| Full Name | Encapsulated PostScript File |
| Format ID | IG_FORMAT_EPS = 10 |
| File Extension(s) | *.eps (may or may not contain preview image), *.epi (contains preview image), *epsf |
| Data Type | Raster image |
| Data Encoding | Binary |
| Color Profile Support | No |
| Multi-Page Support | No |
| Alpha Channel Support | No |
| Filter Control Parameter | Type | Default Value | Available Values | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAVE_PREVIEW | AT_BOOL | FALSE | TRUE, FALSE | If TRUE then EPS preview will be saved |
| START | DWORD | 0 | Position of start. | |
| FITTING_METHOD | UINT | IG_EPS_FIT_ACTUAL | IG_EPS_FIT_PAGE, IG_EPS_FIT_ACTUAL, IG_EPS_FIT_SET | Fitting method, see IG_EPS_FIT_... constants |
| PIXEL_TO_PIXEL | AT_BOOL | FALSE | TRUE, FALSE | |
| PAGE_WIDTH | AT_DIMENSION | 8500 | Page width (100ths of an inch) | |
| PAGE_HEIGHT | AT_DIMENSION | 11000 | Page height (100ths of an inch) | |
| MARGINS | AT_RECT | {250, 250, 250, 250} | Margins (100ths of an inch) | |
| X_DPI | UINT | 300 | X resolution | |
| Y_DPI | UINT | 300 | Y resolution | |
| TEXT_ENCODING | UINT | IG_PDF_TEXTENC_ASCII_HEX | IG_PDF_TEXTENC_NONE, IG_PDF_TEXTENC_ASCII_85, IG_PDF_TEXTENC_ASCII_HEX | Text encoding method, see IG_PDF_TEXTENC_ constants |
"PostScript" refers to a widely-supported general-purpose computer language that encodes text and graphics files for sharing with the many different hardware devices that support it. The full name for this language is "PostScript Page Description Language" (PDL).
An Encapsulated PostScript file stores (encapsulates) graphical or photographic images from a larger PostScript file. ImageGear currently supports the reading of EPS image of any bit depth as long as the preview image is TIF, uncompressed. ImageGear currently supports the writing of monochrome (1-bit), grayscale (8-bit gray level), and color RGB (24-bit) EPS images only.
The EPS file format begins with a PostScript language header. The data herein identifies the format as EPS, and gives the image title, creator, creation date, size and position of the image. Each line begins with a percent sign (%), which is normally interpreted in the PostScript language as the beginning of a comment line. Within the context of the EPS header, it takes on a different meaning.
Following the header is a block of PostScript code, which accomplishes the actual creation of the image.
The format proceeds with the bitmap data, or "graphics screen representation".
The EPI version of the EPS format, the version supported by ImageGear, contains an abridged interpretation of the image that is appended to the end of the file. It is usually smaller, and contains a lower resolution. One of the benefits of a preview image is that an application does not need to be able to interpret PostScript in order to display the image. Preview images are created with one of four file format types: TIFF, WMF, MAC PICT, and EPS.
Brown, C. Wayne, and Barry J. Shepherd. Graphics File Formats: Reference and Guide. Greenwich, CT.: Manning Publications, 1992.
Murray, James D. and William vanRyper. Encyclopedia of Graphics File Formats. Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly & Associates, Inc., 1994.