Photoshop or Illustrator, Which is Which?

 

Offset printing Philippines use various software. There is Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, all from Adobe, and one more, Corel Draw. Can we produce an offset print-ready layout with just one of these? The answer is yes, and it is possible to create a design with any software mentioned that is acceptable to an offset printing output. We say acceptable because there is a particular design that requires a specific result that only a certain software is capable of producing. The product is where you will understand some of its fundamental differences.

These two programs have much in common, but their differences are more prominent than their similarities. Photoshop is based on pixels, while Illustrator works using vectors. Photoshop is raster-based and uses pixels to create images. Illustrator works off vectors, points used to create perfectly smooth lines.

Let us discuss Adobe Photoshop and Adobe illustrator mainly. These can make a poster-ready layout for your offset printing requirement. Still, consider how this software works if you want to produce a crisper design so that your printout is perfect.

Adobe Photoshop is a pixel-based software, and this is the program you can use when your layout or work on an image or picture-heavy design. The pixel translates into your image resolution, which increases the number of pixels and increases the quality of the picture you produce. They work similarly to dots. The more drops you put in, the darker or the brighter the outcome will become.

Adobe Illustrator, on the other hand, works on a vector. Unlike JPEGs, GIFs, and BMP pictures, vector graphics are not by a network of pixels. In its place, vector graphics are composed of paths restricted by a beginning and finish point, together with other points, curves, and angles. A path can sometimes be a line, a square, a triangle, or a curvy shape; these create simple drawings or complex diagrams. 

Adobe illustrator is best used in creating lines or shapes because it is not pixel-based. The design can be scaled up or down without affecting its integrity. Unlike that pixel-based layout, when you expand the image or zoom it, you will see that picture becomes pixelated or reveals the dot composition of the photo displayed.

So now you have a layman’s understanding of how to use your Illustrator or Photoshop. The next time you approach offset printing Philippines, make sure that you have all these factored into your design or layout