What Artwork Files You Need Before Printing a Logo
Vector or raster, outlined fonts, minimum line thickness and colour matching. What to send before your logo goes onto a product, and what usually goes wrong.
Most delays on a branded order are not production problems. They are artwork problems, and nearly all of them are found in the first ten minutes after the file arrives.
This is what to send, why it matters, and the handful of things that come up again and again.
Send vector if you have it
A vector file describes your logo as shapes and curves rather than a grid of pixels, which means it can be scaled to any size without softening. AI, EPS, SVG and PDF are all vector formats.
Vector matters more for some methods than others. Laser engraving, deboss and foil stamping all work from a cut path, so they need clean vector outlines to produce a crisp edge. Screen printing needs a separate stencil for each colour, which is far easier to separate from vector artwork.
If your logo was designed by an agency, they will have the vector file. It is worth asking for it once and keeping it, because you will need it every time.
When a PNG or JPG is enough
Raster files can work for full colour printing, provided the resolution holds up. The rule is 300 dpi or better at the size it will actually be printed, not at the size it appears on your screen.
A logo pulled from a website is usually around 72 dpi and sized for a browser. Enlarged onto a product it goes soft at the edges. We will tell you before anything is produced if a file will not hold up.
Raster files are not suitable for engraving, deboss or foil, because those methods need a defined edge to follow.
Outline your fonts
If your logo contains live text, the font has to be installed on our machine for it to display correctly. If it is not, the software substitutes something else and the logo changes shape without anyone noticing.
Converting text to outlines turns the letters into shapes, so the file looks the same everywhere. In Illustrator this is Type then Create Outlines. Keep an editable copy for yourself first, because the text cannot be changed afterwards.
Mind the minimum line thickness
Branding is usually applied far smaller than the logo is ever seen on screen. As a working guide, keep lines above 0.3 mm and text above 5 pt at the final printed size.
Below that, thin lines break up in screen printing, fill in when pressed into leather, and blur under engraving. If the logo has a fine outline or a tagline in small type, the practical answer is a simplified version for small applications. Many companies already have one.
Colour, and what can be matched
Send Pantone references if you have them. What happens next depends on the method.
- Screen printing mixes ink to the reference and matches closely.
- Digital printing builds the colour from process inks. Very close, not identical.
- Laser engraving and deboss carry no colour at all. The mark is the material itself.
- Foil stamping comes in set finishes such as gold, silver, rose gold and holographic, so it cannot be matched to an arbitrary colour.
It is also worth checking how the logo reads against the product colour. A dark logo on a dark bottle is technically possible and visually invisible.
Have a one colour version ready
A single colour version of your logo, usually solid black, solves more problems than any other file. It is what engraving, deboss and foil all work from, and it is what gets used when the product colour makes your usual palette unreadable.
A transparent background helps as well. A logo supplied on a white square will print the white square too unless it is removed first.
What we do with your file
We prepare the layout: the position, the scale and the branding area on the specific product you have chosen. That is a layout service rather than a design service, so original design work is not included, and we work from the file you supply rather than redrawing it.
If the file will not work as supplied, we say so before anything goes ahead rather than producing something that disappoints.
The proof
You approve a digital proof of every branding position before a single piece is produced. It shows where the logo sits, how large it is and which method is being used.
Check it properly. Look at the spelling, the alignment, the size relative to the product, and whether any fine detail has been lost. Once a proof is approved, that is what gets made.
A short checklist
- Vector file, AI, EPS, SVG or PDF
- Fonts converted to outlines
- A one colour version in solid black
- Transparent background, no white box
- Pantone references if you have them
- Lines above 0.3 mm and text above 5 pt at printed size
- A simplified version for small items
Common questions
I only have a JPG from our old website. Is that a problem?
Send it anyway. For full colour printing at a reasonable size it may be fine. For engraving or deboss it will need to be redrawn as vector, and we will tell you before anything is produced.
Can you redraw our logo?
Ask us. Our standard layout service does not include redrawing, so it is handled separately.
Do I need different files for different products?
Usually one good vector file covers everything, plus a simplified version for small items. Each product still gets its own layout and its own proof.
How long does artwork take?
It depends on the file. A clean vector file moves quickly. A file that needs rebuilding takes longer, which is the main reason to send the right one at the start.
Next steps
Our ordering process shows where artwork sits in the run of things, and the branding methods page sets out what each method needs from a file.
If you are not sure whether your logo will work on a particular product, send it through and we will check it before you order anything.
