Vectorize a logo in four steps
- Start from the biggest copy. A website header or email signature is usually tiny; a PDF, a slide or a large social image is better.
- Match the palette. This page starts at 4 colours with the background removed. Set Colours to the logo's real colour count plus one for the background, and check the palette chips.
- Choose the layers. Stacked, no gaps (the default here) for print, web and signs; Cut-out, no overlaps when each colour must be its own piece, as for vinyl, screen printing or embroidery separations.
- Download for the job: PDF for a print shop, SVG for the web and design apps, DXF for sign-making and laser software.
What a printer or sign shop means by "vector"
When a printer asks for a vector logo, they want a file made of paths rather than pixels, so it prints sharp on a business card and a banner alike. The SVG and PDF from this page are pure paths with flat fills and no embedded image. With cut-out layering, every colour is a separate shape, which is what spot-colour separations, screen-print films and vinyl sign layers are made from. An embroidery digitizer will still convert the vector into stitches, but a clean vector makes that work faster and the stitch-out truer.
Colours, fonts and the master file
The palette is averaged from your pixels, so colours land close to your brand values but rarely exactly on them. The PDF and SVG use RGB colours. Before printing, swap each layer for your exact HEX, CMYK or Pantone value in Illustrator, Affinity or Inkscape; one layer per colour makes that a minute's work.
Tracing also cannot know your typeface. Large lettering traces well, but small text in a low-resolution logo comes out soft. For a logo you will use for years, trace it here, retype any small text in the real font, and save that as your master file.
Questions people ask
Stacked or cut-out layers: which do I need?
Stacked lays colours on top of each other like paint, so there are never gaps between them: use it for print, web and signs. Cut-out makes every colour a separate, non-overlapping shape, which vinyl layering, screen printing and embroidery need. Cut-out can show hairline seams on screen.
Will the colours match my brand colours exactly?
Close, but not exactly, because they are averaged from your image and compression shifts colours slightly. Each colour is one layer, so replace it with your exact HEX, CMYK or Pantone value in a design app afterwards.
Which file should I send to my printer?
The PDF, unless they ask otherwise. It opens in Illustrator, Affinity and print workflows as paths. Send the SVG to web developers and the DXF to sign makers or laser shops.
Can it recreate the font in my logo?
It traces the letter shapes, not the font. Large lettering comes out well; small text from a low-resolution file may be soft. Retype small text in the original font for a master copy.
Can I use the vectorized logo commercially?
The output is yours to use in whatever way you are entitled to use the original logo. The tool adds no watermark and claims no rights.