PDF Files
The PDF file format is a PostScript-based document format that accommodates
PostScript-based graphics and text, as well as bitmap graphics. Areas of transparency in
a PDF file are also transparent in Motion.
PDF files are capable of storing PostScript-based illustrations. Unlike graphics file formats
such as TIFF and JPEG, which save images as a collection of pixels at a given resolution
divided into red, green, and blue channels, PostScript-based illustrations are saved as
mathematical descriptions of how the artwork is drawn. As a result, PDF files using
PostScript-based artwork and text have infinite resolution.
The practical difference between bitmap files and PostScript-based files is that scaling a
bitmap beyond 100 percent results in the image progressively softening the more you
increase its size. PostScript-based illustrations remain sharp and clear no matter how large
or how small you scale them.
When importing a PDF file, its size is relative to the original page size of the file. As a
result, even small graphics can have a large frame size, with empty space surrounding
the graphic. When exporting a graphic as a PDF file for use in Motion, you may want to
scale the graphic to fit the page dimensions, or reduce the page size in the source
application’s page preferences to fit the graphic’s dimensions.
222
Chapter 6
Creating and Managing Projects