Raster vs. Vector: Which Image Type to Use and When?

Images are of great significance when it comes to communication and brand advertisement or user engagement. Since the current period is similar to the digital age. If you are designing a website adding logo, or if you are preparing the graphics. The choice of the best image format is crucial.

There are two major types of images. Raster images and Vector images. Both are not similar in terms of purpose, or characteristics. The knowledge of when to apply each of them can greatly influence on the quality of your projects and how efficient they are. Raster images contain pixels and they serve well detailed and complicated visuals such as photographs. In contrast, the vector images have their definitions with the mathematical equations, which presents scalability without losing the quality of the images but are well suited for logos and illustrations.

With the rising demand for flexible and superior graphics the online tools such as PNG to SVG and JPG to SVG have become indispensable tool as through these tools the users can easily convert the raster to vector images formats. In this article, we are going to talk about the difference between raster and vector images and pros of using each format or offer some guidance about what format to use in which case in order to benefit your visual materials to the full.

What are Raster Images?

Raster images are referred to as bitmap images. Such images are formed through small squares called pixels and each of the pixels displays a certain color. Some of the common raster formats are JPG, PNG, GIF, and BMP. These images are the function of resolution, and their quality is determined by pixels.

Advantages

• Detail and Complexity: Raster images can convey the complex scenes with soft color shading hence they are suitable for images and detailed drawings.
• Wide Compatibility: Digital devices and platforms that mainly support raster formats and broad accessibility facilitate most of the digital devices and platforms.
• Ease of Editing: Using raster graphics editors such as Adobe Photoshop or GIMP, one may do precise adjustments on pixel level.

Disadvantages

• Scalability Issues: Enlargement of raster images has a potential of pixelation and losing clarity and quality.
• File Size: High-resolution raster images tend to be quite large and take up a lot of storage space, or even add to slow loading websites.
• Limited Flexibility: Editing individual elements of raster image can be complex especially when raster orientations are not retained.

What Are Vector Images?

In their creation, vector images are drawn using mathematical formulas in specifying geometric shapes such as lines and curves or polygons. As compared to raster images the vectors are resolution independent meaning that they can scale up infinitely without compromising on the quality. Some of the common vector file formats are SVG, and EPS or PDF.

Advantages:

• Scalability: A vector image can be stretched or reshaped into any size while retaining the quality, making the image fit for use in logos and illustrations.
• Smaller File Sizes: Normally the vector files take less in size than high resolution raster images and speed their loading.
• Editability: The individual elements of a vector image are easy to adjust and allow for more flexibility of the design adjustments.

Disadvantages:

• Limited Detail: Vectors are not appropriate for complex images such as photographs because they cannot represent complicated color variation.
• Learning Curve: Vector image creation and editing usually calls for special software and skills.
• Compatibility: Some platforms and applications can be limited in terms of supporting some of the vector formats.

When To Use Raster Images?

• Photographs: Ability to capture detailed and complex images like portraits and landscapes.
• Web Graphics: Showing images on the websites where they are critically needed.
• Digital Paintings: Producing art that contains complicated color gradation and textures.

When To Use Vector Images?

• Logos and Icons: To be able to produce consistent quality in different sizes and mediums.
• Print Materials: Creating design of business cards and brochures or poster which need to be customizable.
• Technical Illustrations: Drawing diagrams and charts or schematics with accurate lines and forms.

Consideration:

When working with rasters, one has to ensure that they are at the right resolution for use. For web applications optimization of images to balance the image quality and its size is very important for performance. If you want to convert a raster image format such as PNG into a vector Image format like SVG, you can utilize an online PNG to SVG converter, which assists you in these types of conversions without losing original quality.

Comparing Raster and Vector Images:

Featured Image by Pexels.