Distressing stuff for print in illustrator - new to print (I'm a web guy)

Howdy. Let's say I want to make a poster. I can whip it up in Illustrator no problem. But what if I want to give the vector pieces a weathered or distressed look? Does it HAVE to be done with pixels? If so, is there a rule of thumb as to how many pixels/inch the texture should to be for printing? I could do this in photoshop with no problems, but print is a new world for me.
Here are some examples of posters by other folks, and I was hoping to find out how they did what they did:
http://gigposters.com/poster/145900_X.html
http://dribbble.com/shots/286927-Studio-Opening-Invite-Letter/attachments/10983
http://dribbble.com/shots/234346-Maps?list=tags&tag=lettering
I guess what I'm really asking is:
1. Are people using bitmap textures to add this distressed look?
2. Is there a way to "vectorize" distress textures?
3. Is there a tutorial you can point me to that might explain the "technical specs" a print designer uses when printing grungy/distressed looking stuff?
Thanks!
dc

dc,
You may use raster images as backgrounds, or you may have a look at the effects available in your version (the Effect dropdown list is/was arranged with vector effects at the top and raster effects at the bottom); there may be more backgrounds in the same artwork.
Depending on the desired (combination of) effects, you may use Clipping Masks, Opacity Masks, Knockout, or compound Paths to get the grungy parts to show. You may look up these, and how they work, in the Helpfile.
For more explict suggestions, you may also post in the Illustrator forum.
The right resolution of the raster image or raster effects (Effect>Document Raster Effects Settings) depends upon the printing process and the relative size (combination of size and intended viewing distance). The long answer is to ask your printer.

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