Logo File Formats: AI, SVG, PNG, EPS

Your logo is finished and you receive a folder full of files: an AI file, a few PNGs, an EPS, maybe an SVG. And then comes the question almost everyone gets stuck on: which file do you send to the printer, which do you put on your website and which do you use for LinkedIn? Send the wrong one and you end up with a blurry logo on your trade show banner or a white box around your avatar. In this article you’ll learn what each logo file format does, why they exist and when to use which. No technical jargon for the sake of jargon, just a practical guide so you always know the best file format for a logo, whatever you’re working on.

Vector versus pixel: the one difference that explains everything

Before you can understand the individual formats, you need to know one distinction. Logo files fall into two families: vector and pixel (also called raster). Once you grasp this difference, you immediately understand why so many formats exist.

A vector file describes your logo as mathematical shapes: lines, curves and surfaces with coordinates. The file doesn’t say “there’s a blue pixel here”, but “draw a circle with this radius and fill it blue”. The result is magical: you can make the logo as small as a favicon or as large as a building sign, and it always stays razor sharp. There is no fixed resolution, so no loss of quality. AI, EPS, SVG and (usually) PDF are vector formats.

A pixel file is a grid of individual coloured dots with a fixed resolution. A PNG of 500 by 500 pixels has exactly that many dots. Make it bigger and the dots stretch, so you see blocks and blurriness. PNG and JPG are pixel formats. They aren’t worse, they’re different: for the web and for photos they are actually ideal, because browsers and screens handle them directly.

The practical takeaway: you need both. The vector file is your untouchable original, the pixel files are the working copies for daily use. That’s why a good designer always delivers both.

The vector formats: your original and your print files

AI (Adobe Illustrator)

The AI file is the source file, the original in which your logo was drawn. It opens in Adobe Illustrator and contains all the layers, paths and colour information. This is the file your designer (or the next one) uses to adjust your logo: change a colour, create a variant, split off a wordmark.

In daily practice you won’t do anything with an AI file yourself, because you need Illustrator to open it. But keeping it is crucial. Without this file, no one can neatly edit your logo later on. Think of it as the master mould: you rarely use it, but you never want to lose it.

EPS (Encapsulated PostScript)

EPS is the classic exchange format for print. It’s a vector file that almost every printer and every professional design program can open, even without Illustrator. If you get the request “send us your logo in vector” for a banner, a sticker, printed clothing or a magazine ad, EPS is often the right answer.

EPS is slowly falling out of fashion in favour of PDF, but many print shops still ask for it. It’s wise to have it in your delivery pack.

PDF

Everyone knows PDF as a document format, but a logo PDF can preserve the full vector information. That makes it an excellent, universally shareable print file: your printer can open it, your colleague can view it without expensive software, and the quality stays scalable. For many present-day print jobs, a vector PDF is just as usable as an EPS.

SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics)

SVG is the vector format for the web. An SVG logo on your website stays sharp on every screen, from an old laptop to a 4K monitor or a retina phone, and the file is usually small, which benefits your loading time. On top of that, you can make an SVG change colour with code, for example for a dark mode. If you’re building a new site, explicitly ask for an SVG of your logo. It’s technically the best format for sharp, fast display, and that speed matters as much as the work of your branding agency: what good is a beautiful logo if visitors abandon slow pages?

PNG

PNG is the workhorse for digital use and the format you’ll probably deploy most often yourself. Its big strength: PNG supports transparency. That means the background around your logo is see-through, so you can place it on a coloured bar, a photo or a coloured social header image without an ugly white box around it.

Ask your designer for PNGs in a few sizes (small for web, large for presentations) and preferably in two colour versions: a dark variant for light backgrounds and a white variant for dark backgrounds. With that set you’ll get by in 90 percent of your daily use, from email signature to PowerPoint.

JPG (JPEG)

You know JPG from photos. For logos it’s usually the least suitable choice for one reason: JPG can’t do transparency. So your logo always ends up on a solid background, typically white. On top of that, JPG compresses with quality loss, which can give you vague artefacts around sharp edges and text.

Only use JPG if a platform explicitly asks for it or if your logo sits on a plain white background anyway. In most cases, PNG is the better digital choice.

Which format goes where? The best file format for a logo by use case

This is where it all comes together. A practical rule of thumb per situation:

Your website or webshop: SVG if you can, otherwise PNG with a transparent background.
Social media (profile picture, header, posts): PNG with transparency, in the right dimensions per platform.
Email signature and office documents: PNG, a smaller variant.
Print (business cards, banners, printed clothing, stickers): send an EPS or vector PDF to the printer.
Editing or having a new variant made: the AI source file.

Torn between two? Remember the ground rule: anything that goes large or into print calls for vector. Anything that appears on a screen can be done with PNG or SVG.

Always demand your source files

The most important lesson of this whole story isn’t a technical one, but a business one. Anyone who has a logo designed should become the owner of the source files. If you only get a few PNGs, you’re stuck: you can’t scale your logo for print, can’t adjust it and can’t reproduce it if a file goes missing. You then depend on the original creator for every small change.

So make arrangements up front. A proper delivery pack contains at least the AI source file, an EPS or vector PDF for print, an SVG for web and a set of PNGs in dark and white versions. We consider this a basic condition of professional work, not an extra. A good branding agency delivers your logo in all usable formats by default, with a short note on which file is for what, so you can get to work with it right away.

Logo files are, by the way, just one part of a bigger whole. A logo that’s right in every format is only valuable if it stands for something. That starts with your positioning and your brand strategy, and it takes shape in the principles behind a strong B2B logo. File formats are the finishing touch: they make sure the work you put into your brand lands everywhere sharp and consistent.

Want to be sure your logo and visual identity are spot on across every channel, or are you stuck with unusable files from a previous designer? Get in touch and we’ll look together at how to get your brand right technically and strategically.