So you’ve got a logo. Now what? Now you need to plaster it everywhere — on letterhead, on ballpoint pens, on the sides of tall buildings. So what file types should you request from your graphic designer to give you the most flexibility?

Pixel vs. Vector

First, understand the difference between a pixel-based and vector logo.

A vector graphic is based on lines, curves, layers of information. This is scalable, meaning it can be stretched proportionately without losing quality. A well-designed vector graphic will look good on a postage stamp or the back of a mac truck. Choose a vector logo for printed materials like business cards, t-shirts, banners, etc.

A pixel-based logo (raster or bitmap) is made up of individual pixels. As it is stretched larger, the quality will go down. This type of graphic is fine for website images.

File Types

When your graphic designer has completed a logo design to your liking, you should request both a vector and a bitmap/raster file. Generally, follow these rules of thumb:

• For print, ask for files with .eps or .ai extensions.
• For web, ask for files with .jpg or .gif extensions.

Logo Changes

Think ahead to potential changes in your business identity or goals. If you ever need to edit the colors or type in your logo, you will be able to do this easily with an .eps or .ai file. Then you can convert the file to a .jpg or .gif for your web uses.