How to Save an Adobe Illustrator File as PNG (Fast)

There are three ways to Save an Illustrator file as a PNG, and all of them come from the Export menu: Export for Screens, Export As, or Save for Web (Legacy).

My name is April, and I鈥檝e been working in the graphic design field for 13+ years now. Depending on what you are trying to create in Adobe Illustrator, you may need a format that isn鈥檛 vector, although you should always keep a vector copy of your art too!

In this tutorial, I鈥檒l explain to you the three options to save an Illustrator file as PNG and when to use it.

Let鈥檚 look at the differences.

Table of Contents

Note: The screenshots from this tutorial are taken from Adobe Illustrator CC Windows version. 

Whether you just want to have fun playing around with text, or you are trying to create live text in a template for future use, I鈥檒l provide instructions on how to make this happen in Illustrator.

Step 1: In the main menu, File > Export > Export for Screens. 

Step 2: This brings up the Save for Screens dialog box. Lots of options here:

Step 3: Now we are to the formatting step. As you can see, there are iOS and Android presets, but you can modify them as much as you would like. Each Scale will be exported as a new file. As you can see, PNG is already selected. 

You can adjust the Scale (Size change from your current artboard), add a suffix to the file name (helps differentiate all the files you are about to generate), and the format.

There are several scale presets or you can adjust weight, height, or resolution.

You can also import presets.

Step 4: Clicking the Gear icon will bring up this Format Settings dialog box where you can see the specific settings for each format, such as the PNG shown here. Adjust as needed, but most likely everyday use won鈥檛 need these changed much. Click Save Settings when done.

Step 5: Click Export Artboard and these files will be exported to folders the way you set them up.

Whether you just want to have fun playing around with text, or you are trying to create live text in a template for future use, I鈥檒l provide instructions on how to make this happen in Illustrator.

Step 1: In the main menu, File > Export > Export As.

This will bring up the Export As dialog box. You will want to set your File name and change the file location as needed.

Step 2: Since we are trying to make a PNG from an Illustrator file, we want to click the drop-down menu for Save as type and choose PNG.

Step 3: You can also choose to Use Artboards or a range and add a suffix as well, but this is a more streamlined version of the Export for Screens.

Step 4: Click Export and you have your complete PNG! Simple as that.

Whether you just want to have fun playing around with text, or you are trying to create live text in a template for future use, I鈥檒l provide instructions on how to make this happen in Adobe Illustrator.

Step 1: In the main menu, File > Export > Save for Web (Legacy). 

Step 2: You鈥檒l see all the settings on the right-hand side.

Step 3: First we want to change to the PNG-24, unless you are creating something better off in the PNG-8 format. The PNG-24 works better with lots of color and is good for complex images. The PNG-8 is optimized for images with simple colors like user interface elements such as icons or buttons.

Step 4: Now that we have PNG-24 selected, we can choose whether we want the transparent background and if we want it to be interlaced. 

An Interlaced image displays at a low resolution in a browser but will download at the full resolution of the file.

You may also want to adjust the image size settings. The Save for Web export option will take your full-resolution document and make it have a web resolution (72). Increasing the size here will make the file bigger. Or if you know you need the width to be a certain pixel size, it would be easy to change here as well. 

Sometimes when I design for email campaigns, I create the graphics at one size, but I need to save them to be 800 px wide to upload properly. This is a great application for that!

Also, note that what you are viewing in the preview box is what will be saved in the file. Make sure Clip to Artboard is selected if you don鈥檛 want any extras that may be outside of the artboard that you didn鈥檛 intend to bring into this new PNG file.

Step 5: Click Save in the bottom right, and you will be brought to a dialog box where you choose where you want the file to save. Change the file name as needed, and then click Save and you have your complete PNG.

Since Adobe is a vector-based program, we have to use an Export feature to be able to save as a raster format such as PNG. So how to choose which method to use?

If you need to save multiple file variations, Export for Screens is the way to go. If you need a quick PNG with no changes, Export As is fantastic. If you have used the program for a while or only need one file variation, Save for Web (Legacy) is a great avenue for that.

Have you tried to make a PNG from an Illustrator file? Which method do you prefer? Let me know in the comments below.