Written by:
Kirk Knoll
kknoll@gpo.gov

It's so easy to use the copy and paste function.
Beware...
When you want to move artwork from one application to another, don't use copying and pasting . Instead, export or save the artwork, then use the place command (or import, Get Picture or Import by Reference, depending on the layout program you are using) to place the artwork in the destination application.

Why not copy and paste? First, the formats that most applications put on the Clipboard (Windows or Mac) when you copy are usually "stripped-down" versions of their original file format, in some cases only a 12 DPI proxy image is available at output. You might not get what you need to print the artwork correctly. Next, copying and pasting artwork from one application to another generally doesn't leave you with an externally linked graphic, which is something you might need later to edit the artwork. Finally, you don't always get what you expect from the Clipboard. Sometimes you'll get a bitmap format when you expect a vector format, or vice versa.

The exception to this is in the case of going between Illustrator and Photoshop since they both support EPS on the Clipboard. In this instance the copy and paste feature is OK to use.

Happy Placing!

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