Expert: Amy - 8/2/2006

Question
I have a file saved as an eps in illustrator.  I am getting it printed up on vinyl.  They have requested the file as a EPS vector file.  How do I save it like this?

Answer
Hi Kit,

Your vinyl printer wants pure vector artwork for the cutting machine. That means no raster.

Artwork created within Illustrator (shapes, paths, text) is vector artwork. Images placed into Illustrator are not vector. Special effects like blurs, shadows applied within Illustrator are not vector.

Your document should not contain any placed artwork (jpegs, etc). This is raster art, not vector.

Your document should not contain any overprinting or transparency. This is also raster art.

Additionally, make sure to convert any fonts in your document to outlines. You can't embed fonts in older EPS.

Not only do vinyl printers want EPS but they usually want an older version of EPS. If you know what version they use, that'd be best, otherwise, save down as old as you can. 6.0 is almost always safe for vinyl.

In most versions of Illustrator, choose FILE > SAVE AS, pick the EPS as the file type and in the resulting dialog, choose the compatibility you need (6/7/8/9, etc) and choose from other options. These options are available depending on which version you choose in compatibility. Like I said, for this particular printing technique, they usually request older EPS, so try 6.0 with either no preview or a TIFF preview, and PostScript Level 2 is fine.

In CS, I believe Adobe put these options in File > Export > Legacy EPS.

That's all there is to it.

If you'd like me to look at the file, follow the instructions and send the results to me and I'll take a look.

Have a good day
Amy Pace