We understand that some of our customers would like to use their own artwork, and that's Great! But there are a few guidelines that must be followed in order for these files to work.
There are two types of formats that we can utilize, and they are Vector and Bitmap.

Here's the definition of a Vector image:
Vector images are made up of many individual, scalable objects. These objects are defined by mathematical equations rather than pixels, so they always render at the highest quality. Objects may consist of lines, curves, and shapes with editable attributes such as color, fill, and outline. Changing the attributes of a vector object does not effect the object itself. You can freely change any number of object attributes without destroying the basic object. An object can be modified not only by changing its attributes, but also by shaping and transforming it using nodes and control handles. For an example of manipulating an object's nodes, see my CorelDRAW tutorial on drawing a heart.

Because they're scalable, vector-based images are resolution independent. You can increase and decrease the size of vector images to any degree and your lines will remain crisp and sharp, both on screen and in print. Fonts are a type of vector object.

Another advantage of vector images is that they're not restricted to a rectangular shape like bitmaps. Vector objects can be placed over other objects, and the object below will show through. See the example images on this page. The vector circle and bitmap circle appear to be exactly the same when seen on a white background. But when you place the bitmap circle over another color, it has a rectangular box around it, from the white pixels in the image.

Vector images have many advantages, but the primary disadvantage is that they're unsuitable for producing photo-realistic imagery. Vector images are usually made up of solid areas of color or gradients, but they cannot depict the continuous subtle tones of a photograph. That's why most of the vector images you see tend to have a cartoon-like appearance. Even so, vector graphics are continually becoming more advanced, and we can do a lot more with vector drawings now than we could a decade ago. Today's vector tools allow you to apply bitmapped textures to objects giving them a photo-realistic appearance, and you can now create soft blends, transparency, and shading that once was difficult to achieve in vector drawing programs.

Vector images primarily originate from software. You can't scan an image and save it as a vector file without using special conversion software. On the other hand, vector images can, quite easily, be converted to bitmaps. This process is called rasterizing. When you convert a vector image to a bitmap, you can specify the output resolution of the final bitmap for whatever size you need. It's always important to save a copy of your original vector artwork in its native format before converting it to a bitmap; once it has been converted to a bitmap, the image loses all the wonderful qualities it had in its vector state. If you convert a vector to a bitmap at a size of 100 by 100 pixels and then decide you need the image to be larger, you'll need to go back to the original vector file and export the image again. Also keep in mind that opening a vector image in a bitmap editing program usually destroys the vector qualities of the image and converts it to raster data.

And for the Bitmap (raster) image:
Bitmap images (also known as raster images) are made up of pixels in a grid. Pixels are picture elements; tiny dots of individual color that make up what you see on your screen. All these tiny dots of color come together to form the images you see. Most computer monitors display approximately 70 to 100 pixels per inch--the actual number depends on your monitor and screen settings.

To illustrate this, let's take a look at a typical desktop icon such as the one shown in the image here. The icons on your desktop are typically 32 by 32 pixels. In other words, there are 32 dots of color going in each direction. When combined, these tiny dots form an image. The icon shown in the upper right corner of this example is a typical desktop icon at screen resolution. As you can see, when you enlarge the icon, as I have in this example, you can clearly see each individual square dot of color. Note the that white areas of the background are still individual pixels, even though they appear to be one solid color.

In Conclusion:

So vector formats such as .eps and .ai are Golden, while most bitmaps must be created for each individual project size. Files that have been created in programs such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Publisher, etc. are not acceptable file types. These files must be rebuilt by one of our artists, and charged accordingly. If you have any questions at all, PLEASE call or fill out the contact form!