Author Topic: Vector artists rejoyce! - iStock soon to accept AI 10 EPS! (Read 9041 times)

dhanford · « **on:** November 19, 2011, 17:58 »

Out from the dark ages! Who'd of thought they'd ever update the standard from the ancient AI 8 EPS?! I'm crossing my finger that this change will be implemented smoothly.

announcement:
http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=337037&page=1

Jo Ann Snover · « **Reply #1 on:** November 19, 2011, 18:08 »

It certainly seems like good news - although like logos and PNG, it's "coming soon"

I deleted all my vectors in September as I wasn't having them go to PP, so I don't have any personal stake in that any more.

dhanford · « **Reply #2 on:** November 19, 2011, 18:29 »

LOL! It does seem that the only news that actually arrives in a timely fashion at iStock, is bad news!
When I started my port on a whim, something to do while waiting for edits and approvals on my day job. It's been a pretty decent year for me at iStock. It might have been a great year if they hadn't tried so hard to screw me. I'm hesitant to submit elsewhere, I don't want to sell JPEGs of my vectors. I need to research the micros and figure out what's good for me. I keep hoping things will get better at iStock, but they seem bound and determined to self destruct!

dhanford · « **Reply #3 on:** November 19, 2011, 18:32 »

JoAnn, I remember your vectors on iStock - lovely, detailed work!

Perry · « **Reply #4 on:** November 19, 2011, 18:46 »

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjjZGyYcH9E&feature=related[/youtube]
From the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1974)

helix7 · « **Reply #5 on:** November 19, 2011, 19:46 »

Gotta admit, I'm shocked. Never thought we'd see the day that istock actually listens to buyers and gives them what they want.

This is sort of a good and bad thing at the same time. Good in that I can finally put istock back into my regular upload rotation. I pretty much had to stop uploading there since most of my latest work is in the EPS10 format and I wasn't about to do the conversions to EPS8 just for istock.

The bad is that by not accepting EPS10 files, istock was giving the other agencies an advantage. I actually liked that they didn't offer the more modern file format, while good sites like SS, DT, Gl, etc., all were able to offer it. The advantage at SS is noticeable. EPS10 stuff sells well over there, and EPS10 files are often in the weekly Top 50. Having EPS10 files was a nice distinction for everyone else. It gave agencies the advantage of being able to say "here's some stuff you can't get at istock." Now that distinction is gone.

On top of that, with traffic down so much at istock, it's concerning that uploading all this EPS10 content is even going to be worthwhile. They can't do any big announcement around this, since they're the last agency to move on to the new standard. They'd just look silly announcing the new format to buyers when everyone knows you can get EPS10 files everywhere, and have been able to for a while now.

All in all, I guess it's a good thing. I have my doubts that this is going to do much good to bring up my earnings, but I'm willing to give it a chance and you can bet that I'll be filling up my upload queue with EPS10 files when they open the doors for the new format. For once, there is something good to talk about with istock.

Noodles · « **Reply #6 on:** November 19, 2011, 21:15 »

Awesome, I hope it happens. Could be a big boost to earnings.

Noedelhap · « **Reply #7 on:** November 19, 2011, 22:10 »

How about compatibility nowadays? Will people with other vector programs be able to open EPS10 files as well, or does this mean we'll be excluding certain buyers by delivering EPS10?

helix7 · « **Reply #8 on:** November 19, 2011, 23:21 »

Quote from: Noedelhap on November 19, 2011, 22:10

How about compatibility nowadays? Will people with other vector programs be able to open EPS10 files as well, or does this mean we'll be excluding certain buyers by delivering EPS10?

Surely this will exclude some buyers, but frankly I think that's not our problem or the agencies' problems. I think it's still more than generous to make the industry standard file format one that's 10 years old (EPS10 arrived in 2001). If some software still can't handle EPS10, that's really on the software makers more than anyone. They've had a decade to get their software to play nice with transparency and other aspects of the EPS10 format.

Their customers will surely be the ones to suffer because of it, but I don't think it's right to ask the stock image industry to stick with the even older EPS8 format just because some software manufacturers refuse to get their applications to work with modern file formats.

Noodles · « **Reply #9 on:** November 20, 2011, 01:15 »

Quote from: helix7 on November 19, 2011, 23:21

Their customers will surely be the ones to suffer because of it, but I don't think it's right to ask the stock image industry to stick with the even older EPS8 format just because some software manufacturers refuse to get their applications to work with modern file formats.

I thought it had to do with Adobe writing their own proprietary software code after eps8. Its also why Apple refuses to allow Adobe Flash animation on iPhones/iPads etc. Also, don't forget transparency can be problematic in the print process and another reason why eps10 has been held off for so long. Nothing is ever straight forward but I'm glad eps10 will be allowed and I may include, when appropriate, a flattened version (just the transparent elements) in the zip file to cover for those who require it.

helix7 · « **Reply #10 on:** November 20, 2011, 11:12 »

Quote from: Noodles on November 20, 2011, 01:15

I thought it had to do with Adobe writing their own proprietary software code after eps8...

I thought it was a PostScript issue. Something about CorelDraw not working with level 3. But I'm not sure that's still an issue with the latest version of CorelDraw. In any case, it doesn't seem to be a proprietary software issue (some applications even work with the AI format (which is certainly proprietary) and more an issue of what the software makers do with their products to allow them to play nicely with newer formats. I think the conflict is still rooted in software restriction rather than file format restrictions, and the onus is still on the manufacturers to develop solutions that allow greater file importing compatibility.

I'm guessing that CorelDraw is still the major alternative to Illustrator that is a cause for concern, but I think the problem is Corel's to deal with, and it's not necessarily the fault of Adobe. Besides, it's not like Corel is a shining example of compatibility. The software is still Windows-only, which is baffling givien the industry they target with their products.

Quote from: Noodles on November 20, 2011, 01:15

...Also, don't forget transparency can be problematic in the print process and another reason why eps10 has been held off for so long...

Frankly that's on the designer to deal with. I'd rather provide a file that includes transparency in a drop shadow for example, than a file that has a fake drop shadow with a solid background color. That makes the image unusable with the shadow on anything other than the original background. Designers surely have to be annoyed to buy a set of EPS8 icons with dropshadows over white, only to find that they can't use those same icons over any other colored background because the shadow blends to solid white.

I'd rather give them a true shadow and greater ease of use of the file than limit the use because of printing concerns. If printing was such a major concern, I'd think the agencies would require vector files to be in the CMYK color space anyway.

FreeTransform · « **Reply #11 on:** November 22, 2011, 11:29 »

This is an interesting example of a company that was once small, hungry and innovative becoming huge, corporate, and overly cautious. I believe iStock was the first to offer vector files, and now they're the last to finally move away from this 13-year-old format.

Chico · « **Reply #12 on:** November 22, 2011, 12:38 »

I'm a vector artist.

Eps 10? Ok, good movement. No reason to wooo-yays.

michaeldb · « **Reply #13 on:** November 22, 2011, 14:12 »

Quote from: FreeTransform on November 22, 2011, 11:29

This is an interesting example of a company that was once small, hungry and innovative becoming huge, corporate, and overly cautious. I believe iStock was the first to offer vector files, and now they're the last to finally move away from this 13-year-old format.

Good point. It's an amazingly complete transition, from one extreme to another, in less than a decade.

Susan S. · « **Reply #14 on:** December 01, 2011, 21:07 »

Just in case anyone still wants to contribute to istock, this has now gone live.

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Author Topic: Vector artists rejoyce! - iStock soon to accept AI 10 EPS! (Read 9041 times)

dhanford

Jo Ann Snover

dhanford

dhanford

Perry

helix7

Noodles

Noedelhap

helix7

Noodles

helix7

FreeTransform

Chico

michaeldb

Susan S.

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