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Theresa Jackson talks Photoshop Vector Graphics

Vector-based designs are resolution-independent and scalable to any size.

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By Theresa Jackson

Wikipedia describes vector graphics as, “… the use of geometrical primitives such as points, lines, curves, and shapes or polygon(s), which are based on mathematical expressions, to represent images in computer graphics.”
“The world’s most advanced, digital-imaging software” is Adobe’s own Photoshop description. Photoshop’s vector function handles bitmapped and pixel-image data, but also contains some powerful vector-graphic tools.
What matters to signmakers is that design-based, vector graphics are resolution-independent and scalable to any size, without image-quality losses.

Vector shapes
Before Photoshop CS6, vector-shape layers were actually solid-fill, adjustment layers with vector masks. Photoshop CS6 replaced shape layers with actual vector layers that are comparable to the vector-graphic applications found in Adobe Illustrator.
You can create a new vector layer by choosing any vector-shape (CMD or CNTRL U) tool: Rectangular, Rounded-Rectangular, Ellipse, Polygon, Line, or Custom-Shape. The Rectangular-Shape tool is the default vector-shape tool. You access the other vector shapes by clicking and holding on the Rectangular tool. Prior to dragging or drawing a new shape layer into your Photoshop document, choose the shape option from the top tool bar. By default, this option will add a new vector layer to your Photoshop document when you click and drag it onto the canvas.
Before you create the shape layer, you can set the shape size and fill color; you can also select stroke width, attributes and color. Shape-fill options include solid colors, gradients or patterns. Stroke options include Align, Caps and Dash lines; all are well-known to Illustrator artists.
By default, you can insert additional shapes as new shape layers, or add them to the existing shape layer by changing the path operations (top tool bar). Illustrator artists will also recognize these path operations – they’re similar to the Illustrator Path Finder tools. The same creative-layer effects (in Illustrator) that you use for image layers can be applied to Photoshop vector layers. Every layer-blend mode is available and you can also apply shadows and glows. Further, you can mask by alphas, or group with other layers.
Most importantly, you can move and scale vector layers infinitely, without data or image-quality loss, as long as the layer remains vector data.

Live shapes in Photoshop CC
With the introduction of Live Shape Properties in Photoshop CC, vector shapes became even more powerful and flexible. You activate Live Shape features with the Ellipse, Rectangular and Rounded Rectangular shape layers.
In Photoshop CC, the Properties panel opens immediately after you create a new shape layer, and it offers all of the Live Shape editing properties. The most useful Live Shape property is the rounded-corner option. It lets you independently round corners that remain scalable and editable for future changes.

Text layers
Text layers are also vector graphics; thus, vector-based fonts – text — are infinitely scalable, without degradation. The text tool has been a Photoshop segment since the beginning, but, with the addition of Character and Paragraph styles, it received a major upgrade in Photoshop CS6.
You can add text to your Photoshop document with any font activated by your operating system or a third-party, font-management program. You can scale or mask text layers, or apply effects to them, just as with any other layer.
Fonts are not embedded in a Photoshop document.
Sharing a font-containing Photoshop document with someone else requires the receiving person to have the necessary fonts installed on their system. A warning symbol on the font layer identifies missing fonts. Photoshop vector-print output
Once you have created a Photoshop design filled with vector graphics, you want to preserve the vector data until it hits the RIP for printing. This is the biggest challenge and possibly the most misunderstood part of designing with Photoshop vector graphics.
Don’t merge vector layers with image layers — doing so rasterizes the vector data to the resolution of your Photoshop document. For example, if you save your Photoshop document at 150 ppi, all of the vector and text layers will be rasterized to 150 ppi. It’s the same if you flatten or merge it with image layers.
It defeats the purpose of creating with vector graphics.
In addition, don’t flatten your Photoshop file for TIFF or JPEG output. These options will rasterize the vector data to the resolution of the Photoshop document. Instead, save your Photoshop document as a Photoshop PDF, to retain vector-graphics and text information.

Photoshop PDF
PDF-embeddable fonts and vector shapes are retained – saved — as vector information regardless of the chosen PDF option, as long as the PDF version is saved before any vector information has been rasterized by flattening the layers.
Even better, you can save a Photoshop PDF that contains all of the vector information and remains fully editable in Photoshop. To do this, save layers in the File dialog and select Preserve Photoshop Editing Capabilities. The resultant PDF file will have “private data” and allow Photoshop to open such a PDF file as if it was a native PSD file. All original Photoshop layers remain intact.
Like this:
1) Save as Photoshop PDF with the Layers option selected.

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2) Select the “Preserve Photoshop Editing Capabilities” in the General tab of the Save Adobe PDF dialog box. Both the High Quality Printing and Press Quality default PDF presets allow this option (Fig. 7).

The resulting PDF contains both PDF data and the original, Photoshop-layered data. Embeddable fonts are embedded in the PDF for print output, but are also required if the document is opened for further Photoshop editing.
I recommend a RIP that employs the Adobe PDF print engine, for optimal print results from any Adobe PDF file.

 

 

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