When you get your logo professionally designed, you usually get a whole bunch of different files at the end of the project. So many files, in fact, you haven’t the foggiest idea what to do with them all. Because when it comes to logo files, there are so many acronyms floating around it’s just a confuddling alphabet soup. Like, do you know an EPS from a JPG? Or when to use RGB rather than CMYK? Your designer may as well be talking in a foreign language.
Designers work with this stuff every day so we totally take it for granted. It’s too easy to forget that our clients don’t have the same training that we do and stuff that seems perfectly obvious to us is a bunch of gobbledygook to them.
So today I want to lay it all out for you, in plain English. I’ll explain which file formats you might be getting from your designer (plus which ones you absolutely must be getting), what they’re for and when you should use them. Basically, it’s all you need to know about logo file types.
[Tweet “Find out which logo file types you might be getting from your designer (plus which you absolutely must be getting), what they’re for, and when you should use them”]
Why so many files?
Different logo file types are used in different places. Some files are better for printing and others for using on websites and screens. So, assuming your designer knows what they’re doing, your logo should be provided in a variety of file types and colour options. That way, you have everything you should need upfront, without having to go back to the designer a few months or even years down the line to ask for more files.
[Tweet “Your logo should be provided in a variety of file types and colour options so you have everything you should need upfront”]
Print files
EPS
An EPS file is a vector file, which means the artwork is created using a mathematically precise formula. Essentially, that means you can scale the logo up or down as much as you like without losing quality.
This file type can be edited in just about any vector-based software such as Adobe Illustrator or CorelDraw, and is ideal for any kind of high-quality/commercial printing. Any time a designer or professional printer asks you for a vector file, this is the one you hand over.
TIFF
A TIFF file is a high quality bitmap file type. Bitmap, or raster, files are less scaleable than vector files – that’s why logos should be created as vector files in the first place.
While raster files can generally be scaled down without losing quality, because they’re made up of individual pixels if you scale them up they will become blurry – edges will look jagged and detail will be lost. I usually provide bitmap files like a TIFF in high-resolution and at a decently large size so that it can be scaled down as needed.
A high-resolution (300 dpi) TIFF can sometimes be used for high-quality printing, though the format is usually used for general, everyday printing, such as documents printed from Microsoft Word.
Other print file options
EPS and TIFF are the main two file types for print work, but sometimes you may get, or ask for, other files.
An AI is an Adobe Illustrator file. It’s very similar to an EPS but I find it’s safer to hand out EPS files as they’re easier to open if you don’t have Illustrator, or if you’re running an older version of Illustrator than the designer who created the AI file.
Sometimes you get a vector PDF, which can be opened and edited in Adobe Illustrator or other vector-based software. It can also be viewed in Adobe Acrobat or similar programmes, meaning that, while you need specialist software to open an EPS or AI, anyone with a PDF viewer installed on their device can view the file.
You might also like: 4 reasons you need a professional logo designer
Screen files
JPG
JPG files are also bitmap files so they shouldn’t be scaled up either. Try it and your image will quickly become blurry.
JPGs are popular as pretty much any device can open them. Plus, they can be saved at small file sizes, so they’re ideal for using on screen such as websites, email signatures, and Powerpoint presentations.
PNG
PNG files are also great for using online. They too can be saved at small sizes for fast loading on websites, and they have an advantage over JPGs in that they support transparency.
Basically this means that while your JPG logo will probably be on a solid white or coloured background, in a PNG file the logo can have a transparent background, making it ideal for placing on top of a pattern, photograph, different colour… anything you want really.
SVG
SVG is another vector-based file, but unlike the others, this one can be used on a website. This file type is becoming more popular as higher resolution screens become more common, so by using an SVG logo on your website, your logo is super crisp whichever device it’s viewed on.
Favicon
You know the little logo that sits beside a website address in a web browser’s URL bar or list of bookmarks? That’s called a favicon. It’s a great way to reinforce your branding on your website, so I usually include one when I deliver logo files.
A basic favicon will be a tiny ICO file, but these days it’s good to upload a set of favicons of different sizes and file types, as different devices will make use of different files.
Colour modes
Colour works differently in print than on screen, so you’ll need different files for each.
Files for printing will either be in CMYK colour mode or will use Pantone, or spot, colours. CMYK stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and blacK, the four ink colours used in full colour printing. These files are suitable for commercial digital printing, plus everyday printing in your home or office.
I usually provide EPS files using Pantone colours so if a printer ever talks about using spot colours or one/two colour print (such as for promotional merchandise), Pantone or PMS inks it’s this file you’ll need. The Pantone system is used for precise colour matching – you can give a Pantone reference to any printer, anywhere, and they should print the exact same colour.
Screen files, on the other hand, will be delivered in RGB colour mode. Computers, TVs and other screened devices are light based rather than ink based so they combine Red, Green and Blue to display the range of colours.
Colours display slightly differently in RGB than CMYK so it’s important to use the right colour mode for the end use to make sure your colours show the way you expect them to.
A note on Microsoft Word: I’ve found that Word doesn’t always like CMYK files, so if you try placing a CMYK file into a Word document and the image doesn’t show, try an RGB version instead.
Colour options
As well as getting files in different colour modes, you may receive different coloured versions of your logo.
There will be the main version of your logo, the one that you’d use most of the time. But you may also get a ‘reversed’ version. In the simplest terms, the reversed version flips the colours around, so, for example, if your logo is normally printed in a dark colour on a white background, the reversed version would be in white or a light colour so that you could use it on a dark background.
You may also need a mono version of your logo – a single colour version. That’s handy to have as if you want to use spot colours or screen printing, limiting the number of inks you use can save you money.
Layout options
There will be one, primary version of your logo – your go-to version that you use most of the time. But these days, you may need to print your logo on stationery, merchandise and advertising, have it printed or embroidered on clothing, displayed on your website, social media, and who knows where else – the possibilities are practically endless! So one logo version probably won’t fit all purposes.
That’s why designers tend to give you at least one alternative version of your logo. It might be a different layout to fit different spaces – like to make sure it works in the square format of social media profile pages. Or a simplified submark for using at small sizes if your main logo has a lot of intricate detail.
You may not get every version in every file format – some of them may not be needed. But you should expect a variety to make sure they can be used the way you need them to be.
Which logo file types are essential?
While you don’t need your logo in every possible file format, you do need a variety of files to make sure you’re ready to use your logo in all the places you need it.
Also, not every designer will offer the same range of file formats. But at the very least your designer should be giving you these files:
- A vector EPS, so you have the scaleable version,
- A PNG with transparent background, so you have a version ready to use on your website and in any other graphics you want to create.
If you don’t have a full set of logo files, or you’ve lost some formats over the years, don’t panic. I offer a logo redrawing service, which will turn your teeny, low-resolution JPG file back into vector artwork. You can get just a vector EPS file, or a full set of logo file types to make sure you have everything you’re likely to need. Head over here for more details.
Never miss a post
Sign up for actionable advice and tips on branding your small business plus exclusive tips and offers, just for subscribers.