When the only logo anyone can find is a small website JPEG, the print order stalls while people hunt for the original. Everyone then asks what is a vector file, and the answer is short. It is your logo stored as points, lines and curves rather than pixels, so it prints sharp at any size.

Stretch a JPEG and it blurs, because its pixel count is fixed. That is why we ask for a vector file first, whether your logo is going on custom stickers, a banner or a tee. Our designers can still work from the JPEG when nothing better turns up.

Quick Answer

The best logo file is one we can resize without redrawing it. For printed merchandise, send us:

• An AI, EPS or PDF logo, our three preferred formats.
• Every font outlined and every image embedded.
• A PNG, JPG or PSD if nothing else exists, and we redraw it.

How to Get a Vector File Ready for Print

Five steps cover it, and you can stop early if your designer sends a finished file.

Step 1: Find the Original Logo File

Start with whoever designed your logo, because they made the master artwork. Ask them for the vector version in AI, EPS or PDF. If your business keeps a brand guide or shared marketing folder, check there next.

Try not to rely on your website or social pages. Logos saved from them are usually JPEG, PNG or GIF files, the raster formats most common on the web.

Step 2: Check It Is Really Vector

A name ending in .ai, .eps, .pdf or .svg is a good sign, but not proof. Open the file and zoom right in on the edge of a letter or shape. A vector logo stays smooth at any zoom, while a raster file breaks into small squares.

PDFs need a second look, because one PDF can hold vector shapes, text and pixel images together. A JPEG pasted into a PDF is still a JPEG underneath.

Step 3: Outline Fonts and Embed Images

Our artwork specs ask for two things in every logo file: embed all images, and outline all fonts. A wordmark built from your company name depends on this most, because the lettering is the whole logo.

If a designer made your logo, forward them this step and ask for a fresh export with both done. Keep that export as your master copy for future orders.

Step 4: Save as an AI, EPS or PDF File

An AI file is the native format of Adobe Illustrator, and an EPS file is a PostScript graphics format from 1987. A PDF can hold the same vector drawing, so it belongs on the list too.

These three are our preferred formats, because we place them straight on our product templates, the fastest way to your free virtual sample. Old files work, since we accept AI and EPS files from any version of Illustrator.

Step 5: Email It With Your Quote Request

Email the file to [email protected] with your products, quantities and delivery date. Our designers size the logo to the printable area of each product, then send back a virtual mock-up.

From there, our ordering process moves to an emailed quote and a free artwork proof. We amend the design until you are 100% happy, and nothing is made until you approve it.

Which Vector File Format Should You Send?

The table sorts common vector file types and raster files by what we do with them. It runs from files we place straight onto a template to files we redraw by hand.

Raster vs Vector: What Changes on a Product?

A raster file holds a fixed number of pixels, so it only prints well up to a certain size. A vector logo has no such limit, so one file works on a business card or a billboard.

Stickers Made to Your Shape

Our custom TPU stickers are made from thermoplastic polyurethane in any shape, colour or size. They are water resistant and UV resistant, so they hold up indoors and outdoors.

Each one is embossed, or pressed in, and finished in metallic, gloss or matte, with full colour print as an option. Embossing puts the focus on clean outlines rather than colour, and a vector logo keeps those outlines exact.

Banners Printed at Full Size

Our printed vinyl banners are made in any size, as small as 30 x 30 cm or as large as 30 x 30 feet. Filling the big end of that range means stretching a letterhead logo a very long way.

A low resolution raster logo blurs when enlarged that far. A vector logo stays just as crisp at the new size, and the rest of the banner can still carry gradients and photos.

Tees Printed or Embroidered

For cotton, our men's staple tee from AS Colour comes in 180 GSM combed cotton and over 70 colours, with sizes from XS to 5XL. It takes screen printing, embroidery or full colour print.

Screen printing prepares a separate screen for each colour in the logo, so clearly separated colours matter. As our guide to screen printing for business apparel explains, clean vector artwork needs less preparation than a low resolution logo that needs rebuilding.

CMYK vs RGB on Stickers and Banners

Your screen and a printer make colour in opposite ways. A screen adds red, green and blue light together, which is RGB, and a printer builds colour from cyan, magenta, yellow and black ink, which is CMYK. Light leaves the screen while ink soaks it up, so one system is additive and the other subtractive.

Each system shows some colours the other cannot, so a shade that glows on screen may have no exact match in ink.

Our printed vinyl banners use CMYK digital printing for faithful colour reproduction. Flat formats in our sticker range run spot Pantone colours or full CMYK, so send your brand colour codes with the file.

File Problems That Hold Up a Quote

All four are easy to fix before you send anything:

• A JPEG under 600px. Our specs need JPEGs above that size, so a small thumbnail is too little to work from.
• A Word document or GIF as the only file. We take them as a last resort, because they have the lowest resolution.
• A squashed or stretched logo. Keep the original proportions and let us size it to the print area.
• Only a full colour version. Embroidery and engraving often suit a simpler one colour logo.

Redrawing a JPEG Logo by Hand

A JPG, PNG or PSD file is our next best format, so send what you have. Our designers redraw it by hand in Adobe Illustrator as a print ready vector image. You do not need to learn how to make a vector file yourself.

Redrawing is part of our free in-house design service, and you approve the result before anything is printed. If your logo also has an icon-only version, send that file too. That version suits pens and power banks, where the branding area is small, as our guide to logo ideas for merchandise points out.

Our Designers Take It From Here

Every quote at Dynamic Gift includes free artwork design, so a missing vector file is never a reason to wait. One AI, EPS or PDF logo can be resized onto any of our product templates, from a small sticker to pull up banners and flags. Quotes come back in New Zealand dollars from our team in Newmarket, Auckland, and most products can be sampled free before you order.

Pricing and a free artwork proof come back by email once your logo file, quantities and delivery date reach us through a free quote request.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will a logo saved in a PDF print sharp?

Only if the logo inside is vector, because a PDF can mix vector shapes, text and pixel images. Zoom in on the edge of the logo: smooth lines mean vector, while small squares mean someone saved a picture of the logo into the PDF.

Can we send the SVG file from our website?

Yes, and add an AI, EPS or PDF export if you can, because SVG is not one of our preferred formats. The letters stand for Scalable Vector Graphics, a web standard developed by the W3C. An SVG can also carry embedded pixel images, so run the same zoom test.

Why does a PNG logo blur on a banner?

PNG is a raster format like JPEG and GIF, so it cannot grow without losing detail. It is still one of our next best formats, because our designers can redraw it as a vector. Just make sure it is a decent size, not a tiny web thumbnail.

What is an EPS file?

EPS stands for Encapsulated PostScript, a vector graphics format first developed in 1987 by the founders of Adobe together with Aldus. It stores artwork as PostScript with a small preview image for screens. EPS is one of our three preferred logo formats, from any version of Illustrator.