About raster effects, Rasterization options – Adobe Illustrator CS3 User Manual
Page 358
ILLUSTRATOR CS3
User Guide
352
All of the commands in the top section of the Filter menu (Colors, Create, Distort, and Stylize) can be applied to
vector objects (with the exception of Object Mosaic), but only some commands in the Create and Colors submenus
can also be applied to bitmap objects. All of the commands in the bottom section of the Filter menu are raster filters
and can be applied to bitmap objects, but not to vector objects or 1-bit (black-and-white) bitmap objects.
About raster effects
Raster effects are effects that generate pixels, rather than vector data. Raster effects include SVG Filters, all of the
effects in the bottom section of the Effect menu, and the Drop Shadow, Inner Glow, Outer Glow, and Feather
commands in the Effect > Stylize submenu.
Whenever you apply a raster effect, Illustrator uses the document’s raster effects settings to determine the resolution
of the resulting image. These settings have a large impact on the resulting artwork; therefore, it’s important to check
the document raster effects settings before you start working with filters and effects.
You set rasterization options for a document by choosing Effect > Document Raster Effects Settings. (See “Raster-
ization options” on page 352.)
If an effect looks good on-screen, but loses detail or appears jagged when printed, you need to increase the document
raster effects resolution.
Rasterization options
You can set the following options for all raster effects in a document or when you rasterize a vector object.
Color Model
Determines the color model that is used during rasterization. You can generate an RGB or CMYK color
image (depending on the color mode of your document), a grayscale image, or a 1-bit image (which may be black
and white or black and transparent, depending on the background option selected).
Resolution
Determines the number of pixels per inch (ppi) in the rasterized image. When rasterizing a vector object,
select Use Document Raster Effects Resolution to use global resolution settings.
Background
Determines how transparent areas of the vector graphic are converted to pixels. Select White to fill
transparent areas with white pixels, or select Transparent to make the background transparent. If you select Trans-
parent, you create an alpha channel (for all images except 1-bit images). The alpha channel is retained if the artwork
is exported into Photoshop. (This option anti-aliases better than the Create Clipping Mask option.)
Anti-alias
Applies anti-aliasing to reduce the appearance of jagged edges in the rasterized image. When setting
rasterization options for a document, deselect this option to maintain the crispness of fine lines and small text.
When rasterizing a vector object, select None to apply no anti-aliasing and maintain the hard edges of line art when
it is rasterized. Select Art Optimized to apply anti-aliasing that is best suited to artwork without type. Select Type
Optimized to apply anti-aliasing that is best suited to type.
Create Clipping Mask
Creates a mask that makes the background of the rasterized image appear transparent. You do
not need to create a clipping mask if you selected Transparent for Background.
Add Around Object
Adds the specified number of pixels around the rasterized image.
See also
“About raster effects” on page 352