FormatDrop
Image Format

EPS

Encapsulated PostScript

EPS is the vector format of professional printing — you'll encounter it in stock photo libraries, logo files from designers, and print-production workflows. It's a PostScript-based format that was the industry standard before PDF took over. Today EPS is mostly legacy content that needs to be converted to PNG or PDF for modern use.

What is EPS?

EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) was developed by Adobe and introduced in 1987 as part of the PostScript page description language ecosystem. PostScript is a programming language for describing printed pages — EPS is the 'encapsulated' subset that describes a single image or graphic that can be embedded within a larger PostScript document. EPS files contain PostScript code that draws vector graphics (paths, curves, text) and can also embed raster images. They optionally include a low-resolution PIFF (preview image) so that graphics applications can display a thumbnail without rendering the full PostScript. EPS became the dominant format for print production in the 1990s because it integrated perfectly with the PostScript printing pipeline used by professional printing equipment. Stock photography libraries distributed images as EPS with embedded high-resolution rasters. Logo files from graphic designers were delivered as EPS vector graphics. The print industry ran on EPS for two decades. PDF replaced EPS as the standard for professional print delivery in the 2000s — PDF can do everything EPS does plus more (multi-page, encryption, forms, interactive elements) in a more reliable, standardized way. Today, EPS files exist primarily as legacy archive content. Modern creative software (Illustrator, Inkscape) can open EPS files. Most modern applications cannot — to use an EPS file in a web page, email, Word document, or presentation, you need to convert it to PNG, SVG, or PDF first.

EPS pros and cons

Advantages

  • Scalable vector graphics — resolution-independent like SVG
  • Universal in print production workflows from the 1990s–2000s
  • Can embed high-resolution raster images
  • Supported by professional design software (Illustrator, CorelDRAW, Inkscape)

Limitations

  • Cannot be opened without PostScript rendering software
  • No native browser support — requires conversion to PNG or SVG
  • Largely replaced by PDF and SVG in modern workflows
  • Large file sizes for complex vector artwork
  • Proprietary rendering quirks — EPS files from different software may render differently

When should you convert EPS files?

Convert EPS to PNG when you need to use a logo or graphic in a web page, presentation, Word document, or email — none of these support EPS. Convert EPS to PDF when submitting print-ready artwork to a modern print shop (PDF is the current standard, not EPS). Convert EPS to SVG if you need an editable vector format for web use.

Convert EPS files

EPS→PNG
SVG→PNG

All FormatDrop conversions run entirely in your browser — no file upload, no server processing. Your files stay on your device.

EPS FAQ

How do I open an EPS file without Illustrator?
Inkscape (free, open-source) opens EPS files on Windows, Mac, and Linux — it's the best free alternative. GIMP can import EPS files if Ghostscript is installed (Ghostscript is the open-source PostScript renderer). On Mac, Preview can sometimes open EPS files. For quick conversion to PNG without installing software, use FormatDrop in your browser — eps-to-png runs Ghostscript via WebAssembly.
Is EPS the same as SVG?
Both are vector formats, but they're completely different technologies. EPS uses PostScript (a page description language from the 1980s), while SVG uses XML (a web-native markup language from the late 1990s). SVG is natively supported by all browsers, editable in any text editor, and is the modern web vector standard. EPS is a legacy print format. If you have an EPS logo file, converting it to SVG gives you a more usable vector format for web and modern applications.

More formats

HEICWebPAVIFEPUBWebMOpusMP3WAVM4AFLACAACMP4AVIMKVMOVJPGPNGGIFSVGTIFFICOBMPARWOGGWMVPPTXPagesPDFDOCXRAWHEVCH.264AIFFM4VWMA3GPDNGRTFPSDOGVTSFLVAIXLSXCSVZIPAPNGMIDIJPEG XLMPG/MPEGVOBM2TSAC3ALACDTSJP2HEIFAPECBZ3G2SRTDOCPPTXLSODTODSM3URAR7ZM4BAMRTXTMOBITARGZJSONXMLYAMLKEYMTSCR2NEFMXFTGACAFASSVTTDSFRMF4VWVASFRMVBORFRW2EAC-3TTAISODMGXZDjVuFB2AUM4RAZW3MKAEXRVCFICSAAXPRCMP2SPXXSPFM3U8