Are EPS files intended to be scalable?

[Michael Gould]

This issue has never been clear in my head. I know that EPS has vectors - I
want to make a logo that I can scale larger or smaller with impunity in
other apps besides FreeHand. Will an EPS file, done correctly (and that's a
trick in itself), be scalable in the way I want it to be?

Thanks!

Mike

[Rich Hudgins]

As long as it is pure vector.

Pure Vector = NO imported raster images - NO raster effects by FH -
Fonts can be embedded in later versions of FH but you may be better off
converting all fonts to paths before exporting to EPS.

Also you will need to make sure that the other apps accept EPS files and
that your printer or other output device is PostScript capable. Be
forewarned that on-screen presentation of the EPS will be a low
resolution preview but will print fine to a PostScript device.

Rich

Michael Gould wrote:

> This issue has never been clear in my head. I know that EPS has vectors - I
> want to make a logo that I can scale larger or smaller with impunity in
> other apps besides FreeHand. Will an EPS file, done correctly (and that's a
> trick in itself), be scalable in the way I want it to be?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Mike
>
>

[Michael Gould]

Well, that's the rub...most folks, except for pro shops, the local Kinko's,
and a few lucky others actually have PostScript devices. I could export as
a Win-only WMF or EMF vectors only, but I would have liked the images to be
usable cross-platform.

Otherwise, Rich, you have very helpful in clarifying the issue. I don't
suppose that there is a way to make the on-screen graphics with finer detail
for porting to web graphics? I want to make a set of scalable logos for a
client that does not have a suitable app like FreeHand to preserve the
integrity of the originals.

Thanks!

Mike


"Rich Hudgins" <rich@nospam-weiss-associates.com> wrote in message
news:cg2htc$lfc$1@forums.macromedia.com...

> As long as it is pure vector.
>
> Pure Vector = NO imported raster images - NO raster effects by FH - Fonts
> can be embedded in later versions of FH but you may be better off
> converting all fonts to paths before exporting to EPS.
>
> Also you will need to make sure that the other apps accept EPS files and
> that your printer or other output device is PostScript capable. Be
> forewarned that on-screen presentation of the EPS will be a low resolution
> preview but will print fine to a PostScript device.
>
> Rich
>
> Michael Gould wrote:

>> This issue has never been clear in my head. I know that EPS has
>> vectors - I want to make a logo that I can scale larger or smaller with
>> impunity in other apps besides FreeHand. Will an EPS file, done
>> correctly (and that's a trick in itself), be scalable in the way I want
>> it to be?
>>
>> Thanks!
>>
>> Mike
>>

[slm64]

>most folks... have PostScript devices. I could export as

> a Win-only WMF or EMF vectors only, but I would have liked the images to be
> usable cross-platform.
> a way to make the on-screen graphics with finer detail
> for porting to web graphics? I want to make a set of scalable logos for a
> client that does not have a suitable app like FreeHand to preserve the
> integrity of the originals.

Interesting issue. I have been doing some trials recently to find a suitable
format for CAD drawings.

Things that I found can help:
Make sure that the FH image you are generating is a reasonable size (not too
large) - for viewability, scaling up in the app (eg Word) gives better viewing
than if you have a large original image and scaling down. PostScript output
seems unaffected either way.

I am using FH11.0.2 and experimentation plus other people's reports of FHMX
suggest that you should avoid EMF at all costs - it is dreadful for curves and
text. For the record, my personal preference is to go with EPS but I found WMF
gave better results and it will be fine for our Win-based applications.

For your web uses, you will need to go to a raster version eg GIF or JPG.
Just export the same as you would for a vector format. Previously I have found
that using a single image scaled to different sizes in the HTML can cause some
really grotty results, you are much better to scale in FH and then make a
couple of different size versions for web use. Not elegant and hard to content
manage, but an unfortunate evil it seems.

[Michael Gould]

Thanks slm64!

I know its a bigger format, but I actually prefer PNG's to JPEGS for
rasters - the compression artifacts on an image I find distateful. Still, I
suppose if you size the source and then cut the jpeg at full image quality,
that should drop off.

I like GIF's just fine, and for smaller, simpler graphics, it's the bomb!

Since most of my target audience uses Winboxes - WMF's it'll be for now.

Thanks again!

Mike

"slm64" <webforumsuser@macromedia.com> wrote in message
news:cg37g5$fc4$1@forums.macromedia.com...

> >most folks... have PostScript devices. I could export as
> > a Win-only WMF or EMF vectors only, but I would have liked the images to
> > be
> > usable cross-platform.
> > a way to make the on-screen graphics with finer detail
> > for porting to web graphics? I want to make a set of scalable logos for
> > a
> > client that does not have a suitable app like FreeHand to preserve the
> > integrity of the originals.

>
> Interesting issue. I have been doing some trials recently to find a
> suitable
> format for CAD drawings.
>
> Things that I found can help:
> Make sure that the FH image you are generating is a reasonable size (not
> too
> large) - for viewability, scaling up in the app (eg Word) gives better
> viewing
> than if you have a large original image and scaling down. PostScript
> output
> seems unaffected either way.
>
> I am using FH11.0.2 and experimentation plus other people's reports of
> FHMX
> suggest that you should avoid EMF at all costs - it is dreadful for curves
> and
> text. For the record, my personal preference is to go with EPS but I
> found WMF
> gave better results and it will be fine for our Win-based applications.
>
> For your web uses, you will need to go to a raster version eg GIF or JPG.
> Just export the same as you would for a vector format. Previously I have
> found
> that using a single image scaled to different sizes in the HTML can cause
> some
> really grotty results, you are much better to scale in FH and then make a
> couple of different size versions for web use. Not elegant and hard to
> content
> manage, but an unfortunate evil it seems.
>
>

[James E. Talmage]

> I don't suppose that there is a way to make the on-screen graphics with
finer detail
for porting to web graphics?

Don't overlook SWF. There is no law that SWF format must be reserved for
animated graphics. It works just fine for static graphics. See this example.
Resize the window and see that it scales accordingly, but never gets jagged:

[url]http://www.IllustrationETC.com/AIbuds/StaticSWF/AIfish.html[/url]

A "cheat" for getting servicable images into your recipients' Office apps
is to export your vector graphic as PDF. On the PDF page, provide
instructions for zooming and using Reader's Snapshot tool to marquee select
what they see on the screen and then paste into Word or whatever. Tell them
to zoom the graphic to about twice the size they want it on the page in
Word, capture it, paste it into Word, scale it to 50% or smaller.

Also, my Office-using recipients seem quite content with the PNGs I have
been giving them. PNG can contain 8-bit transparency, so it lets the Word
user place their logo over or near text or colored objects without the white
non-image area problem. (Doesn't necessarily work in Outlook, though). I
typically give them a Word file containing each of their graphics on its own
page, in three different size PNGs, all at 300 ppi. This is overkill, but
gives them latitude to do a little scaling without utterly wrecking things.

JET

[Michael Gould]

Noted, thanks. How well do flashy bits print - tried to capture the logo
from the link, presents difficulty.

Thanks!

Mike

"James E. Talmage" <JETnospam@IllustrationETC.com> wrote in message
news:cg3c7b$jcq$1@forums.macromedia.com...

>> I don't suppose that there is a way to make the on-screen graphics with

> finer detail
> for porting to web graphics?
>
> Don't overlook SWF. There is no law that SWF format must be reserved for
> animated graphics. It works just fine for static graphics. See this
> example.
> Resize the window and see that it scales accordingly, but never gets
> jagged:
>
> [url]http://www.IllustrationETC.com/AIbuds/StaticSWF/AIfish.html[/url]
>
> A "cheat" for getting servicable images into your recipients' Office apps
> is to export your vector graphic as PDF. On the PDF page, provide
> instructions for zooming and using Reader's Snapshot tool to marquee
> select
> what they see on the screen and then paste into Word or whatever. Tell
> them
> to zoom the graphic to about twice the size they want it on the page in
> Word, capture it, paste it into Word, scale it to 50% or smaller.
>
> Also, my Office-using recipients seem quite content with the PNGs I have
> been giving them. PNG can contain 8-bit transparency, so it lets the Word
> user place their logo over or near text or colored objects without the
> white
> non-image area problem. (Doesn't necessarily work in Outlook, though). I
> typically give them a Word file containing each of their graphics on its
> own
> page, in three different size PNGs, all at 300 ppi. This is overkill, but
> gives them latitude to do a little scaling without utterly wrecking
> things.
>
> JET
>
>

[David Prescott]

if they can cope with ai7 (illustrator 7) format that would
be good, otherwise wmf/emf is good
dave

Michael Gould wrote:

> Noted, thanks. How well do flashy bits print - tried to capture the logo
> from the link, presents difficulty.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Mike
>
> "James E. Talmage" <JETnospam@IllustrationETC.com> wrote in message
> news:cg3c7b$jcq$1@forums.macromedia.com...
>

>>>I don't suppose that there is a way to make the on-screen graphics with

>>
>>finer detail
>>for porting to web graphics?
>>
>>Don't overlook SWF. There is no law that SWF format must be reserved for
>>animated graphics. It works just fine for static graphics. See this
>>example.
>>Resize the window and see that it scales accordingly, but never gets
>>jagged:
>>
>>[url]http://www.IllustrationETC.com/AIbuds/StaticSWF/AIfish.html[/url]
>>
>>A "cheat" for getting servicable images into your recipients' Office apps
>>is to export your vector graphic as PDF. On the PDF page, provide
>>instructions for zooming and using Reader's Snapshot tool to marquee
>>select
>>what they see on the screen and then paste into Word or whatever. Tell
>>them
>>to zoom the graphic to about twice the size they want it on the page in
>>Word, capture it, paste it into Word, scale it to 50% or smaller.
>>
>>Also, my Office-using recipients seem quite content with the PNGs I have
>>been giving them. PNG can contain 8-bit transparency, so it lets the Word
>>user place their logo over or near text or colored objects without the
>>white
>>non-image area problem. (Doesn't necessarily work in Outlook, though). I
>>typically give them a Word file containing each of their graphics on its
>>own
>>page, in three different size PNGs, all at 300 ppi. This is overkill, but
>>gives them latitude to do a little scaling without utterly wrecking
>>things.
>>
>>JET
>>
>>

>
>
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