Logo lingo
We receive regular requests for company logos from clients and vendors. We're happy to comply with these requests, but in order to send the most appropriate file, we need to know what image type is required. Sending the wrong type of file wastes time and can result in a poor quality product - and nobody wants that.
Here's a guide to the most common image types, so you'll know what we're talking about!
EPS, which stands for Encapsulated PostScript, is created from mathematical curves and lines which stay in focus and in proportion no matter how large or small the file gets, making it ideal for uses from letterhead to billboards. Virtually all of the logos Idea Bank creates are EPS format. Unless you have an image program like Photoshop or Illustrator, you will not be able to open the file. This doesn't mean it's broken! The company imprinting your mugs or stamping your notepads should have the correct software to use an EPS.
A TIFF is an image that is pixel-based, put together from thousands of tiny blocks. A typical high-resolution image has over 90,000 of those little blocks in a square inch, which makes it great for printing at its original size. Blow that image up large enough, though, and you'll start seeing individual pixels instead of a smooth overall image. Shrink it down too far and the image will get murky as the pixels blur and blend. You might not be able to open a TIFF on your computer, but you should be able to import or place the image into Word, Publisher or a similar program with no trouble.
JPEGs are wonderful for web work, Powerpoint presentations, and other applications that don't demand much of an image. Like TIFFs, JPEGs are pixel-based. They are also compressed and generally at a low resolution, so they don't take up much disk space. But try to enlarge them and ewww: not only do you see individual pixels, but you'll also see "artifact," a strange worm-like fuzziness that comes from the compression process. While you can open JPEGs right up on your computer, and they may look great at your screen's low resolution, they are usually the worst choice for anything printed.
CMYK, PMS and RGB refer to the color format of the image. RGB colors are made of red, green and blue light, and are only accurate on computer and television screens. RGB colors cannot be used for printing. CMYK stands for cyan, magenta, yellow and black, the four inks used in the printing process. Combinations of these four inks make every printed color in the rainbow, but they may not be able to accurately reproduce your logo color. That's where PMS colors come in. When we create your logo, we choose exact colors from the Pantone Matching System, a universally recognized color scheme to which every printing company subscribes. If your vendor asks for "spot color" that means Pantone or PMS colors.
So when we ask, "EPS, TIFF, or JPEG? CMYK, PMS or RGB?" we're not just being difficult. We really need to know!
