Differences Between PS & EPS Files
The file extensions PS and EPS describe different types of PostScript files. PostScript files display a document as it would appear printed on paper, similar to a PDF file. The difference between PS and EPS files is the type of data they can hold and their use.
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Definition
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PostScript is a page description language created by Adobe Systems, Inc. in the early 1980s. Before PostScript, computers and printers had a hard time communicating with each other. The document layout you saw on your computer screen might not reflect how it appeared on the printed page. As a result, people had to lay out text and images manually to get the layout they wanted. PostScript allowed the computer to communicate a precise page layout to the printer, allowing the user to create a complicated page layout and print a copy that looked like the document on the computer screen.
How It Works
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PS and EPS files contain images of documents as they would appear on the printed page. The images are vector graphics. Most image files on the Internet, such as JPEGs, are raster images, meaning they are made up of tiny dots of color that blend together to form a full picture. Vector graphics, on the other hand, are made up of vectors, or paths such as lines and shapes. Like pixels, these vectors come together to form a full picture. Unlike raster graphics, however, vector graphics can be enlarged without losing quality and appearing blocky. This means the PS and EPS files will keep their quality at different print sizes.
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Uses
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PS and EPS files can contain text, vector graphics and raster graphics. PS files are rarely used anymore. Adobe later developed the PDF file, which stands for portable document format. It performs the same function of showing the printed page on-screen and has displaced the PS file format, particularly on websites. EPS files, on the other hand, are still commonly used for vector graphics editing software. Different graphics programs have their own native file formats; the EPS format is used to transfer files between different programs without losing file formatting.
Opening
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You can view PS files using a free PS viewer such as GSView or Online Viewer for PDF, PostScript and Word. Because the PDF file format is more common and accessible, it may be easier to convert the PS file to PDF using an online file converter, such as Zamzar. You can view EPS files in Microsoft Word or a vector graphics program, such as Adobe InDesign or CorelDRAW. If you don't have a graphics program, you can download Scribus, a free page layout editing program.
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