I remember working in digital prepress decades ago that .eps files were just kinda weird, and I didn’t love it when I had to deal with them. Like, what even made this? Why? I assumed it was some kind of antiquated software or practice, and I’d just deal with it, and eventually the world would improve.
But here we are in 2026, and EPS is still here. How I come across EPS files is that it’s the download format from stock art sites that deliver vector artwork.
It actually sorta makes sense:
- Stock art sites can’t deliver vectors as like
.ai(The Adobe Illustrator format, now a funny and unfortunate file extension) because it’s too vendor-specific. Not everyone uses Adobe software, and that format changes on a whim. - Stock art can’t deliver in
.svg, even though it’s a great open format, because it’s too web-specific. Graphic designers use vector art too, and SVG isn’t designed for the CMYK world of print. - Stock art sites can’t deliver in
.pdfbecause it’s just too weird. It doesn’t scream “editable source art” like it needs to.
But EPS is still weird! It’s a “frozen” format in that it hasn’t been touched in decades. That’s kinda good, but it feels like if Adobe really wanted to entirely move on from supporting it at all, they could. Plus, you get no preview for EPS files whatsoever.
That makes EPS files feel like a pretty low-class citizen on macOS.
OK, so EPS is a non-proprietary format that more-than-Adobe software can deal with, fine.
Can Figma open them?
Nope.
Can Sketch open them? Nope.
So by avoiding too much Adobe lock-in using EPS format, that locks me into needing to keep Adobe Illustrator around so I have something that can open an EPS file and get it converted into something useful.
I feel like just going full SVG would be the way to go, and I imagine print designers could figure it out.
Whenever I work with a service or software that needs vector artwork, I feel like I always end up with a folder of the art in .ai, .pdf, .eps, and .svg formats because I have to throw each one at them before figuring out what they want
This bring back memories of crashing the Linotronic 300 at least a few times a day. Encapsulated Pain in the Butt. Amazing you can just throw a PDF at a digital printer now.
How I remember troubleshooting many a janky eps—postscript error from some complex gradient, corrupted save, or just mangled in some nonstandard way by rogue drawing program. And the preview was almost always a problem. Maybe pdf-compatible .ai catches on as a bridge format. It's pretty solid.
Currently working in print and yes, would rather have everything in SVG. The little extra fuss to make ‘em print-ready is worth it because SVGs are usually such a small file size, easy to download and send.
Adobe Illustrator formats are weird about embedding multiple formats within; Each .ai file that has previews enabled has a print-ready PDF file embedded within — that can be read w/o looking at the EPS or AI content, and is a workaround when one gets a corrupted .ai file.
Vector art from Adobe Stock has an .ai file extension even if it's actually EPS.
EPS isn't losslessly compressed and is typically 3x the file size of .ai. I have a batch action that re-saves those as native .ai.
It's a strange dance.
The kicker? EPS was invented by Adobe.
I believe Affinity Designer can open EPS files.
PDF is a very universal format and an industry standard for printing. I use it all the time, CMYK and RGB if needed.
But I suppose if you are working on printing, you have software to work with PDFs. Or even SVG, printers have a lot of RGB conversion profiles. RGB isn’t a stress anymore.
Unless it’s a color specific work that you absolutely need color control – which is, in my opinion, very over rated because machines aren’t perfect too.
Not talking about spot colors, of course. (which PDF can manage anyway).