Most delays in custom signage are artwork delays, not production delays. Ten minutes spent on the file before you upload it usually saves a round of proofs.
Here is what actually matters, and why.
Send SVG if you have it, PNG if you do not
We accept SVG, PNG, and JPG.
SVG is best. It is a vector format, so the outline of your logo is stored as maths rather than pixels — it can be scaled to any sign size with perfectly clean edges. If your designer sent you a logo package, the SVG (or an AI/EPS the designer can export to SVG) is in there.
PNG is the next best thing, provided it is large and has a transparent background. JPG works but never has transparency, which leads directly to the most common problem below.
Why the background matters so much
This is the part that surprises people. On a raised or engraved sign, your logo’s shape becomes physical geometry. We are not printing a picture onto a panel — we are building the silhouette out of material.
That means a white background is not invisible. If you send a logo on a solid white rectangle, the rectangle is the shape, and you get a raised slab with your logo faintly on top of it. What you want is a transparent background (PNG or SVG), so the only thing that exists is the mark itself.
Same reason drop shadows, glows, and reflections cause trouble: they are part of the image, so they become part of the object.
Resolution, if you are sending a raster file
For PNG or JPG, bigger is genuinely better. A logo pulled off a website at 200 pixels wide will look soft and pixelated once it is a foot across. Aim for at least 1000–2000 pixels on the longest side. If the only copy you have is small and fuzzy, tell us — that is a real constraint worth knowing before we quote, not after.
Colors: fewer is better
On multi-color work, each color is produced as a separate physical piece. Flat, well-separated brand colors reproduce cleanly. Gradients do not, because there is no such thing as a gradient piece of material — a gradient has to be forced into one color or split arbitrarily.
If your logo has gradients, metallic effects, or very subtle tonal shifts, you have two good options: choose a single-color version so the whole mark is one clean relief, or choose a flat finish, which keeps all the detail. We will tell you which reads better.
Thin lines and small text
Very thin strokes and small lettering are fragile in relief — both to produce and in real life, where a hairline element is the first thing to break off. If your logo has a fine keyline or tiny tagline text, consider dropping the tagline on smaller signs, or scaling the piece up so those elements have some substance.
If your logo has text, outline the fonts
When exporting an SVG, convert text to outlines (sometimes called “create outlines” or “convert to path”). Otherwise the file references a font we may not have, and the letterforms can substitute to something else entirely.
Checklist before you upload
- SVG if possible; otherwise PNG at 1000 px or more
- Transparent background — no white box
- No drop shadows, glows, or mockup reflections baked in
- Fonts converted to outlines
- Flat brand colors rather than gradients, where you have the choice
- Cropped tight to the logo, with no large empty margin
Not sure your file is right?
Send it anyway. We check artwork before anything goes into production and will tell you if something needs changing — that is what the proof step is for. Pick a product and upload your file or ask us first.
