That gradient fill is raster entirely in Photoshop and it will suffer upon scaling in an external tool/software.Īpplications such as Illustrator, Inkscape, CorelDraw, Xara, Sketch, etc. This means there may be a vector square and its edges will remain sharp and crisp, however if that square has a gradient fill. You can only create raster files with some embedded vector data. You can't create vector files with Photoshop. Meaning the file is not bound by any PPI/DPI setting. They are never vector files.Ī true vector file contains zero raster data and is 100% resolution independent. Photoshop files are always raster files which may or may not also contain embedded vector data. Regardless of how you create a file and save it, Photoshop always saves both vector and raster information. There's a reason you need to use a 4-wheel drive vehicle to go 4-wheeling, just as there's a reason you need to use a vector application to create vector files. Can you go 4-wheeling with a Toyota Prius? Sure you can! Is it going to do all the things a Jeep Wrangler can do? Heck no. Photoshop can not create true, 100% resolution independent, vector files in any other format. TL DR: With the exception of rudimentary SVG exporting *(See addendum below).

I'd encourage users to try exporting vector constructions of varying complexity to SVG to see what may or may not be retained in the exports, if the SVG format is even viable for their workflow (which may not be the case.) While I still believe Photoshop is not the proper tool if you want anything more than flat icons in vector form, it is possible to export SVG files which are 100% vector from Photoshop - see addendum at the end of the answer. Note: This answer was originally written back in 2013 when SVG was a 'newer' option in Photoshop and prior to Photoshop having the ability to 'export assets.' Support for SVG has grown in the past decade.

Vectorize images in photoshop