Vector Artwork in Photoshop

[Steve Clarkson]

I've never used Photoshop, so I don't know how to use it.

The problem is that people send me .psd files that they create in Photoshop and when I import them into Corel, they come in as bitmaps rather than vector files.

I found out that if I tell people to convert their text to "outlines" (I assume the equivalent of "curves" in Corel) that it will import as a vector. However, what should they do for graphics (ie. a star or an outline of a lion, etc) so that when I import it, it is a vector?

I've tried asking people to save their file as an .eps but even then, when I import it and ungroup it, it is still a bitmap.

So can anyone give me a one or two line phrase telling someone how to save and send a .psd file so that it is a vector when I import it?

[Scott Shepherd]

You can't.

One is a raster program, one is a vector program. You can't go to the Honda dealer and tell them you want parts for your Chevy.

Tell them to do the job in Illustrator and not PS. Otherwise, you're stuck right where you are at.

[Ruben Salcedo]

Steve,

Photoshop is not a vector program, although you can work with vector like tools, like text, shapes and paths, unfortunately you can only export paths as outlines only, not many people do this but is possible, the way to do it is by first creating a selection of the object/s, be text etc. then convert the selection to a path, then export the path as a Illustrator path, now you can import the path to Corel, just note that when you import it in Corel it will import with no color so it will appear as if there is nothing, all you have to do is select it and then give it an outline color.


Ruben

[Martin Boekers]

To make it short, PhotoShop is similar to Corel Photo Paint (both Raster programs) and Illustrator is similar to Corel Draw. both Vector programs)

[Steve Clarkson]

OK...thanks!

[Chuck Stone]

I was going to point you to Ruben, but he already chimed in. He helped me out
with this same thing.
Unfortunately, some people will not understand the vector concept and might just
save the file with a different extension, so you need to watch for that. The people
who know what you're talking about probably wouldn't need to be told in the first
place.

Take a look at post #17 on this thread:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...e+visible+path

[Gary Hair]

I love it when a customer sends me a raster file and I ask for vector instead, suggesting eps, pdf, ai, etc., and they send a pdf with a bitmap inside...

[Scott Shepherd]

I love it when a customer sends me a raster file and I ask for vector instead, suggesting eps, pdf, ai, etc., and they send a pdf with a bitmap inside...

Oh man, that drives me crazy. I had a guy a month ago call and ask what format I needed the file in. I told him I could use DXF for what he was telling me. He sends me a jpeg, saved as a DXF format. I open it, it's a jpeg. I call him, tell him it's not a DXF, it's a jpeg. He sends it again. Same thing. Then he calls me stupid and says that he clearly is sending it as a DXF, just look at the extension on the file, it says "DXF".

[Douglas J Miller]

I sense a bunch of 'worlds dumbest customers' stories coming.

This should get good! Lol

[Chuck Stone]

when I owned a photo lab, it was difficult to explain why an image on the monitor would
not print a beautiful 8x10. I gave up trying to explain the difference between a 72dpi
monitor image and a 400dpi continuous tone print. All they understood is that the image
looked great as their avatar..

[Doug Griffith]

Another thing to note is that EPS can be either vector, bitmap or both.

[William Adams]

Adobe Illustrator will open a .psd providing a dialog w/ options for what is converted.

There's an option for text to stay as text --- smart shapes can stay vector, &c.

[Scott Shepherd]

Let's be careful not to confuse people. You cannot take a bitmap from Photoshop and open it as vectors in Illustrator. The programs are so complex and do so many different things and people read one thing and think it applies to all objects. If you have a photo of your Grandmother in Photoshop, it's never going to open as vectors in Illustrator or Corel. If someone has drawn something from scratch in Photoshop and used text and objects (shapes, etc.), then you stand a better chance at using that in Illustrator, but if it's just a pure bitmap in Photoshop, it's not going to happen as a vector file.

So can you open PS files as vector work? The answer is "Sort of", but if you're in the "sort of" land in your discussion with someone, then chances are, they have no idea what you're talking about and won't be giving you what you need.

I'd say 99.9% of the items people will give you are not things drawn with text and shapes.

[Martin Boekers]

I sense a bunch of 'worlds dumbest customers' stories coming.

This should get good! Lol

I'm sure there are a bunch of customers out there that have similar stories about us. I can see it
now. "can you believe this engraver? He asks for a DFX file so I save it as that and he tells me its a JPG!
I did this 5 times before I finally gave up, it clearly said DFX in the file extension! I guess he can't read!"

[Martin Boekers]

when I owned a photo lab, it was difficult to explain why an image on the monitor would
not print a beautiful 8x10. I gave up trying to explain the difference between a 72dpi
monitor image and a 400dpi continuous tone print. All they understood is that the image
looked great as their avatar..

Being and old photographer and printer myself, I have to admit it took a while for me to understand resolution and compression
when the digital age hit. The old days it was about film format and sensitivity that made the difference.