Ask a school office for their logo and you usually get a PNG somebody pulled off the website, or a Word document with the logo pasted into it. Then the banner company asks for "vector art," the jersey vendor asks for "an EPS with Pantones," and everything stops for a week while somebody hunts for a designer who left in 2019. This is solvable once, at the file level.
The short answer: you need four files, and one of them is not optional
Every school should hold SVG, EPS, PDF, and PNG versions of its logo, plus the editable source file the mark was originally drawn in. That is the working set. SVG runs the website. EPS is what apparel and sign vendors ask for. PDF is the universal file you can email to anyone. PNG is the transparent image staff drop into slide decks and newsletters.
The one people skip is the editable source. It is the only file a designer can actually change, and a school that does not have it does not fully control its own logo. If a package hands you PNG and JPG and calls it done, you have images of a logo. You do not have a logo.
A PNG is a photograph of your logo. A vector file is the logo. When your sign vendor says "we need vector," they are telling you the photograph is not enough to build from.
What is the difference between vector and raster files?
This is the only technical distinction that matters, and it explains almost every file request you will ever get.
Vector files store your logo as mathematical paths, points, and curves. Because the shape is described by math rather than pixels, it scales to any size and stays perfectly crisp. The same file works on a business card and on the side of the gym. SVG, EPS, AI, and most PDFs are vector.
Raster files store your logo as a fixed grid of pixels. At the size it was made for it looks great. Enlarge it and the software has to invent pixels that were never there, which is why a stretched PNG goes soft and jagged. PNG and JPG are raster.
Large format printers publish resolution minimums for this exact reason, generally around 300 dpi for close-up viewing and lower for signage read from a distance. Vector art sidesteps the question entirely, which is why sign shops ask for it first. Photographs are the only thing that genuinely has to be raster.
What does each school logo file format actually do?
Six formats, one job each. Print this table and tape it inside the front office cabinet.
| Format | Type | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| SVG | Vector | Your website, favicon, app icons, and anything on a high resolution screen. Stays sharp at every size and loads fast because it is code, not an image. |
| EPS | Vector | Screen printers, embroidery digitizers, sign shops, banner companies, promotional product vendors. The most commonly requested "send us vector" format. |
| Usually vector | The universal share file. Opens on any device, prints cleanly, and most print vendors accept it. Use this when you do not know what the recipient can open. | |
| PNG | Raster | Transparent background image for slide decks, documents, email signatures, social graphics. The everyday staff file. |
| JPG | Raster | Optional. Only useful where transparency does not matter and file size does, such as a photo-heavy layout. Never send a JPG to a printer. |
| AI | Vector source | The editable master file. Nobody outside a design program opens it, and that is fine. Its job is to exist, be backed up, and make the next revision possible. |
Two details that save real money. First, a PDF can hold either vector or raster data depending on how it was exported, so a PDF is only vector if it was built that way. Second, PNG supports transparency and JPG does not, which is why a JPG logo shows up on a colored background with an ugly white box around it.
Which file do you send to which vendor?
Send the wrong file and you get a delay, a proof that looks off, or an art charge on the invoice. Send the right one and nobody calls you.
| Who is asking | Send them | Also send |
|---|---|---|
| Screen printer (shirts, spirit wear) | EPS or vector PDF | Pantone numbers for every color |
| Embroiderer (hats, polos, jackets) | EPS or AI | Thread color specs, plus ask for the stitch file back |
| Sign and banner company | EPS, AI, or vector PDF | Exact finished dimensions |
| Website or web developer | SVG | PNG fallback and HEX codes |
| Yearbook, programs, letterhead | Vector PDF | CMYK color build |
| Staff making a slide deck | PNG with transparency | Nothing. Keep it simple for them. |
Embroidery deserves its own note, because it trips up more athletic directors than any other category. Vector art is not the final embroidery file. A digitizer has to convert your artwork into a stitch program, most commonly a DST file, which tells the machine the path, direction, and density of every stitch. That digitizing is a one-time paid step. Once it exists, ask the vendor for a copy. Schools that do this stop paying a setup charge every time they change apparel suppliers.
Whatever you send, send the color codes with it. A file without specified colors is still a guess, which is the same failure we walked through in our guide to choosing school colors.
What should be in your logo folder?
A complete school logo package is more than one file in a few formats. It is a small system, organized so a volunteer can find the right thing without asking anyone.
- Primary logo in SVG, EPS, PDF, and PNG. The full mark, used everywhere by default.
- Horizontal and stacked versions. A wide banner and a square social avatar cannot use the same lockup. Both should be drawn on purpose, not squeezed by whoever is placing them.
- One color and reversed versions. Solid black, solid white, and a knockout for dark backgrounds. Embroidery, engraving, and single-color printing all need these.
- Mascot mark on its own if you have one, separated from the wordmark so athletics can use it alone.
- Favicon and social profile crops already sized, so nobody is cropping by hand at 11 PM.
- A one page color and usage sheet with Pantone, CMYK, HEX, and RGB values plus clear space and minimum size rules.
- The editable source files in their own folder, backed up somewhere that survives a staff change.
That last point bites schools hardest. Logo files live on a laptop that gets replaced, or in an inbox belonging to someone who no longer works there. Put the whole folder in the district's shared drive the day you receive it, then put a second copy somewhere else. Cheapest insurance in the building, and part of why we argue that your school brand is more than a logo.
What goes wrong when a school only has a PNG
Here is the actual sequence, and we have watched it play out more than once.
- The banner comes back blurry. Somebody enlarged a 600 pixel PNG to eight feet. The vendor warned them. It shipped anyway because the game was Friday.
- The jersey vendor charges an art fee. No vector file means their art department redraws the mark. That cost lands on you, and the redraw is rarely faithful.
- The logo quietly drifts. Each vendor redraws it a little differently. Three seasons later the gym banner, the website, and the uniforms are visibly three different logos.
- The auto-trace makes it worse. Someone runs the PNG through a vectorizer. The output has wobbly curves, ragged edges, and text turned into unreadable shapes. Fine at thumbnail size, ruined on a wall.
- You pay for the logo twice. The only real fix is redrawing the mark in vector, which is a design job, not a conversion. If you are already there, our breakdown of what a custom school logo costs is the honest starting number.
None of these are exotic failures. They are the default outcome of an incomplete file package, and every one was preventable at delivery.
Frequently asked questions
What file formats should a school logo come in?
At minimum: SVG, EPS, PDF, and PNG, plus the editable source file the logo was drawn in. SVG is the web version, EPS is what most apparel and sign vendors request, PDF is the universal share-and-print version, and PNG is the transparent raster file for slide decks and documents. A JPG is optional and only useful where transparency does not matter. Any package that hands your school PNG and JPG alone has not given you a usable logo.
What is the difference between a vector and a raster logo file?
A vector file stores the logo as mathematical paths and curves, so it can be scaled to any size and stay perfectly sharp. SVG, EPS, AI, and most PDFs are vector. A raster file stores the logo as a fixed grid of pixels, so it looks fine at its intended size and falls apart when enlarged. PNG and JPG are raster. Vector is what a printer, embroiderer, or sign shop needs. Raster is what a website or a slide deck uses.
Can you convert a PNG logo back into a vector file?
Not cleanly. Automatic tracing tools produce a rough approximation with wobbly edges, muddled color, and none of the original type. The only reliable fix is for a designer to redraw the mark from scratch in vector, which is a paid job, not a file conversion. That is why schools that lost their original files during a staff turnover usually end up rebuilding the logo rather than recovering it.
What file does a screen printer or embroiderer need?
Screen printers and sign shops want vector, usually EPS, AI, or a vector PDF, along with your Pantone color numbers. Embroidery is a separate step: a digitizer converts your vector art into a stitch file, most often a DST, and that stitch file is a production asset your school should ask for a copy of once it exists. Send vector art plus color codes every time and the vendor never has to guess.
Own every file, and stop asking permission to use your own logo
Every package we build delivers the complete set: primary, horizontal, stacked, one color, and reversed versions in SVG, EPS, PDF, and PNG, the editable source files, a favicon and social crops, and a one page color sheet with Pantone, CMYK, HEX, and RGB values. You own all of it outright, with no licensing fees and nothing held back. You can see the range of work in our gallery and the full breakdown of each tier on our packages page, starting at $2,499.
If your school is rebuilding a logo it can no longer find the files for, our complete guide to rebranding your school covers how to sequence that without losing the community. And when you are ready, apply to work with us. We review every application personally and respond within two business days. No pressure, no sales pitch.