Preparing your logo for embroidery or printing

Vector or image: the difference that matters

A vector file describes the logo as paths: it scales from a polo chest to a full back with no loss. The usual formats are AI, EPS, SVG and PDF, provided the PDF was exported from the drawing software and not built from an image.

An image (PNG, JPG, WebP) is a grid of dots. It has a size beyond which it turns blurry, and enlarging it adds no detail.

To find out what you have, zoom to 800 %. Edges that stay sharp: it is vector. A staircase of squares: it is an image, even if the file name ends in .pdf or .eps.

Before having anything redrawn, ask the person who designed the logo, or the printer of your business cards, for the original file: that is often where it is.

For a DTF transfer

Vector is preferable, not compulsory: an image is enough if it has about 300 dots per inch at the printed size. In practice, roughly 1,200 pixels wide for a 10 cm logo, and 3,500 for a 30 cm design.

Send a PNG with a transparent background rather than a JPG. A JPG has no transparency: its white background is part of the image, and it prints white on a coloured garment unless someone removes it. The proof shows what will be printed: check the outline on it.

A screenshot, a logo taken from a website or received through a messaging app is generally too small: those images are reduced to load fast, not to be printed.

For embroidery

An embroidery machine does not read an image: it follows a stitch programme. So your logo is digitised, converted into a needle path, before the first piece: €30.00 for a small format, €50.00 for a large one, once only. Later orders reuse the same programme.

The starting file must show clean shapes: a vector, or an image large enough for the outlines to be read without guessing.

What thread cannot do: gradients, drop shadows, text under 4 mm high. If your logo contains any, we tell you what needs simplifying, and nothing is embroidered without your approval of the proof.

Colours

A screen makes its colours with light (RGB), a printer with inks (CMYK). Some shades that look very vivid on screen, a neon green or an electric blue, do not exist in inks and come out duller once printed.

If your brand guidelines give Pantone references, send them with the file: they tell us which shade to aim for. In embroidery, the colour is that of the closest thread on the thread chart, not a custom mix.

Also tell us which garment colours the logo will go on. A black logo on a navy jacket disappears: it needs a light version.

Maximum sizes

A small placement (chest, sleeve, nape, cap) takes up to 10 × 10 cm. A large one (centre chest, full back, bag front) up to 30 × 30 cm. Beyond that, or for several designs on the same side, it can be done and is priced case by case.

There is no need to resize the file yourself. Give us the width you want in centimetres: the size and the placement are shown on the proof, and nothing goes into production without your approval.

When the file cannot be used

If all you have is a small image and the marking needs a clean outline, we redraw the logo as a vector: from €50.00, the final price depending on its complexity and stated on the quote. It is charged once, and the file is yours to keep.

If you have no logo at all, tick “create it for me” in the configurator or on the quote form. The design work is quoted separately, and you approve a proof before any production.

• Formats accepted for upload: .png, .jpg, .webp, .pdf, .eps, .ai, .zip. An SVG goes in a ZIP, or exported as a PDF.
• Text converted to outlines: otherwise the font may be replaced when the file is opened.
• One version per variant: full colour, single colour, light version for dark backgrounds.
• The width you want in centimetres, and the placement.