What You Need to Know About Logo File Formats
Have you ever tried to print out your company logo only for it to come out looking fuzzy and dull? What about trying to upload your logo to a blog or social media website only to receive an error saying the image wouldn’t fit? This is likely because you’re using the wrong logo file format for the wrong purpose, and if you’re new to the design space, you might not know why there are even multiple types of files in the first place.
In short, there are a bunch of different logo file formats because not all types of files serve the same purpose. Some are intentionally small and compressed so you can upload them to spaces that can’t hold large files, and other file types take up tons of space on your hard drive but look great in large marketing materials like posters and even billboards.
So today, we wanted to walk you through the differences between the logo file formats we use and show you their most practical applications.
Digital File Formats
The most fundamental difference between the logo file formats we’ll look at on this list is that some are better when you need to print out a graphic, and others are superior when you need to post that graphic online. We recommend these first four file types when you want to upload your logo to your website, social media pages, or blog.
1. JPEG
JPEG (or JPG) is one of the most commonly used file formats for digital logos, primarily because of its size and color range. JPEG logo files are compact enough to fit comfortably into most social media posts and profile pictures with file size limits, but they pack a wide range of vibrant colors, even with their relatively small size. So JPEG files are an ideal fit when building a brand page on a social media site or adding small pictures to your website.
JPEG logos typically don’t look as sharp as other file formats because they’re so small they can’t store as much image data as their counterparts. But as long as you’re using JPEGs for the recommended purposes above, you won’t need your logo to look super sharp anyway.
2. PNG (Big)
PNGs are among the most commonly used file formats for digital logos, and there are plenty of reasons for their popularity. They produce a sharper image quality than most formats because they store more image data than files like JPEGs and support millions of colors. Plus, you can scale PNG logos up or down without losing much image quality.
However, because PNG files are so much bigger than JPEGs, they won’t fit into smaller upload spaces. This does mean you can use them for large social media graphics or images on your website, but most PNGs will be too big for profile images and similarly small uploads. In other words, the more image data a file can store, the better it will look in larger formats but the bigger the file will be.
Another significant advantage PNG files have over JPEGs is that PNGs let you upload logos with a transparent background. That transparency comes in handy when you need to put your logo on a page that would clash with the file’s background color.
3. PNG (Small)
If you’re set on using a PNG but can’t fit the file into whatever space you’re uploading to, we can send you a smaller, compressed PNG for your social media uploads and smaller graphics. Though you’ll lose some of the image quality that comes with the larger PNG, you can upload your logo with a transparent background.
4. SVG
Most people use SVG files for smaller applications like profile pictures and social media images. However, SVG logos also maintain their quality pretty well when you scale them up, so professional designers can also edit them for larger digital marketing materials.
SVGs are versatile for digital purposes, but we don’t recommend them if you plan to print your logo, primarily because most printers don’t accept SVG files.
Print File Formats
Though the logo file formats we just discussed will look great when you upload them online, chances are, they won’t come out as crisp as they could if you print them onto merchandise or marketing materials. That’s because they’re not designed for printing as much as other file types, so let’s look at four more print-friendly options here so you can put your logo onto physical media.
1. PDF
PDFs are the most accessible file format on this list. You can open them on any device without the layout changing, and you don’t need specific software to view them. But beyond their convenience, PDFs are a great file format for logos because they’re easy to edit and scale up or down.
You could upload a PDF of your logo to your digital spaces, but this file format is at its best for print media. PDFs produce a crisp, vibrant image on smaller-scale prints that work perfectly for labels, stickers, business cards, and merchandise.
2. JPEG
JPEGs are one of the few file formats we recommend for print and digital applications. However, since JPEGs are smaller than the other file formats in this section, we can only suggest using them for small mediums like business cards.
3. EPS
We recommend sending your logos as EPS files if you ever pass them off to professional designers. These formats are super easy to edit and have the option to set a transparent background. Plus, almost every professional printing company can handle EPS formats, so you likely won’t need to adjust your file type depending on your printer.
But the biggest reason EPS files are great when printing your logo is that you can effortlessly scale them without losing image quality. That means you can shrink your logo to fit neatly on a business card or blow it up to take up space on a t-shirt.
4. TIFF
TIFF logos are one of the largest file formats on this list, and all the standard pros and cons of big files apply. TIFF formats will give you a super sharp, high-quality logo, but the files will often be too big for you to use in most common digital applications.
That’s why we love the TIFF file format for printing. They can store much more image data than pretty much any file meant for digital spaces and print out a great-looking, vibrant logo.
What Logo File Formats Do You Need?
We just looked at six different logo file formats, and many of them do very similar things with only slight differences. That flood of file information can overwhelm anyone, and that’s before you even hear about the other logo file formats not on this list!
Luckily, you don’t need to understand the ins and outs of every logo file format to print and upload good-looking graphics. For digital applications, you can use JPEGs for small graphics and social media uploads and PNGs for larger images and logos where you need a transparent background. And for print, you can use PDFs for smaller imagery, while EPS files should do the trick for larger projects.
There’s no such thing as a bad file format, at least not on this list. You just need to know the best ways to use them, and hopefully, this post taught you enough to solve your file format woes.
