Expert: Amy - 11/2/2009

Question
Hi Amy
I have sent a logo file to the printers to be printed on to a plastic card. They asked for vector files. The files I sent are EPS & PDF files generated using illustrator. The printers are saying these are not pure vector files. How do I generate pure vector file?
Regards
Mahmood

Answer
Hi Mahmood,

First of all, you should convert any type to outlines.

If you have imported images in the Illustrator file, you must somehow re-create them in Illustrator.

Sometimes this is easy, for example, if the imported images are graphical in nature, like letters or shapes. In this case, how you re-create it depends on the content but for the most part you will be taking a pen or pencil tool and re-drawing or tracing your artwork.

Sometimes this can be more difficult, for example, if the image content is photographic in nature. In this case, I would use Illustrator's Live Trace function to get a vector representation of the photo.

If you have any more questions about the specific artwork and how to trace it, please send me a copy of the file... AmyLynPace@yahoo.com

-A