Printing-vector vs bitmap?

[CurvyArtGoddess]

Hi all,

I'm new to artrage. I want to use it to make a logo for my business cards, maybe some postcards of my work. Has anyone had any issues printing with artrage? I was told I should use vector, but I'm not making anything big and will probably be printing to online services like vista print or an online sticker place. Should I switch over to illustrator for this type of work? Has anyone printed their stuff like this? Any problems encountered?

Thanks!

[gxhpainter]

Hi CurvyArtGoddess, yes I have used my art done in ArtRage ( bitmapped ) and printed some 5x7" postcards, and my business cards using VistaPrint and they came out great ( just be sure the jpegs are atleast 300 dpi
or more I used 600 dpi for larger works ( up the dpi in small steps say 96 to 150 to 300 to 600 this keeps the image sharp and clear, instead of just going from 96 straight to 300 dpi. I use Photoshop for this resize work.
good luck!. I have used illustrator and it is true that you can resize without loss of sharpness you don't necessarily have to use it.

[Stephen Lo Piano]

You could use a vector program for the layout and font settings and a raster program like Art Rage combined. If you already have the program Illustrator you could export the art rage artwork in the bmp or png format and then import into Illustrator, Corel Draw, or Inkscape. Vector lettering does conventionally have less probability of jagged edges and curves yet as gxhpainter has posted if you set up everything correctly that will minimize any jagged lines in the lettering production. Another option is to hand paint your own lettering in Art Rage. If you see a font style your interested in open up the font file and use that as a reference for setup or create your own font style. Hey, I was trained in commercial art back in the late 1960's and early 1970's and did a lot of lettering in poster designs and illustration in natural media by hand. Art rage has all the tools you would need to attempt a hand lettering layout. Experiment and see what works best through trial and error.