Vector vs raster explained: pixels vs paths, AI, SVG, EPS and PDF vs JPG and PNG, and when your logo needs a real vector file for print, signs and web.
You send your logo to a print shop and the reply comes back: "Do you have a vector version?" If all you have is a JPG or a PNG, that one question can stall a whole project. This guide explains the real difference between vector and raster files, which formats belong to each group, and when you need one or the other.
A raster image is a grid of tiny coloured squares called pixels. Photos, screenshots and most logos saved from a website or a social media profile are raster files. Every pixel has one colour, and the image has a fixed number of them, for example 800 × 600.
A vector file doesn't store pixels at all. It stores shapes described mathematically: points, lines, curves and fills. A circle in a vector file is essentially "a circle with this centre, this radius and this colour". The software draws it fresh at whatever size you ask for.
Enlarge a raster logo and the software has to invent pixels that were never there. Edges become soft, blurry or jagged ("pixelated"), and small text turns into mush.
Enlarge a vector logo and the shapes are simply recalculated. The edges stay crisp whether the logo is 2 cm wide on a business card or 3 metres wide on a shop front.
One catch: the file extension alone doesn't guarantee a vector. A JPG pasted into Illustrator and saved as .ai, or a photo placed inside a PDF, is still a raster image in a vector container. If you zoom in a long way and start to see pixels, it isn't a true vector.
Your website, social media posts, email signatures and presentations, as long as the resolution is high enough for the size you show them at. Even then, the best PNG and JPG files are the ones exported from a clean vector master, because you can create them at any size without losing quality.
Owning the vector master of your logo puts you in control. You can change colours for a one-colour print, send the right file to any supplier in minutes, and make sure your logo looks the same on a mug, a van and a website. Without it, every new supplier becomes a small problem to solve, and each one may "fix" your logo in a slightly different way.
This is the most common situation: the original designer is gone, and the only file left is a small image from the website or an old email. The solution is to redraw the logo as a vector.
At VETOR24 every logo is carefully redrawn, not run through an automatic trace. Our professional logo vectorization costs €30 and is delivered within 4 hours as AI, SVG, EPS and PDF files, plus PNG and JPG previews. You see a preview before the final delivery. If you are against a deadline, <> costs €45. Extremely complex artwork may need an extra fee, which is always confirmed with you before work starts.
If you only need a sharper image for screen use, our image enhancement service
No. Saving or renaming a raster file only wraps the same pixels in a different container. To get real paths, the logo has to be traced or, for the cleanest result, redrawn.
Not always. A PDF exported from Illustrator or a similar program usually contains vectors, but a PDF made from a scan or a photo contains pixels. Zoom in to check: vectors stay sharp at any zoom level.
Yes, for websites, social media and documents. The difference is that you can export them from your vector master at any size, which is why we include PNG and JPG previews with every vectorization.
If your logo only exists as a JPG or PNG today, it is worth fixing once and for all. Send us the file you have, and we will hand you back a clean vector you can use anywhere, from a business card to a building.