Bitmapping 101: Troubleshooting EPS Files in Illustrator
By Stacey Lynn Payne, Shutterstock Contributor
In a continuation of our Rejection Reasons series, Shutterstock Contributor Stacey Lynn Payne explains how to avoid rejections for No Bitmaps.
You work hard on your vector illustrations, trying to avoid any technical problems. That’s why it’s such a terrible feeling when you receive the following rejection: No Bitmaps. Bitmap images are not permitted–please see the forum.
The good news is, there are a few things you can do to overcome this. These instructions are for Adobe Illustrator users, but these concepts may also help CorelDraw, Inkscape, Xara Xtreme, Aviary Raven or similar vector program users.
The first thing to understand is how NOT to build your illustrations. You want to avoid the rasterization that can occur upon output to EPS-8 or 10. EPS-8 creates rasters more often than EPS-10 files, but EPS-10 has its own quirks that can make it output as a raster.
When exporting to EPS-8, you will most certainly get bitmapping if you use these effects and techniques:
1. Transparency
2. Opacity Masks
3. Radial Gradient
4. Linear Gradient, sometimes, not always, depends on opacity masks used, or if output Transparency setting is not 100% Vectors on the Raster/Vector Balance (in the EPS Options window, see below)
5. Drop Shadow
6. Gaussian or Radial Blur
When exporting to EPS-10, most of the problems encountered in outputting to EPS-8 are eliminated, except bitmapping will still occur with Drop Shadow and Gaussian or Radial Blur. For those effects, you have to find alternate methods that will produce the same effect (such as Blend Mode to replace Drop Shadow).
When exporting to EPS, always check the Transparency setting in the EPS Options -> Custom Transparency Flattener Options box (see Figure 1). You’ll want this set to 100% Vectors as shown in Figure 1. Check this for EPS-10 as well.
When you are trying to find the offending area of the file, open the Links Palette (Window -> Links) and the Document Info palette (Window -> 
Document Info). The Links Palette will display small thumbnails of the bitmapping areas. You may locate one in the artwork by clicking once on the image to select it (see Figure 2), then clicking on the Go To Link button at the bottom of that palette. Illustrator will select that piece of artwork so you can change it. The Document Info palette will show you how many linked or embedded images are in the file, which are always bitmapping areas.
Once you locate your bitmapping area, you can change the transparency, expand the effect, or change your technique, and resave the artwork as an EPS file. Close and open the EPS file again and check the Links and Document Info palettes to see if your bitmapping issue is resolved.
Special exception for Gaussian and Radial Blur: These effects will bitmap in the artwork without creating embedded or linked images in the palettes. You just need to zoom in on the blurred area to see the pixilation (blocky areas of color, not smooth like the blur is supposed to look). Just know that those effects will rasterize no matter what, in EPS-8 and 10.
Good luck!
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21 Responses
Thanks a lot. First time that happen to one of my vector. I had only one object with mesh and it turns to bitmap in EPS 8. I didn’t even notice it before it was refused. Than, I took back the ai file and put raster balance to 100 and save it as EPS 10.
Funny ! I made many vectors with mesh and save it EPS 8 and never had any trouble before. I don’t know why it turn out this time. I have no transparencies neither radial gradients in my file.
Thanks again for the tips.
Is there something similar to: Links Palette (Window -> Links) and the Document Info palette (Window -> Document Info) when using Inkscape?
Thank you very much for the article! It’s very useful and helped me to correct my mistakes. My problem was in using transparency in gradients.
Great stuff.I’d like to suggest taking a look at such as something like graphic bomb. What exactly are you looking for though?
I made an ExtendedSelect script for Adobe Illustrator that allows to check for various problematic features in a vector file.
It can be downloaded for free from my site:
http://maps.aridocean.com/scripts_en.php
Thanks for this great article, and THANKS Michal Schmeling for this script, really helped me out!
Can the script also select layers with effects (Ex: Gaussian blur?)
Thanks!
What about size of the file? Maybe it is written somewhere but i cant find it.
Handy tips & very useful tutorial, Stacey. Thank you!
Michael Schmeling , thank you so much for the great share! The script saves a lot of time and it is really a must-have tool for illustrators.
In EPS 10, gaussian blur and drop shadow introduces bitmaps but these are temporarily generated, they don’t appear in the links palette as standalone bitmaps. These bitmaps are rendered with the “Document raster effects” resolution. If this is 72 dpi, the effects will appear pixelated, if 300dpi or above, the pixels aren’t visible.
Rejections due to this kind of bitmaps are not valid, since these aren’t effective, standalone bitmaps, they are always re-generated whenever you open the illustration or rescale the object that has the applied effect.
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I just received “Not approved” No Bitmaps–Bitmap images are not permitted. And strange thing: if I check my work in window “Document info” like “Objekts” (from right corner), it shows I have embedded images. But if I choose “Embedded images” in the same window it shows None! Why?
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Same of my first 10 files were rejected for this raster problem.
I’m sorry but I didn’t find any raster object in my file. I opened again the file EPS.10, I tried to convert the transparency, but no raster objest were finded.
Where is the problem, can explain? Thank you a lot.
Luca
If you are absolutely SURE you don’t have any bitmapping, resubmit the EPS file and explain in a Note to the Reviewer that you do not find bitmapping, and if they do, please explain where it is. Reviewers at Shutterstock are really good about answering your questions if you ask. They’ve been great about being specific with what needs fixed so I can resolve the issue and resubmit. Sometimes they can see things we can’t, and they can tell you where to look.
Good Luck Luca!
Stacey
are V10 eps acceptable with transparency and blending moods which would rasterized in v8 normally, Like the other guys are accepting v10 eps now with all the effects?
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Can someone provide details on how to investigate / fix bitmapping problems with Inkscape? I have been using Inkscape, and when saving it in eps format, Inkscape doesn’t allow any options listed here. In my files, I just have linear gradients, but per Shutterstock, there is a bitmap somewhere in my eps file.
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