What does "raster" mean?
Raster artwork is a term for digital images.
The best and easiest way to describe "raster" artwork is to envision an image or picture. Images are made up of literally hundreds upon thousands of teeny-tiny little colored dots assembled together to create a picture. Raster images are therefore made up of "dot patterns" that create a visual image.
Raster artwork is great for digital printing, especially when you have a high resolution raster image available. However, raster artwork will not work well if your image needs to be printed and then cut to shape. Raster artwork lacks the necessary components to make and image into a print and cut format like "vector" artwork does.
Raster images can be identified by the suffix of the file naming convention. For instance most raster images have a .JPG, .TIF, .PNG, .GIF, .PSD or .PDF at the end of the file name. A good about of these naming conventions for raster artwork are files that have been generated in a popular graphic design program called Photoshop.
If you are submitting raster artwork images to print for your sign order it is preferable to make sure that your file has a good resolution, anywhere between 150 to 300 dpi, and to flatten all layers. Raster images that are provided in a low resolution form may end up being blurry or pixelated when printed. We check all files for print compatibility though, so if there is an issue with your raster artwork we'll contact you to try and resolve the issue. But remember, raster images can't be cut to shape.
So you might be wondering what happens if you submit raster artwork but need your file cut to shape? There are two answers to this question: 1) We can create a "cut-line" around the outside of your logo giving it a "cloud cut*"; or 2) have our design team try and re-create your raster artwork image into a "vector" format. Design fees to convert a raster image to a vector format for die-cutting can range depending on the level of difficulty to recreate the artwork. The cloud cut is the easiest and least expensive solution versus recreating your specific artwork.
*Cloud cut: A custom cut created to hug the outside shape of your logo (design) the creates a thin white border that creates a more unique look than just a rectangular/square print.