AI to EPS Converter
Turn an .ai file into EPS files for print shops, sign makers and older layout apps, without uploading it. A modern .ai file saved with PDF compatibility, the usual setting, holds a PDF of the artwork with one page per artboard; the tool reads that part. An EPS file holds one page, so every artboard you choose becomes its own EPS, named after the file and the artboard number, and many download together as a ZIP. Shapes stay vector shapes, text stays text and pictures stay pictures, at the artboard’s exact size. Text is set in the standard PostScript fonts Helvetica, Times or Courier, each letter at its own place; if the exact letter shapes matter, choose As a picture at 150, 300 or 600 DPI. Every EPS is checked after it is made, and the tool says plainly when an .ai file cannot be read: saved without PDF content, or an old PostScript-only file. Your file never leaves your device.
100% private — everything runs in your browser. Your .ai file is read and turned into EPS files on your device; nothing is uploaded or stored.
As a picture: each EPS holds one picture of the artboard, not vector shapes, so it blurs when enlarged. Use it when the vector EPS is missing something you need.
This artboard is only a picture, so its EPS holds that picture, not shapes or text.
Changed on this artboard
Artboards
Type all, or artboard numbers such as 1-3, 5. An EPS holds one artboard, so each is its own file.
EPS content
Vector: shapes stay shapes and text stays text, set in Helvetica, Times or Courier at each letter’s own position. The artboard size is kept exactly.
Runs in your browser: pdf.js (Apache-2.0) reads the PDF part of the .ai file, loaded from jsDelivr when you add a file, and our own EPS writer makes the files. Nothing is uploaded and nothing is saved. Each EPS is checked after it is made. You may use what you make here, including commercially, with no credit needed. The rights in your own artwork stay as they were. Not affiliated with Adobe.
How to convert an AI file to EPS
- Drop your .ai file on the box, or click Try a sample.
- Keep all artboards, or type a range such as 1-3, 5, and click Convert these artboards.
- Page through the results and read what each EPS holds and what changed.
- Click Download this artboard, or Download all artboards for a ZIP.
What you can use it for
- Send a print shop or sign maker the EPS they ask for
- Place artwork in an older layout app that takes EPS
- Split an .ai file with several artboards into one EPS each
- Make a high-resolution picture EPS of artwork with unusual fonts
- Check whether an .ai file has PDF content other apps can read
- Convert artwork without installing a design app
What goes into each EPS
| In the .ai artboard | Vector EPS (default) | As a picture |
|---|---|---|
| Shapes, lines, curves | PostScript paths, sharp at any size | Pixels at the DPI you pick |
| Text | Text in Helvetica, Times or Courier at each letter’s position | Pixels: the exact letter shapes |
| Placed pictures | Pictures | Part of the one picture |
| Clipping masks | Kept as clipping paths | Kept |
| Gradients | One average colour (noted) | Kept as pixels |
| See-through colours and opacity masks | Blended with white, or left out (noted) | Flattened onto white |
| Artboard size | Exact, in points | Exact, in points |
| Layers | Flattened (one drawing) | Flattened |
An EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) file describes one page of artwork in the PostScript language, with a bounding box that tells layout and print programs its size. Print shops, sign makers and older layout apps still ask for it.
The tool uses the same EPS writer as our PDF to EPS page: each artboard is read with pdf.js and the PostScript is written by our own code.
Which .ai files can be read
| The .ai file | What happens |
|---|---|
| Saved with PDF compatibility (the default) | Every artboard converted |
| Saved with PDF compatibility off | Refused with a plain message: it holds only editing data no browser tool can draw |
| Old PostScript-only .ai (from before .ai files held a PDF) | Refused with a plain message |
| A PDF renamed .ai, or a PDF | Converted like any PDF |
| Password-protected | Opens when you type the password |
Need the artwork as an SVG or a picture instead? Open it with the SVG Converter once you have an SVG, or turn PDF pages into pictures with PDF to PNG and PDF to JPG.
Tested on real files
| Our test file | Artboards | What the EPS held |
|---|---|---|
| Our sample: shapes and Helvetica text on 2 artboards | 2 | 3 paths and 2 text runs on artboard 1; 2 EPS files in a ZIP |
| A logo saved by Illustrator CC 2017 | 1 | 3,683 paths, 0 pictures |
| An .ai file saved without PDF content (Illustrator 28) | – | Refused, nothing made |
| An old PostScript-only .ai | – | Refused, nothing made |
Every EPS made in testing was also drawn by an independent PostScript interpreter and compared with pdf.js’s drawing of the same artboard.
Not affiliated with Adobe.
Sources
Sources: Library of Congress: Encapsulated PostScript File Format (one page, the %%BoundingBox comment); ISO 32000-2, the PDF 2.0 standard (1 point = 1/72 inch); pdf.js on GitHub (Apache-2.0 licence).
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See all free tools →Frequently asked questions
Is this AI to EPS converter free?
Yes. There is no sign-up, no watermark and no limit beyond 100 artboards at a time. The file is read in your browser and never leaves your device.
Why do I get one EPS per artboard?
An EPS file describes a single page, so an .ai file with several artboards cannot become one EPS. Each artboard you choose becomes its own file, named like logo-artboard-01.eps, and Download all artboards puts them in one ZIP.
Is the EPS vector?
Yes, by default. Shapes are written as PostScript paths, text as text and pictures as pictures, at the artboard’s exact size. The tool reads each EPS back and shows how many vector paths, text runs and pictures it holds.
Which .ai files work?
Files saved with Create PDF Compatible File ticked, which is the default in Illustrator. Files saved with it off hold only Illustrator’s own editing data, and very old .ai files are PostScript only; the tool says so and makes nothing, rather than a blank or wrong EPS.
What happens to the fonts?
PostScript printers and apps all have the standard fonts Helvetica, Times and Courier, so text is set in the nearest of these, each letter at its original position. Letters outside the Western European set show as a question mark and are listed. To keep the exact letter shapes, choose As a picture.
What does not carry over to a vector EPS?
EPS has no transparency, so see-through colours are blended with white; colour gradients are drawn as one average colour; see-through masks are left out. The notes for each artboard say which of these happened. As a picture keeps how the artboard looks.
Are layers kept?
No. The PDF part of an .ai file holds the finished artwork, not Illustrator’s layers, so each EPS is one flat drawing of the artboard; every shape is still a separate path you can edit.
Can it open password-protected files?
Yes, if you know the password: type it when asked. It is used in your browser only and never sent anywhere.
Is my .ai file uploaded?
No. pdf.js is downloaded from jsDelivr and runs in your browser, and the EPS files are written by our own code on your device.