Furthermore, PDF is not necessarily vector graphics.
PostScript Language Reference, third edition, 288 ff. states "[a] sampled image (or just “image” for short) is a rectangular
array of sample values, each representing a color." This not vectors.
JPG does not preserve transparency and is lossful.
PNG does preserve transparency and is lossless. Furthermore, Mathematica's PNG export can preserve transpareny with an option on the export.
Although, GIF does preserve transparency, the various shades of transparency take up colors in its color table. Furthermore, Mathematica's GIF export does not support transparency.
Please, see: TransparentHow to make Mathematica graphs in Microsoft Word independent from Mathematica?
If the purpose is to export a Graphics (or Graphics3D) as an image with a transparent background, then, please, see:
g = PolarPlot[Cos[a], {a, 0, 2*Pi}, Background -> None]
Export["temp.png", Evaluate[g], Background -> None]
png = Import["temp.png"]
Take[SortBy[Tally[Flatten[ImageData[png], 1]], -#1[[2]] & ], 3]
Export["temp.svg", g]
Import["temp.svg"]
Otherwise, get the InputForm of the graphic and extract the paths from it.
If the objective is to export the graphic in Mathematica form for reinport, use "MX" format, in the case of files, file.mx is adequate.
Lastly, Export["temp.svg", g] and extract the paths from the text file.
The SVG file is
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
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Of course, I may have missed something.
ImportString[ExportString[Graphics[Inset[axes,Automatic,Automatic,Scaled[1]]],"PDF"],"PDF"]
. But for"EPS"
it kills the system taking all available physical memory (more than 6 GB before I killed Mathematica.exe)... $\endgroup$