“Your logo is blurry.”
A logo saved as a JPEG or PNG is made of pixels, so it goes soft or blocky when it’s printed bigger than it was made. The fix is a vector version (AI, EPS, SVG or PDF), which is drawn from lines and curves and prints sharp at any size, from a business card to a building. Auto-trace tools can help with simple logos, but most need redrawing by hand.
Updated November 3, 2026 · by Azaan Ali, print designerWhy printers ask for this
Most logos people have are the version from their website, a social profile or an email signature: a few hundred pixels wide. On a phone that looks crisp. On a business card it needs about 1000 pixels; on a shop sign, tens of thousands. Stretching the pixels can’t create that detail.
A vector logo has no pixels. It’s stored as shapes, so the same file prints a 20 mm label and a 3 m canopy equally sharp. Printers, sign makers, embroiderers and screen printers all ask for one.
How to turn a blurry logo into a vector
- Find the original first: ask whoever designed it, or search your old emails for .ai, .eps, .svg or .pdf files.
- For a simple one- or two-colour logo, try Illustrator’s Image Trace (Object → Image Trace → Make, then Expand). Inkscape’s Trace Bitmap is a free alternative.
- Zoom in to 400% and check the curves and corners. Auto-trace often makes wobbly lines, rounded corners and lumpy letters.
- Replace any traced text with the real font if you can identify it (WhatTheFont can help).
- Save as AI or EPS for printers, SVG for the web, and a PDF anyone can open.
Or send it to us
- Redraw the logo by hand as a clean vector, matching the original shapes rather than tracing the blur
- Identify and use the real typeface, or rebuild the letters if it’s custom
- Set your colours in CMYK, RGB and the nearest Pantone
- Send AI, EPS, SVG, PDF and PNG files, plus one-colour and reversed versions
Questions
- How long does a logo redraw take?
- Usually within 24 hours of payment. Very detailed logos (illustrations, mascots, crests) may be quoted separately first.
- Will it look exactly like my logo?
- Yes, just sharp. We redraw what’s there, without redesigning it. If something was clearly a mistake in the original, we ask before changing it.
- Do I own the vector files?
- Yes, completely. You get every file format and can use them anywhere.
Terms on this page: Vector, Raster (bitmap), DPI / PPI (resolution).
Other things printers say
More on this kind of work: Logo redraws & vectors.
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