Vector files for print: why they work best for large format

Vector vs raster in plain English

Think of a raster image as a mosaic. It is a grid of tiny coloured squares called pixels. Photos from your phone, screenshots, JPGs and PNGs are all raster. Up close the squares are invisible, but stretch the image bigger and each square gets bigger too, until edges go soft, fuzzy or blocky.

A vector file is more like a set of instructions: start here, curve to there, fill it pink. Instead of storing pixels, it stores points (called anchor points) joined by lines and curves. When you print it, the shapes are redrawn fresh at the exact size you need, so a vector logo is just as crisp 5 cm wide as it is 5 metres wide.

Pro tip Most logos, fonts, icons and illustrations are created as vectors in apps like Adobe Illustrator, Affinity Designer, CorelDRAW or Inkscape. If your designer made your logo, the vector version almost certainly exists somewhere.

Vector vs raster: side by side

The zoom test: see the difference

Here is an example logo for a made up florist, Bloom. We have printed it at the same size twice: once from the vector original, and once from a 300 pixel wide JPG, the kind of logo people grab from a website or an email signature. Drag the slider to compare them:

VectorRaster (300 px JPG)

Now zoom right in on the leaf, which is roughly what happens when that logo is printed across a backdrop:

Raster, zoomed in

Vector, zoomed in

The same corner of the logo zoomed in. The raster version shows square pixels and blotchy JPG artefacts. The vector version keeps clean curves.

Why size changes everything

For a raster image to print sharp, it needs about 150 pixels for every inch of the finished piece (that is 150 dpi). Small prints barely notice. Large format is a different story. Here is how many pixels wide a raster logo would need to be to fill each of these at 150 dpi:

Most logos people send us are 500 to 2,000 pixels wide. That is plenty for a business card, but nowhere near a backdrop. Very big pieces are viewed from further away, so they can print at a lower resolution, but a logo still has to look crisp from the front row and in every close up photo. With a vector, none of this matters: one file, any size, perfectly sharp.

Why vectors win for large format printing

1. Razor sharp at any size. Banners, backdrops, media walls, site hoardings and building wraps are printed metres wide on our 3.2m Liyu and Fuji flatbed. Vector logos and text stay crisp no matter how far they are enlarged.
2. Clean, crisp text. Small print on seating plans, wayfinding signs and exhibition walls needs perfect edges to be readable. Vector text gives you exactly that.
3. Shapes we can cut. Our Zund digital cutter and Boxford laser follow vector paths. Cut out signs, foamex and acrylic letters, vinyl lettering, window frosting, shaped dance floors and contour cut stickers all need a vector cut line. A JPG can't tell the cutter where to go.
4. One file for everything. The same vector logo works on your business cards, roller banner, shop fascia and 6 metre hoarding, so your brand looks identical everywhere.
5. Exact, flat brand colours. Vector shapes are filled with a single colour you can set precisely in CMYK or match to a Pantone reference, with no stray pixels or blotchy JPG artefacts.
6. Quick to change. Need a new date, a different size or an extra sponsor logo? Vector artwork can be edited and resized in seconds without losing quality.

Which file types are vector?

Here is a quick guide to the files you are most likely to have in your brand folder:

Watch out Renaming or re saving a file does not make it vector. A JPG logo placed into Illustrator, Canva or a PDF is still a JPG inside. If you zoom in and it goes blocky, it is raster.

How to tell if your file is really vector

• Zoom in to 800%. Edges that stay smooth are vector. Edges that turn into squares are raster.
• Try selecting it. In a vector PDF you can usually select the text and click individual shapes. A raster PDF selects as one big picture.
• Check outline view. In Illustrator, View then Outline (Ctrl or Cmd + Y) shows vector shapes as thin lines. A raster image shows as a box with a cross through it.

When raster is the right choice

Vectors are not better at everything. Photos, paintings, watercolours, AI images and rich textures are naturally raster, and turning them into vectors would ruin them. That is completely fine: wallpaper murals, canvas prints, photo backdrops and printed dance floors are often raster artwork. They just need enough resolution, around 150 dpi at the finished size, or 300 dpi for pieces seen up close.

The best large format files usually combine both: a high resolution raster photo or background, with vector text and logos placed on top, exported together as a print ready PDF. You get rich imagery and razor sharp words. Our AI artwork guide shows how to get raster images big enough for print.

Only got a JPG logo? Here is what to do

1. Ask the original designer or agency for the AI, EPS, SVG or PDF version.
2. Check your brand folder, brand guidelines or the press or media kit on your website.
3. Ask your other printers or sign makers. Whoever printed your shop sign or business cards may still have it on file.
4. Still nothing? Get it redrawn. Send us what you have and our in house design team can help.

You may have heard of auto tracing, where software like Illustrator's Image Trace or Inkscape's Trace Bitmap converts a picture into shapes for you. It can work on simple, bold logos from a decent sized image, but from a small JPG it guesses, and it shows:

Auto traced from a small JPG

Redrawn by hand

Illustration of a typical auto trace from a small, low quality image. Thin lines and small text vanish, serifs break and stray specks appear.

Auto tracing has lost the circle and the tagline, chewed up the lettering and left little specks behind. On a 3 metre backdrop, every lump shows. Redrawing a logo by hand gives clean curves, the right font and the correct colours.

Preparing vector artwork for print

• Convert text to outlines, or embed your fonts in the PDF, so nothing swaps to the wrong font.
• Set colours in CMYK, or give Pantone references for brand colours. Read our CMYK vs RGB guide to see why. If your file is RGB we can convert it to CMYK, but there is a possibility of colour change, so you will see a proof first.
• Add 3 mm bleed and keep important text 10 mm inside the edge.
• Embed any photos rather than linking them, and check they are high enough resolution.
• Add a cut line for shaped pieces: a thin line in a spot colour, on its own layer called Cut.
• Export a PDF, ideally PDF/X-4, and send it on WhatsApp as a document, or email a WeTransfer link to info@printstation.co.uk for big files.

Our free artwork guide walks through every step.

Your vector file checklist

1. Logos and text are vector, not pasted in as pictures.
2. Zoom to 800%: edges stay smooth.
3. Photos are high resolution, around 150 dpi at the finished size.
4. Text is outlined or fonts are embedded.
5. Colours are CMYK or have Pantone references.
6. 3 mm bleed and a 10 mm safe area.
7. Shaped pieces have a vector cut line on a Cut layer.
8. Exported as a PDF and sent as a document.