Logo file formats explained: SVG, PNG, EPS and when to use each

A printer asks for "a vector file", the sign maker wants an EPS, and all you can find is the PNG someone saved from your website three years ago. Logo file formats are confusing mainly because nobody explains the one difference that decides almost everything.

This page is a reference for that: what each format is, which job it's for and how to check a file before you send it.

Quick answer

• Vector files (SVG, PDF, EPS) store shapes and stay sharp at any size. Your master logo should be one.
• Raster files (PNG, JPG) store pixels. Use them where a platform needs an image, at the size it needs.
• Website: SVG. Social media profiles and documents: PNG with a transparent background.
• Printers and sign makers: a vector PDF, or EPS or SVG if they ask for it.
• Keep the designer's source file too, if you can get it.

Vector and raster: the difference that decides everything

A vector file describes the logo as shapes: this curve, that line, this fill. When the logo is shown larger, the shapes are simply drawn larger, and the edges stay crisp on a business card and on a lorry.

A raster file is a grid of coloured pixels with a fixed size. It looks fine at that size or smaller. Enlarge it and the pixels become visible as soft or blocky edges, and no software can add back detail that was never stored.

So the master version of your logo should be a vector file, and every PNG or JPG is exported from it at the size a particular job needs.

The vector formats: SVG, PDF, EPS and the source file

SVG is the vector format of the web. Browsers display it directly, it stays sharp on every screen, and the file is small. Many sign makers and vinyl cutters accept it as well. Most social networks won't take it as a profile picture, though, so you still need PNGs.

PDF is what printers usually ask for. Be precise when you ask for one: a PDF can hold vector shapes, but it can also just wrap a pixel image, and then it is no better than the PNG inside it. Ask your designer for a vector PDF.

EPS is an older print format that some sign makers and promotional-product suppliers still request. If yours does, send it; otherwise a vector PDF does the same job.

The source file is the designer's working file, from Adobe Illustrator, Affinity Designer, Figma or similar, with layers that can still be edited. You don't need it day to day. You'll want it if another designer ever has to adjust the logo without redrawing it.

The raster formats: PNG, JPG and WebP

PNG is the raster format for logos. It keeps edges sharp and supports a transparent background, so the logo sits on any colour without a white box around it. Export it at the size you need, or a little larger, never smaller and then stretched.

JPG was made for photographs. It has no transparency, so a logo always comes with a background, and its compression leaves faint smudges around sharp edges. Avoid it for logos unless a form accepts nothing else.

WebP is a newer web format with smaller files. Current browsers display it, and some website builders convert images to it automatically. For a logo on a website, an SVG is still the better choice.

Which file for which job

When a supplier names a format, send that one. When they only say "high resolution", they almost always mean a vector file for print, or a PNG at least as wide in pixels as the job requires for screens. If in doubt, ask them which file and which size they want; it saves a reprint.

How to tell whether a file is really a vector

Renaming a file doesn't change what is inside it, and neither do most online "PNG to SVG" converters. They either wrap the pixels in an SVG or trace them into lumpy outlines that printers spot immediately. Three checks catch most fakes:

• Open the PDF or SVG and zoom in to 800% or more. Smooth edges mean vector shapes; soft or stepped edges mean pixels inside.
• Open the SVG in a text editor. If you see an <image> tag with a long block of characters, it's a pixel image in disguise.
• Look at the file size. A one-colour logo as a real SVG is usually a few kilobytes; a "vector" of several megabytes probably contains a photo of the logo.

If your only copy turns out to be pixels, the logo has to be redrawn as a vector. Don't stretch the PNG, because every enlargement looks worse.

What to ask your designer for

A complete set of logo files usually contains:

• The master logo as SVG and as a vector PDF
• PNG files with a transparent background, in a few widths
• Versions in full colour, in one dark colour and in white for dark backgrounds
• The symbol alone, for small squares such as a favicon or a profile picture
• The colour codes and the names of the typefaces
• The source file, or a clear answer on whether it's included

Logos you make in our free generator download as SVG and PNG, with a favicon pack, so you can see what a full set looks like. If all you have is an old PNG, our designers can redraw your logo as a clean vector and hand over every file in the list above.

Checklist before you send a logo file

• The supplier's requested format, or a vector PDF for print
• Checked at 800% zoom: smooth edges, no pixels inside
• PNG exported at the size the job needs, with a transparent background
• The right version for the background: colour, one colour or white
• No JPG unless the form accepts nothing else