Vector logo files: preparing them for embroidery and screen printing

A raster image, such as a JPG or a PNG, is a grid of pixels. When enlarged, it deteriorates: edges become jagged, curves turn into staircases. A vector file, by contrast, describes your logo with mathematical shapes, curves and paths. It can be enlarged or reduced without ever becoming blurred.

For embroidery and screen printing, this difference is decisive. In both cases, the machine follows outlines. In screen printing, each colour is reproduced separately; in embroidery, each path becomes a series of stitches. Without a clean outline, it is impossible to separate the colours properly or to program the stitches.

The good news: if your logo was designed by a professional, a vector version almost always exists. It has simply been lost sight of. The file circulating in the company is often a copy taken from a website or an e-mail signature, handy for an office document but unsuitable for a product. Before looking for a technical solution, track down the source: the design folder, the brand kit supplied by the agency, or the communications department’s server. General questions about formats and Pantone are also gathered in our FAQ.

The accepted vector formats are .ai, .eps, vector .pdf and .svg. But the extension guarantees nothing. The most common trap: a PDF or .ai file that simply contains a photo of the logo pasted inside. It has the right name, and yet it is not vector.

To check, open the file and zoom in very strongly, to 800% or more. If the outlines remain perfectly sharp, the file is vector. If they become blurred or jagged, it is a disguised image. The configurator detects this automatically when you upload your logo.

Another point to check: the text. If your logo includes a name or a tagline, the fonts must be converted to outlines. Otherwise, they may be replaced by another font when the file is opened. In Illustrator, select the text and then use Type, Create Outlines.

Screen printing lays down one colour per pass. Your file must therefore have solid areas of colour, each colour clearly separated from the others. A few rules:

• Count your colours. Each marking area shows on the product page the maximum number of colours it accepts, generally between one and four in screen printing.
• Specify your Pantone references, in the Solid Coated range, the references followed by a “C”. It is the only way to get the same shade from one material to another.
• Forget gradients and shadows. They will be simplified into solid colours; it is better to prepare a flat version yourself.

The screen printing page presents the materials suited to this process.

In embroidery, your logo is converted into a program: each path becomes a sequence of stitches, each colour a separate thread. The vector file remains the basis for this work, but it benefits from being designed with thread in mind.

• Remove very fine details. A line that is too thin or small text does not embroider well; a simplified version of the logo gives a sharper result.
• No gradients: thread does not allow a continuous transition between two shades.
• Specify your Pantone colours: they are used to choose the threads closest to your brand guidelines.

To find out which textiles can be embroidered and what the result looks like, see the custom embroidery page.

It all depends on the intended process. In digital printing or sublimation, an image may be enough, provided it reaches 300 dpi at the actual print size. The calculation is as follows: dpi equals the width in pixels divided by the print width in millimetres, itself divided by 25.4. The same image can therefore be excellent on a small product and insufficient on a large surface.

For embroidery, screen printing and the other processes, the logo must be vectorised beforehand. Start by looking for the right version: the agency or graphic designer who created your visual identity almost always has the source files and the brand guidelines, with their Pantone references. If nobody can find them, write to us at contact@vektoprint.com: we will point you towards design support.

• Does a very strong zoom leave the outlines perfectly sharp?
• Has the text been converted to outlines?
• Does the number of colours respect the maximum for the chosen area?
• Does each colour have its Pantone reference?
• Have gradients, shadows and transparencies been replaced by solid colours?

If you answer yes to all of them, your file is ready. All that remains is to check the size of the logo in the area, a subject covered in our guide to logo size on a promotional product.