Which Logo File Should You Use?

Have you ever created a document, went to insert your logo and wondered if you were using the right file? I think most people have been there. It isn't one of those situations where you worry that your computer will shut down or crash, but it can be frustrating to have a document that doesn't print well because you didn't know which file to use.

At Church Logo Gallery, we include a document with every personalized and custom CD we send that explains the various file types, and when it's best to use each one. For instance, a commercial printer will most likely want a Pantone.eps file for your stationery for 2 color printing. Information on vector and raster formats, as well as which files have transparent backgrounds are all included.

It's one of those sheets that you may never look at - kind of like directions from the newest thing you need to put together. I understand - I'm the same way. If you purchased a personalized logo from Church Logo Gallery, wish you had the Tip Sheet and don't know what you did with it, email us and we'd be happy to email you the pdf file. Let us know if we can help. Our customer service doesn't end when we send you your logo.

Having the Right Kind of Logo Files

When we design a logo, all the focus goes on the design. After we send it people start wondering if they have the right kinds of files. Most logo design companies supply the customer with a tif, jpg, and pdf file, and sometimes an eps. We recently worked with a designer who said he just needed an eps file from us, which is the file we start with before we make all of our other files.

At Church Logo Gallery we go overboard and send a CD with 15 different files including ai (Adobe Illustrator), eps, tiff, psd (Photoshop), jpg, png, gif, and pdf in the appropriate rgb, cmyk, grayscale, and Pantone colors. Our reasoning is this - better to cover all the bases and give our customers more than they need than to field calls from frustrated clients needing something they don't have. Our guess is that our customer will find a file format that works well in most situations and use the same file 90% of the time, but it's always good to know they'll have what they need when they need it.

The light went on for our designer friend. He had supplied previous clients with eps and ai files, only to hear back that they needed additional files. It's more time on our end to make that many files, but we think it's time well spent. We hope you'll agree.