Vector border around bitmap?

Please help! This should be simple but I can't figure it out.

All I want to do is create a rectangular frame or border around the outer edge of a CMYK bitmap image. I need to save the image as a Photoshop EPS and I need a vector border that won't be affected by resolution of output device (on screen, print, PDF, etc.).

I've tried "Select All" and create a path around the outer edge of the rectangle. How do I stroke this to get a vector frame that I can save as an EPS file? In the end, all I want is a half-point black rule around the rectangular edge of the image... nothing fancy, no special effects and no alteration of any internal element of the bitmap graphic. Just a border.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

I don't understand. If you draw the border around the box and change the resolution of the image, the size of the border won't be effected.

If you're stating that you want an image that's 72 DPI overall but you want a 300 DPI element in it, that's quite impossible. Once you set the resolution, everything in the image adheres to that resolution.

If you're just wondering how to create a border, select the image and go to Layer Styles > Stroke and put the settings to your liking.

Illustrator is really the better choice for vector art, if you have that option.

Hello and thanks for the response. I'm sorry if my earlier post wasn't clear enough re: what I'm trying to do. I don't want to mix resolutions in one image, I just want to include a vector element (a border) around my bitmap image. I guess I need to give more details about why I want to do this, but I still need to know how.

For some time, I have been editing bitmaps (TIFF files) for a client whose spec requires a half-point border around the outer rectangular edge of the image. With an overall image resolution of 600 dpi, the bitmapped border worked just fine for conventional print production.

Now, in addition to the print production, they need a lower resolution (150 dpi) PDF version with the same half-point border. The problem has been that the lower res image doesn't always display the border consistently. For whatever reason, the bitmap border doesn't always appear in the PDF, its appearance varies from machine to machine (depending on their screen res, zoom level of view, version of Acrobat reader, phases of the moon or some other variable I cannot determine). Sometimes the border may not display when the PDF is viewed at 100% but it will show up at 200%, sometimes it shows at both resolutions, sometimes it shows at neither, and often 3 sides will show up and one side doesn't. Again, the same source file has no problem in conventional printing.

If I use a vector border, there are obviously no resolution issues (since vectors are resolution independent) and the border always displays and prints properly. Obviously, Illustrator is one way to create the vector border I need and that is what I'm doing. This means I have to edit the TIFF image in Photoshop, save the image, bring the TIFF into Illustrator, apply the border, then save it as an EPS file.

Unfortunately, images frequently come back for revisions. This means opening the EPS file in Photoshop (which, of course, rasterizes the border), remove the newly-bitmapped border, make the edit, save the TIFF file, open the file in Illustrator, re-apply the border, then save the new EPS file. I'm processing from 30 to 60 images per day and it would be much faster (and less complicated) to do everything within Photoshop.

Photoshop is capable of creating EPS files. It is possible to create vector elements (using the pen tool or type) in Photoshop. Vector elements with bitmap backgrounds can co-exist in Photoshop files. Photoshop is capable of incorporating vector elements that retain their vector properties when saved as a Photoshop EPS.

This brings me back to my original question. If I "select all" and create a work path (paths are vector elements) around the outer edge, I can't figure out a way to stroke the path with the pen tool. I would want to stroke to the inside but Photoshop only shows the pencil, brush and other bitmap tools... the pen tool is not an option.

So, once again, does anyone know any way to create a vector border around a bitmap and do this entirely within Photoshop? I already know how to do it with a combination of Photoshop and Illustrator. Maybe that is the only way.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!