How to Save Adobe Illustrator Files as JPEG PNG and More

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How to Save Adobe Illustrator Files as JPEG PNG and More

Adobe Illustrator offers lots of options for saving files. Learn how to save AI files in other formats, including JPEG, PNG, and SVG. By default, Adobe Illustrator saves files in AI format. This is ideal when you're working on projects or saving a master copy of your work. However, when the time comes to print or share the finished product, post it online, or import it into other programs, you will need to save it in a different format, like JPEG, PNG, or SVG. In this article, we'll show you how to save Adobe Illustrator (AI) files in other formats, including JPEG, PNG, and SVG.

Saving Artboards in Adobe Illustrator

Before we look at how to save files in specific formats, it's important to know how Adobe Illustrator handles artboards and how to save them as separate files. Artboards are like different pages within an Illustrator file. You can combine them into a single graphic, or save them as separate images. When you save an Illustrator file, you're normally asked how you want to handle artboards. What you decide affects how your final, exported image will look. In most cases, you decide through the File > Export > Export As option. Here's what you should do in different cases: If you want to save multiple artboards as separate files, check the Use Artboards box. Then select either All to save all the artboards, or enter a Range (such as 2-4) to specify which artboards to save. When you have objects placed outside of an artboard (like if it's overlapping the edge), check the Use Artboards box. This will ensure that your final image only contains what's inside the artboard and that the rest is cropped out. If all your artwork is within the artboard, and you only have one of them, simply uncheck the Use Artboards box. This will produce an image that is cropped to the bounds of the objects within it, with all white space removed. This is especially handy for outputting square or rectangular-shaped objects.

How to Save an Illustrator File as a JPEG

For an illustration, infographic, or anything that needs to be printed (such as when you design a business card in Adobe Illustrator), the best option is to save it as a high-resolution JPEG. Ideally, you should design your artwork at roughly the size at which you want to output it. Although Illustrator images can be resized without any loss of quality, you'll find that the sizing between objects-and especially the spacing between the letters in your text-needs to be tighter at larger sizes than at smaller sizes. If you haven't previously worked in this way, create a new document, paste in your artwork, and tweak it to taste. You're now ready to save your high-resolution Adobe Illustrator (AI) as JPEG. Go to File > Export > Export As. Type in a filename and set Format to JPEG. Set how you want to save your artboards, then hit Export to continue. On the JPEG Options screen, change the Color Model if you need to, and choose quality. Under Options, set the output resolution. Screen (72 ppi) will produce a file the same size as your original document and should be good enough to use on the web. Choose High (300 ppi) for a high-res image. This will be good enough for printing. Click OK to save the file.

How to Save an Illustrator File as a PNG

When you need to save an image like a logo or icon for use on the web, especially if it has a transparent background, then you should save your AI file as a PNG. Even if you have a non-transparent background file, you can easily using the Image Trace tool. To support standard and high-resolution displays, you should export your file at different sizes. Instead of manually exporting the file in different sizes, you can do this automatically. Follow the below steps to save your Adobe Illustrator file as PNG: Go to File > Export > Export for Screens. Select the Artboards tab. If there's more than one artboard in your image, choose the ones you want to output. Under Formats, set Format to PNG and Scale to 1x. Click on Add Scale. This will create the settings for a second image, so set the Scale option to a new relative size. 3x, for example, will output an image three times taller and wider than the original. Add more sizes if you need them. Click Export Artboard to save your images.

How to Save Adobe Illustrator Files as SVG

A better, more modern way to export graphics like icons and logos for the web is by using the SVG format. Short for Scalable Vector Graphics, SVG is an XML-based markup language. While you can output files that you can link to on your web page, you can also save the image as a piece of code that you can paste directly into your HTML file. You can then edit that using CSS. It's a very efficient way of adding effects and animations to your images. There are other benefits: the images are lightweight, and because they're vectors, you can resize them easily. There's no need to output multiple-sized images for different screen resolutions. There are a couple of ways to save an Illustrator file as SVG. You can use the Save As option or use the Export feature. Using Save As creates a larger file for working on, so if you're uploading your file to the web, the recommended way is to use the latter. Follow these steps to export an AI file in SVG format using the Export option: Go to File > Export > Export As. Set the Format to SVG and click Export. Set Styling to Internal CSS. This places all the styling information in a