Guide

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

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

Short answer. Send SVG to a web developer, PDF or EPS to a printer or sign writer, and PNG for anything on a screen where you need a transparent background. SVG, PDF and EPS are vector, so they scale to any size without loss. PNG and JPEG are pixels and will blur if enlarged. Keep a vector master of your logo, because everything else can be produced from it.

Vector and raster

Every format falls into one of two groups, and this distinction explains most of the confusion.

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.

SVG

Vector. The web standard. 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.

PDF

Vector, and 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.

EPS

Vector, older, 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.

AI

Adobe Illustrator's native format. This is the working 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.

PNG

Raster, with support for transparent backgrounds. This 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 2000 pixels wide can be scaled down cleanly and covers most screen uses. The same logo exported at 300 pixels cannot be scaled up at all.

JPEG

Raster, no transparency, and compression that softens sharp edges. JPEG is built for photographs and is the wrong format for a logo. 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.

What to send whom

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 least 1000 pixels
Word or Google Docs	PNG with transparency

Colour space, briefly

Screen files are RGB. 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.

Sizes to ask for up front

Most requests for a new logo file come from the same short list, and asking for them at handover saves going back to a designer months later.

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 least 1000 pixels, with the artwork inset from the edges because most platforms crop it to a circle.
Email signature. PNG with transparency around 400 pixels wide. Larger files get stripped or resized badly by mail clients.
Dark background. A white or reversed version. Roughly half of all screens are now in dark mode, and a black logo vanishes on them.

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.

The one file to 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 our downloads contain

Logo purchases produce an SVG for web and vector use plus a transparent PNG at 2000 pixels for screen work. Card and letterhead purchases produce print ready PDFs at 300dpi with fonts embedded, one trimmed and one carrying 3mm bleed. Brand kits include all of the above along with a guide page listing your colours and typefaces.

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 2000 pixels 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.

Templates mentioned here

Written by BrandLaunch. Last reviewed August 2026.