Raster effects are effects that generate pixels, rather than vector data. Raster effects include SVG Filters, all of the effects in the bottom section of the Effect menu, and the Drop Shadow, Inner Glow, Outer Glow, and Feather commands in the Effect > Stylize submenu.

Whenever you apply a raster effect, Illustrator uses the document’s raster effects settings to determine the resolution of the resulting image. These settings have a large impact on the resulting artwork; therefore, it’s important to check the document raster effects settings before you start working with filters and effects.

You set rasterization options for a document by choosing Effect > Document Raster Effects Settings. (See Rasterization options.)

If an effect looks good on‑screen, but loses detail or appears jagged when printed, you need to increase the document raster effects resolution.