What is a raster image?
A raster image is made of a grid of tiny colored pixels, like a photo, and it gets blurry if you enlarge it too much.
A raster image, also called a bitmap, is built from a fixed grid of pixels. Every photo you take is a raster image. JPG, PNG, WebP, GIF and TIFF are all raster formats. Raster images can show rich detail and smooth color, but they have a set number of pixels. Stretch one beyond its size and it turns soft or blocky. You can always make a raster image smaller, but not truly bigger.
Why it matters for your business: Knowing the difference helps you send the right file: raster photos for your website, and vector logos for print and signs.
Related articles
More in Glossary
Still need help?
Ask our team