EPS File

Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) is a Document Structuring Convention–conforming (DSC) PostScript document format usable as a graphics file format.

EPS files are more-or-less self-contained, reasonably predictable PostScript documents that describe an image or drawing and can be placed within another PostScript document.

An EPS file is essentially a PostScript program, saved as a single file that includes a low-resolution preview "encapsulated" within it, allowing some programs to display a preview on the screen.

An EPS file contains a BoundingBox DSC comment, describing the rectangle containing the image described by the EPS file.

Applications can use this information to lay out the page, even if they are unable to directly render the PostScript inside. EPS, together with DSC's Open Structuring Conventions, form the basis of early versions of the Adobe Illustrator Artwork file format.