Logo file formats: SVG, PNG, PDF and EPS explained

In Australia. File formats are the same everywhere. What is local is that Australian printers ask for 3mm of bleed and most accept RGB files and convert them themselves.

Which file for which job

Web developer	SVG
Commercial printer	PDF, with 3mm bleed, at 300dpi or better
Sign writer or embroiderer	vector artwork, plus a one colour version
Screen, social, documents	transparent PNG at 2000px wide
Keep for yourself	the vector master

Four formats cover almost every request you will get. Knowing which is which saves a week of emails.

What is the difference between vector and raster logo files?

Vector files store the logo as lines and curves and stay sharp at any size, while raster files store a fixed grid of pixels and blur when enlarged.

Vector files store the logo as mathematics: lines, curves and fills. Enlarge one to the size of a building and the edges stay sharp. SVG, PDF, EPS and AI are vector.

Raster files store a fixed grid of pixels. Enlarge one and you get soft, blocky edges, because the extra detail was never in the file. PNG, JPEG and GIF are raster.

The practical consequence is that a vector file can produce a raster file at any size, and a raster file cannot go the other way. This is why a logo without a vector master eventually has to be redrawn.

What is an SVG file used for?

An SVG is vector artwork for the web, sharp on any screen at any zoom, and the file is usually a few kilobytes, so it loads faster than an image of the same logo. Send this to a web developer.

Two cautions. Text inside an SVG needs the font converted to outlines, otherwise it renders in a substitute typeface on machines without the font. And some print workflows still handle SVG poorly, which is why print suppliers ask for PDF or EPS.

When should you send a PDF?

Send a PDF to a printer, because it is the format printers most reliably accept. A PDF can hold vector artwork, embedded fonts and colour profile information in one file, which is why it has become the standard handover for print. It also opens on any machine without design software, which makes it the safest file to email to someone you have not worked with before.

This is the file to send an Australian printer for cards, letterheads, flyers and signage.

What is an EPS file, and who asks for one?

EPS is an older vector format still requested by sign writers, embroiderers, promotional product suppliers and some trade printers whose equipment predates the shift to PDF. If a supplier asks for EPS, they usually mean they want vector artwork and EPS is the word their system uses. A PDF often satisfies the request, but it costs nothing to send both.

What is an AI file?

An AI file is Adobe Illustrator's native working file, the master a designer builds in. It is worth having a copy in your own storage even though you may never open it, because it is what any future designer will want. If you commission a logo, ask whether the AI file is included, as it is sometimes withheld or charged for separately.

When should you use a PNG logo?

Use a PNG for a logo on screen, because it supports a transparent background. It is the right choice for a logo placed on a coloured background on screen: a social profile, an email signature, a slide deck, a document header.

Export it larger than you think you need. A PNG at 2000px wide can be scaled down cleanly and covers most screen uses. A small export of the same logo cannot be scaled up at all.

Why is a JPEG the wrong format for a logo?

A JPEG has no transparency and its compression softens sharp edges, because the format is built for photographs. A JPEG logo placed on anything other than a white background arrives with a white box around it, which is the single most common branding mistake on small business documents.

If a supplier sends you a JPEG as your only logo file, ask for vector.

Which logo file should you send to each supplier?

Send vector artwork to anyone who prints, cuts or stitches your logo, and a PNG to anyone who puts it on a screen.

Printer	PDF with fonts embedded and 3mm bleed
Sign writer	EPS or PDF, plus a one colour version
Embroiderer	Vector, plus a simplified one colour version. Fine detail does not survive stitching
Web developer	SVG, plus PNG fallbacks and a square icon
Promotional products	Vector, usually EPS, and expect to be asked for a single colour
Social media	PNG with transparency, square crop, at 2000px wide
Word or Google Docs	PNG with transparency

Should a logo file be RGB or CMYK?

Screen files should be RGB, and print files are usually CMYK, although most Australian printers now accept RGB and convert it in their own workflow. The visible effect is that very saturated colours print slightly duller than they look on a monitor, because CMYK ink cannot reach them. This is a property of ink, not a fault in your file.

What logo sizes should you ask for at handover?

Ask for a favicon, a square social profile image, an email signature version and a version for dark backgrounds, because those are the requests that come up after handover.

• Favicon. A square version at 512 pixels, plus a check that it still reads at 32. Detail that works on a card disappears in a browser tab.
• Social profile. Square, at 2000px wide, with the artwork inset from the edges because most platforms crop it to a circle.
• Email signature. PNG with transparency, set small once it is in the signature. Our brand kits include an email signature with the steps for adding the logo in Gmail and Outlook.
• Dark background. A white or reversed version. A black logo vanishes on a dark screen.

The circle crop is the one that catches people out. A wide horizontal lockup used as a profile image loses both ends of itself, which is the reason the mark-only version exists.

Which logo file should you keep?

Keep a vector master, an SVG or a PDF, somewhere you will still have access to in five years. Every other file can be produced from it in minutes. Businesses that lose the vector and keep only a PNG end up paying someone to trace the logo by hand, which is slower and rarely exact.

What files come with a BrandLaunch purchase?

A logo template produces an SVG of each arrangement and a transparent PNG of each at 2000px wide. Card and letterhead templates produce print-ready PDFs at 300dpi or better, one trimmed and one with 3mm bleed; the artwork is placed as a finished image, so there are no fonts for a printer's software to substitute. Brand kits and logo templates also include a 12 page brand guidelines document.

Common questions

What logo file should I send to a printer?

A PDF with fonts embedded and 3mm bleed. PDF carries vector artwork, embedded fonts and colour information in one file, and every Australian printer accepts it. Some trade suppliers will ask for EPS instead, which is the same request in older wording.

What is the difference between SVG and PNG?

SVG is vector and stays sharp at any size, which makes it right for websites and for anything that needs enlarging. PNG is a fixed grid of pixels that blurs when enlarged, but it supports transparency and is the right choice for screen use such as social profiles and email signatures.

Why does my logo have a white box around it?

It is a JPEG. JPEG does not support transparency, so the background is saved as white pixels. Use a PNG for screen use, or vector artwork for print.

Do I need an EPS file for my logo?

Only if a supplier asks. Sign writers, embroiderers and promotional product companies often request EPS because their equipment predates PDF. In most cases they want vector artwork and a PDF will do, but sending both costs nothing.

What size should a PNG logo be?

Export at least 2000px on the long edge. Large PNGs scale down cleanly, and small ones cannot be scaled up at all because the detail was never in the file.