Hot Gossip > Getting to know your logo
Have you ever supplied your logo to a printing agency, only to be told that you’ve sent the wrong format?
Many print companies expect you to know what “vector” and “raster” files are and you would be forgiven in assuming that they were two of the Decepticons from Transformers.
So for those of us who like to know what we get for our money, below is an explanation of the different formats that we provide when creating a new logo for our clients. We call it the "Hot PJ Logo Suite".
After receiving your new logo, it is important to maintain its integrity throughout its use and prevent errors through incorrect reproduction.
Let me explain some basics about colour, raster and vector formats, and all the different file formats that will come into play in the world of print and digital design that you and your logo may be entering...
Colour
When talking about colour, designers tend to use the two major colour models of RGB and CMYK. These models are split into the two worlds colours exist in – the digital world, where colour is created by light and viewed on a screen, and the printed world, where colour is created by mixing ink and transferring onto a physical medium, such as paper.
RGB exists only in digital form. Red, green and blue light are mixed together to create a full spectrum of colour. The absence of these colours creates black and 100% values of all the colours creates white. Different display devices reproduce RGB values differently which means that colour consistency in a digital space is virtually impossible.
CMYK refers to the inks used in the printing process and can also be called 4-colour, full-colour or process colour. Cyan, magenta, yellow and black (represented by ‘K’ for “key”, so as not to be confused with ‘B’ used in RGB) inks are mixed together to create a full gamut of colour.
Raster vs. Vector
Digital images, type and illustrations can be created and manipulated into many different formats using a multitude of software packages. These files will either be vector-based or rasterised. Your logo files will be supplied in both formats but it is important to understand the difference between, and the limitations of, each format.
Raster image formats store image data as bitmaps (or pixmaps) that contain information about each individual pixel in a given file area. Any photographic image will be in a raster format. These files are often much larger in size as they will contain more information.
Vector image formats contain a geometric description of an image that can then be scaled infinitely. These formats are most suited to creating polygon based images such as typography and illustrations.
Your logo will most likely have been created in a vector format. It can then be transferred into a raster format where necessary. This process causes the line work to lose its crispness, so it is preferable to remain in vector format where possible.
File Formats
When supplying artwork to printers, you will be asked for a specific file format. This will vary from printer to printer. We try to anticipate any possible requests and so supply logos in the following formats:
- Adobe Illustrator Artwork - .ai
This is the native file format developed by Adobe Systems and is the file extension used by the design software, Adobe Illustrator.
It is a vector based file.
- Encapsulated PostScript - .eps
This is a vector based graphic file also created from Adobe Illustrator.
- Freehand Artwork - .fhmx
This is the native file format of the application “Freehand” developed by Macromedia. It is also a vector based file.
- Tagged Image Format - .tiff
A raster based file format for storing images, including photographic and line art images, and is supported by most image manipulation applications.
Tiff files are not generally supported by web browsers so are not suited for the web.
- Joint Photographic Experts Group, or Jpeg - .jpg
This is a raster based image format commonly used by digital cameras and for the web. It allows for image compression, that can decrease file sizes, but can also lead to loss of image quality. Low quality jpegs can create ‘artefacting’ which produces blemishes on the file caused by over compression.
Jpeg files are supported by all image manipulation applications and can be placed into word processing and desktop publishing applications.
When your logo is created by Hot PJ, we supply a Logo Suite containing all the above files in CMYK, RGB, Spot and black versions to suit a variety of marketing needs.
So in summary...
Store your logo files somewhere safe. Unless you know what you’re doing, don’t open the files in any form of image editing software as this may then save them to a lower quality format.
Magazines, newspapers and other print suppliers will usually state which format they require. If not, then it pays to ask to ensure your logo, the face of your company, is presented in its best possible form.
If you would like a pdf document of the above article that includes diagrams and photos, please contact Mark Lincoln on (03) 374 9929.
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