Prolific Pennies: Inkscape
A decent photo editor, an excellent vector tool; Inkscape is a great free option for graphics and designer work
SOFTWARE
When Beginning to create vector graphics either as a new skill to adopt or as a need to develop printable designs, Inkscape is an excellent place to start that has the tools needed and is free of charge!
Preparing your work Outside the Web
Many Websites, Applications, and Projects like a newsletter use graphics that are called raster graphics like png's or jpg's. Raster graphics are images that use pixels to map out the design of the picture or object. This can be an issue however when you want to print out your design on a shirt or envelope depending on if the image is big enough to keep its quality. When adjusting the image size, the pixels expand or compress, reducing the initial quality of the image, making it less than ideal for its use on higher quality prints outside a website. Therefore, it is helpful to have at least one program on your computer that will allow you to create or trace a vector graphic most commonly saved as an svg file. A Vector Graphic is different from a raster as it uses curves and some math to adjust the curves and shapes to create 2D/3D objects, keeping its quality despite the changing in size.