2.4 Digital Graphics Terminology: Raster, Vector, Resolution, and Color

Adobe Certified Professional - Adobe Illustrator Exam

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1 Chapter 1: Exam Overview & Preparation Strategy

1.1 ACP Illustrator Exam Structure, Delivery, and Scoring 1.2 Effective Study Strategy & Performance Task Readiness

2 Chapter 2: Working in the Design Industry (Domain 1)

2.1 Purpose, Audience, and Client Needs 2.2 Project Management & Professional Communication 2.3 Copyright, Intellectual Property, and Licensing 2.4 Digital Graphics Terminology: Raster, Vector, Resolution, and Color 2.5 Design Principles & Visual Hierarchy

3 Chapter 3: Document Management: Documents, Artboards, Assets & Saving (Domain 2)

3.1 Document Settings, Presets & Project Setup 3.2 Managing Multiple Artboards 3.3 Placing Assets and Managing the Links Panel 3.4 Saving Documents: Native Formats, Compatibility, Cloud Documents, and Templates

4 Chapter 4: Document Management: Exporting, Packaging & Print Output (Domain 2)

4.1 Web, Screen, & Vector Export Formats 4.2 Multi-Asset Export & Project Handoff 4.3 Color Management & Commercial Print Preparation

5 Chapter 5: Workflow & Interface: Workspace, Preferences & Design Aids (Domain 3)

5.1 Workspace Navigation & Customization 5.2 Configuring Application Preferences 5.3 Navigation, Rulers, Guides, Grids & Smart Guides 5.4 View Modes, Screen Modes, Drawing Modes & Raster Effects Settings 5.5 Dimension Tool and Mockups

6 Chapter 6: Workflow & Interface: Color, Patterns, Brushes & Layers (Domain 3)

6.1 Color Swatches, Global Colors, & Spot Colors 6.2 Gradients, Gradient Mesh, Patterns, & Live Paint 6.3 Stroke Properties, Brushes, & Width Profiles 6.4 Layers Panel Hierarchy & Object Organization

7 Chapter 7: Objects & Paths: Selecting, Drawing, Tracing & Refining (Domain 4)

7.1 Selection Tools, the Select Menu & Vector Anatomy 7.2 Precision Drawing: Pen, Curvature, & Editing Tools 7.3 Geometric Shapes, Live Shapes, & Path Operations 7.4 Image Trace and Generating Vectors With AI 7.5 Refining Paths: Simplify, Join, Clean Up, Offset Path, and Expand

8 Chapter 8: Objects, Paths & Text: Typography (Domain 4)

8.1 Type Tools: Point, Area, Path, and Vertical Type 8.2 Character & Paragraph Formatting Essentials 8.3 Advanced Typography: OpenType, Threading, Wrap, & Outlines

9 Chapter 9: Appearance & Position: Arranging, Transforming & Masking (Domain 5)

9.1 Grouping, Stacking Order, & Isolation Mode 9.2 Transforming Objects and Arranging Objects on a Path 9.3 Layer Options, Locks, Opacity, Blending Modes & Masks

10 Chapter 10: Appearance & Position: Appearance, Effects, Symbols & Generative AI (Domain 5)

10.1 Appearance Panel, Eyedropper, Color Picker & Graphic Styles 10.2 Live Effects & Transformations 10.3 Symbols, Repeat Workflows, & Generative AI Tools

2.4 Digital Graphics Terminology: Raster, Vector, Resolution, and Color

Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI

Raster (bitmap) images are fixed pixel grids that lose quality when enlarged, while vector paths are mathematically defined and scale to any size.

Effective resolution equals pixel width divided by printed width, so a 2400-pixel-wide image printed 8 inches wide has 300 ppi.

Trim is the final cut edge, bleed extends artwork past the trim, and the live area keeps critical text safely inside the trim.

RGB and hex values describe screen color, CMYK and spot inks describe print color, and HSB is a way to pick colors rather than an output mode.

Rich black adds cyan, magenta, and yellow under 100% K for dense large solids, while small black text should stay 100% K.

Last updated: October 2026

2.4 Digital Graphics Terminology: Raster, Vector, Resolution, and Color

Quick Summary: Objective 1.3 of the current exam guide asks you to define the vocabulary of digital graphics and to explain how color is represented on screens and in print. Expect selected-response items that check whether you can tell raster from vector, pixels per inch from printed size, trim from bleed and live area, and RGB, CMYK, HSB, grayscale, hex, spot, and rich black from one another.

Why This Vocabulary Matters

Nearly every later Illustrator task depends on these terms. Choosing a document profile, setting raster effects resolution, exporting a PNG at 2x, or deciding whether a logo needs a spot color all assume that you know what the words mean. The exam guide lists them as key terms because a designer who confuses image size with resolution, or trim with bleed, will make expensive production mistakes even when their drawing skills are strong.

Raster (Bitmap) vs. Vector Graphics

Term Definition Illustrator example

Pixel The smallest element of a raster image: one square of color in a grid A placed JPEG photograph is a grid of pixels

Raster / bitmap An image stored as a fixed grid of pixels; enlarging it beyond its pixel count makes edges soft or blocky PNG, JPEG, GIF, TIFF, PSD, and WebP files

Vector Artwork stored as mathematically defined paths, so it can be scaled to any size without losing edge quality Native AI artwork, SVG, and vector PDF or EPS content

Path A line or shape built from anchor points and the segments between them A logo outline drawn with the Pen tool

Object Any selectable item: a path, group, type object, placed image, or symbol instance Each entry listed in the Layers panel

Type Live, editable text that depends on a font Point type, area type, and type on a path

Illustrator is primarily a vector application, but its documents often contain raster content: placed photographs, embedded images, and raster effects. Knowing which parts of a file are which explains why a logo scales cleanly while the photograph behind it turns soft when enlarged.

Rasterizing and Rendering

Rasterizing converts vector artwork into pixels. You can rasterize permanently with Object > Rasterize , choosing the color model, resolution, background, and anti-aliasing, or temporarily through effects that generate pixels. Rendering is the broader term for calculating the final visible image, whether on screen, during export to a raster format such as PNG, or when a printer's raster image processor (RIP) images the file. Every export to PNG or JPEG renders the vector art at the resolution you choose.

Raster vs. Vector Effects

The Effect menu is divided into Illustrator Effects (such as Distort & Transform, Path, Warp, and Convert to Shape) and Photoshop Effects (such as Blur, Artistic, and Texture). Photoshop Effects always produce pixels. Some Illustrator Effects—Drop Shadow, Inner Glow, Outer Glow, and Feather—also rasterize their soft edges. The resolution of every rasterized effect comes from Effect > Document Raster Effects Settings , which is why a shadow created at Screen (72 ppi) looks soft in print even though the shape it belongs to is a crisp vector.

Resolution, Image Size, and Resizing

Resolution of a raster image is measured in pixels per inch (ppi) . Printers describe device output in dots per inch (dpi) , and halftone screens in lines per inch (lpi) . Offset print usually targets about 300 ppi at final size; screen graphics are specified in pixel dimensions.

Image size measured in pixels is the real amount of data, for example 3000 × 2000 px. Document size measured in inches or centimeters is how large those pixels print: 3000 px at 300 ppi prints 10 inches wide.

Effective resolution changes when you scale a placed image in Illustrator. A 300 ppi photo scaled to 200% has an effective resolution of 150 ppi; scaled to 50%, it becomes 600 ppi. The Links panel's link information reports the effective PPI of each placed image.

Resizing is not adding detail. Scaling a raster image only changes how large its existing pixels print. Vector paths, by contrast, can be resized freely.

Worked example: A client supplies a 1200 × 900 px photo for a 6 × 4.5 in print ad. The effective resolution at that size is 1200 ÷ 6 = 200 ppi, which is below the usual 300 ppi target. Printed at 4 × 3 in, the same file reaches 1200 ÷ 4 = 300 ppi.

Print Geometry: Trim, Bleed, and Live Area

Term Meaning Typical value

Trim The final cut edge of the printed piece; in Illustrator, the artboard edge The artboard size, such as 8.5 × 11 in

Bleed Artwork extended past the trim so a slightly off cut does not leave a white edge; Illustrator shows it as a red guide 0.125 in (1/8 in) is common in North America and 3 mm in metric markets; always confirm the printer's specification

Live area (safe area) The inner zone where critical text and logos stay so trimming or binding cannot cut them off Often 0.125 to 0.25 in inside the trim, set by the printer or brand guide

Units of Measurement for Print and Digital Output

Print work uses points (72 pt = 1 in), picas (6 picas = 1 in), inches, millimeters, and centimeters. Screen work uses pixels. You can set a document's units in File > Document Setup , from the ruler's context menu, or in the Units preferences. You can also type a value with a different unit, such as 3mm in an inch-based document, and Illustrator converts it.

How Color Is Represented

• Term What it means Where you meet it in Illustrator
• Color mode The color model a document uses: RGB or CMYK File > Document Color Mode
• RGB Additive light: red, green, and blue values from 0 to 255 Web, mobile, and video documents
• CMYK Subtractive ink: cyan, magenta, yellow, and black from 0% to 100% Print documents

HSB Hue (0–360°), saturation, and brightness (0–100%); a way to choose colors, not an output mode Color panel and Color Picker

Grayscale Shades of black expressed as a tint percentage Color panel; Edit > Edit Colors > Convert to Grayscale

Hex value A six-digit hexadecimal code for an RGB color, such as #FF6600 Color panel and Color Picker hex field

Gamut The range of colors a device or color space can reproduce Out-of-gamut warning in the Color Picker and Color panel

Spot color A premixed ink, such as a PANTONE color, printed on its own plate Swatches marked with the spot icon

Rich black Black built from K plus other inks for a denser solid, such as C60 M40 Y40 K100 Large black backgrounds in print

Reading a Hex Code

Each pair of hexadecimal digits is one RGB channel, from 00 (0) to FF (255). #FF6600 therefore means R 255, G 102, B 0, a saturated orange. #000000 is RGB black and #FFFFFF is white. Hex values describe RGB colors only, so a print vendor still needs CMYK or spot specifications.

Black on Screen vs. Black in Print

Illustrator's Appearance of Black preferences control whether pure 100% K displays as a dark gray (so you can tell it apart from rich black) or as a jet black. On press, 100% K alone prints as a dark but slightly translucent black. A rich black adds cyan, magenta, and yellow under the K for a denser solid on large areas. Small text and thin rules should stay 100% K so four plates do not have to register perfectly around fine strokes.

Process vs. Spot Color

Process (CMYK) colors are mixed on press from four inks using halftone dots. Spot colors are premixed inks that print solid on their own plate. Designers choose spot colors when a brand color must match exactly or falls outside the CMYK gamut, as metallic, fluorescent, and many bright orange and green inks do.