Send us
a good file.
Everything you need to know before you upload your logo, so Big Free doesn't have to email you back asking for a bigger one.
Accepted file types
Honestly, send us whatever you've got: emailed art, an old export, even a hard copy. We'll work with it. But a few formats get you to a proof a lot faster.
Preferred vector formats:
.PDF: embed your fonts, or export it as a generic .eps if you're not sure how.
.AI / .EPS (Illustrator): convert text to outlines and embed any linked images before sending.
.CDR (CorelDRAW): convert text to curves first.
Also accepted:
.DOC, .PPT, or .PUB (Office files): just embed or include your fonts.
Bitmaps: .JPG, .TIF, .PCX, .GIF, .PNG, .BMP. These work, just know they don't scale as cleanly as vector (more on that below).
Nope, renaming the file extension doesn't convert it. A JPG saved as "logo.eps" is still a JPG underneath, pixels and all. If it wasn't built in vector software, it isn't vector.
No stress. Reply to your order confirmation email with the file attached, or use the upload link inside it. If you're still hunting for the file, we'll follow up with you before anything goes into production.
Artwork setup is free, and so is your digital mockup. You approve it before anything prints. Got special instructions (a specific Pantone, placement, or a "make it smaller than that")? There's a notes field for exactly that.
Imprint types
Every method wants your artwork a slightly different way — vector for engraving, 300dpi for full colour, simplified shapes for thread. Rather than bury it all here, each method has its own write-up: what it is, what it's best on, and exactly what to send.
See all twelve methods → Printing & decoration methods covers screen print, embroidery, full colour, heat transfer, sublimation, laser engraving, pad print, deboss, emboss, foil, applique and etching. Product pages link straight to the methods they offer.
Converting text to outlines
Live text depends on the font being installed on whoever opens the file next. Outlines turn your letters into shapes, so they show up exactly as you designed them, everywhere.
- Open your file in Illustrator (or similar vector software). This works the same way in most vector programs, just under slightly different menu names.
- Select all your text. Click through your layers or just select everything on the artboard.
- Go to Type → Create Outlines. Or use the shortcut
Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + O. - Save the file. Your text is now a shape, not a font, so it'll display and print exactly as you see it, on any machine.
Sizing, bleed & resolution
Screens are forgiving. Print is not. Here's the math that keeps your logo sharp edge to edge.
300 DPI (dots per inch) minimum, measured at the actual size it'll print, or vector, which sidesteps the whole question. If your art comes in under 300dpi, don't just crank the resolution up after the fact; that only stretches the same soft pixels bigger; it won't add detail back in, so it prints blurry and pixelated either way.
Bleed is the extra margin along the edge of your file. If your design has a background color or image that should run edge-to-edge on the final product, extend it slightly past the trim line. Otherwise you risk a thin, unintended white sliver along the border.
Two problems stack up here. First, web images are usually saved at 72dpi, built to look fine on a screen, not to hold up printed at size. Second, images pulled from a site are often someone else's licensed work, so using them can run into copyright issues. A purchased stock photo at a large resolution is the one exception.
Nope. Vector art is built from coordinates and curves, not pixels, so it holds its quality at any size: a pen cap or a banner, same crisp result. That's the whole reason we ask for vector first.
Color modes & matching
Screen color and print color speak different languages. Here's the translation.
RGB (red, green, blue) is how screens build color with light. CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) is how full-color printing builds it with ink, and it's what lets a printed piece include photos and gradients. Colors built for one can shift a little in the other, so if you have a print-ready file, send that one.
If your brand has strict color rules, like our own Flare Orange, a Pantone number is the most reliable way to match it across different materials, since embroidery thread and screen ink can read differently even at "the same" color. No Pantone number handy? Send the hex code and we'll find the closest match.
Full color works for most methods (full-color print, sublimation, embroidery). Screenprinting and engraving usually price by color count, so a simplified 1–2 color version can save you money without losing the logo.
Quick-reference PMS chart
A standard set of commonly used Pantone spot colors, so you can point at one instead of squinting at a screen.
Proofs & turnaround
What happens after you hit upload.
Free digital mockup within 24 hours of a usable file. Nothing prints without your sign-off first.
Once a proof's approved, it goes straight into production, so give it one good look: check spelling, color, and placement before you sign off. Catch it before approval and changes are easy and free.
Low-res files, missing fonts, and "here are three logos, figure out which one" emails. A clean vector file with clear instructions is the fastest path from upload to on your desk.
Common mistakes
The stuff that turns a same-day proof into a three-email thread.
Do
- Send the original vector file if you have one, every time.
- Include your Pantone or hex codes with the file.
- Convert text to outlines, or send the font files.
- Extend background art past the edge if it should bleed.
- Ask us if you're not sure. A quick question beats a bad proof.
Don't
- Screenshot your logo off your own website.
- Pull a logo out of a PowerPoint or Word doc without embedded fonts.
- Bump up the DPI on a low-res image and call it fixed.
- Stretch or squash the file to "make it fit."
- Approve a proof you haven't actually read closely.
Not sure what you've got?
Send whatever file you have. We'll tell you straight, good to go, or needs a glow-up, before anything goes to print.