win the fight, quality plays a large role and with high quality signs from Laser Sharp Sign Design your signage will be getting all the attention of those big corporations and some.

Live in Tampa Fl and need a sign of any sort? Come check us out at Laser Sharp Sign Design, located right in Tampa at 301 and Causeway, we are always ready to take any project you may have in store. With great customer service and state of the art technology and printers we will get you in and out quickly and have your sign completed within the week. Our number one goal is to satisfy the customer that starts with kind and friendly service and ends with a laser sharp final product on time.

Even if your not sure exactly what you want, come through our doors to see what the show room has to offer. This might help make your decision or you can sit down with an employee and we will help you to come out with the best finished product possible. We have plenty to offer and you have plenty to express, so bring your ideas to us and we will express them with the most laser sharp products possible. Out moto, "A business with no sign, is a sign of no business."

Vector Images

Instead of using dots or pixels like a raster image, a vector image consist of connected line and curves to produce an object. In the process of creating a vector image, you must start with a vector illustration program, node or drawing points are inserted and connected together by lines or curves. All aspects of a vector image are defined by math including node position, node location, line length and down the line. Text objects are produced by connecting nodes, lines and curves. Unlike the pixel oriented raster images, vector images are object oriented. Every letter in a font starts as a vector image. A vector image will have a "wireframe" underneath the colors in the object. Vector images are like putting the body over the frame of a car.

Raster File Size and Format

The only way for you to accuratly reproduce a raster image file is to have graphics software to keep track of the exact location and color of each pixel in the whole collection of pixels, thats a lot of information. File size becomes a big issue when scanning and creating raster images. When the file sizes star to get bigger it becomes an issue because big files make your computer processor and hard drive work overtime. Your typical 2" by 3" 150 dpi black and white raster logo is about .07 megabytes or less then 70k in file size. That same file saved as a 300 dpi 24 bit raster image logo might be 100 times larger, over 7 megabytes. In order to transfer big files (over 1 megabyte) you must have high speed internet connection on both ends for timely uploads and downloads.

Common raster image formats are JPEG (Joint Photographics Expert Group), PCX (Paintbrush), TIFF (Tag Interleave Format), BMP (Windows Bitmap), PNG (Portable Network Graphics), CPT (Corel PhotoPaint), and PSD (Adobe PhotoShop).

Raster Images

A raster image forms pixels, a collection of a tiny colored square. 

When an image gets scanned, it becomes converted into a collection of pixels called a raster image. The most common form of a raster image are scanned graphics and web graphics (JPEG and GIF files).

Halftoning/Screen Angle

Halftoning is what gives the eye perception of more colors when printing. Without halftoning the three primary process colors would be printed only as solid blocks of color, which would only allow us to produce seven colors total: the three primaries, plus three secondary colors produced by layering two of the primaries: cyan and yellow produce green, yellow and magenta produce red, cyan and magenta produce a purplish blue, finally you can layer all three of them producing a black. Halftoning allows for less than full saturation of the primary colors. There are tiny dots of each primary color that are small enough so the human eye perceive a solid color. Magenta printed at a 20% halftone will create a pink color because the eye picks up the tiny dots of magenta on the large white paper and this creates a lighter, less saturated color then just pure magenta would.

Moiré patterns can be created when printing is done with the wrong screen angle, each color has a different screen angle. The angle used depends on each color independently and the choice of the press operator. You will see typical CMYK printing used in any of the below screen angles.

C-15°-15°-105°-165°

M-75°-45°-75°-45°

Y-0°-0°-90°-90°

K-45-°75°-15°-105°

CMYK Color Model

CMYK are the four inks used in some color printing: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key. This is a subtractive color model. The ink is usually applied in the order of the abbreviation but depending on different operators some may do it different. The CMYK model is subtractive because it "subtracts" brightness from the white substrate it's being printed on. In otherwords the model works by partially or entirely masking colors on a lighter, mainly white, background and the ink reduces the light rather then reflecting it.

Some people suggest that the "K" in CMYK is from the last letter in black because the letter B is already used for blue. Although this is useful for memory it is incorrect. In four-color printing there are plates that are carefully keyed or aligned with the key of the black key plate. The "K" stands for the key that locks these colors together and allows for a wider array of colors.