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The single most common support question any design studio gets is a forwarded email from a printer saying "we need this in vector". Here is what that means and what to send.
Vector versus raster, in one paragraph
A raster file is a grid of coloured pixels. Enlarge it and you get bigger, blurrier pixels. A vector file is a set of mathematical instructions describing shapes, so it can be scaled to a billboard with no loss. Logos should always be created as vectors, and raster versions exported from them as needed. Going the other way — turning a PNG into a vector — means someone has to redraw it.
What each format is for
| AI | Adobe Illustrator's editable master file. This is the original artwork. Keep it safe; it is what any future designer will ask for first. |
|---|---|
| EPS | The universal vector exchange format. Older, widely accepted, and what most commercial printers and sign-makers ask for. |
| SVG | Vector for the web. Small, sharp at any zoom, and it can be recoloured with CSS. Use it for your website logo and favicons. |
| Can contain vector data and is universally openable. A print-ready PDF is what most modern printers actually prefer. | |
| PNG | Raster with transparency. Use for social profiles, email signatures, presentations and anywhere a transparent background matters. |
| JPG | Raster with no transparency and lossy compression. Only appropriate for photographs. Never send a JPG logo to a printer. |
Which file to send where
- Commercial printer, sign-maker or vehicle wrapper: EPS or print-ready PDF, in CMYK, with fonts converted to outlines.
- Embroidery: a simplified vector version, plus the thread colours. Embroiderers will digitise from it, and fine detail cannot be stitched.
- Website: SVG for the logo, PNG for anything the CMS refuses to accept as SVG.
- Social media profile: PNG, square, at least 500 × 500, with the mark not touching the edges since most platforms crop to a circle.
- Microsoft Office or Google Slides: PNG with transparency. Vector support in office software is unreliable.
- Merchandise supplier: ask them. Screen printing wants separations, DTG wants high-resolution PNG, vinyl cutting wants clean vector.
Colour modes matter more than people think
RGB is for screens and covers a wider range of colour than ink can reproduce. CMYK is for printing. A bright RGB blue printed in CMYK will come back duller, and there is no fixing that at the printer. This is why brand guidelines specify separate values for each, and why a Pantone reference matters when a colour has to match exactly across different suppliers.
If your logo has ever come back from a printer looking flat, this is almost certainly why.
What a complete logo package contains
- 1Editable vector master (AI or equivalent).
- 2EPS and print-ready PDF for suppliers.
- 3SVG for web.
- 4Transparent PNGs at several sizes.
- 5One-colour black and one-colour white versions.
- 6A colour reference sheet with HEX, RGB, CMYK and Pantone values.
Want this done for you?
We will tell you honestly whether you need us for it. Send a two-line description of the business and we come back with a plan, a timeline and one fixed price.