Can a Picture Clipping Be Converted to an EPS Format?

The hardest thing an editor faces is that once he has painstakingly worked on the clipping path process and got the final result he is unable to convert it to an eps file. It’s like kicking the elephant forward but the tail is stuck for good! 

When an edited picture refuses to budge from the editing table, it can prove to be a frustrating experience. Ask any editor; he may have faced this problem often in his early days of working as a clipping path specialist.  If you are already familiar with the difference between the clipping path and clipping mask, then we can just move on to the main theme-converting the picture to the desirable format. Now this refers to Photoshop files that can easily be imported to the Illustrator. If like this professional editor you are using the X Pro, Photoshop software 7 and Illustrator No.9 then this information can be really useful.

Why does this confusion happen at all in the first place? Clients give their pictures in Jpeg, Bitmap, TIF or any format. They are really not very literate when it comes to choosing the format and how they should send it to the editor. The editor knows in what format it comes and if it needs picture clipping. This actually sets the tone for the work. He also has to keep in mind what software to use for editing and the operating system of the computer. Probably a Mac user will have to follow different instructions compared to an X pro user. There is other software apart from Photoshop. If an editor works on Illustrator, the game changes. Hence, even if he sails through the editing in a jiffy, he is stuck while converting the file, which is the last thing to do when it needs to be sent to the client.

Why is EPS a more accepted format after picture clipping? It is open-ended and allows provision for further edits if the client needs some last minute changes. All over the world, this format is acceptable in all internet-related images, digital media work, e-commerce and websites.

And now for the conversion-If an editor works on the Illustrator he may run into rough weather if a bitmap picture needs transparency. A .psd file in Illustrator that is troubling and needs immediate attention.  Instead of the picture all he gets is a white silhouette. The foggy white mask covers the final edit. He needs to remove it otherwise the entire picture clipping is rendered useless. There are only two choices for him-to use a clipping path or a clipping mask. If the picture has the hard edge then a ‘path’ is sketched. A pen tool is fine for the same. The final picture has an outline, which needs to be concealed with a mask. This means once the outline is masked, all the stuff outside the ‘path’ will be transparent when it is being imported to the Illustrator. When the outline has been done, choose clipping path from the pop out menu. Ensure that this menu says it is a clipping path and you have not chosen anything else from the palette! As you see the indication simply save the picture as an EPS file.

TIP: Use the pen tool in Illustrator to make a clipping path with the picture behind it.