Preparing your logo

Formats, in one line

Format	Embroidery	Printing
AI, EPS, SVG, vector PDF	Ideal	Ideal
Transparent PNG, high resolution	Accepted if edges are clean	Very good
High-resolution JPG	Accepted if edges are clean	Accepted, background to remove
Screenshot, logo pulled from a website	Avoid	Avoid

Vector or image: the difference

A vector file (AI, EPS, SVG, PDF exported from Illustrator or similar software) describes the logo with shapes and curves. It can be enlarged to the size of a hoodie back without losing any sharpness. It’s the file your designer delivered with your brand identity, often in a folder called “logo” or “brand”.

An image (PNG, JPG) is made of pixels. Enlarged beyond its original size, it gets blurry. It still works, as long as it’s big enough for the actual print size.

When in doubt, look in your emails for the folder your designer sent, or ask them for the “vector” or “AI” file. It’s a common request; they’ll know what you mean.

Resolution, for printing

Aim for 300 dpi at actual print size. In practice: artwork printed 25 cm wide needs an image about 3,000 pixels wide. A 10 cm chest logo needs about 1,200 pixels.

What causes trouble:

• a logo copied from a website, often a few hundred pixels wide;
• a screenshot;
• an image enlarged from a small size: enlarging doesn’t create detail, it stretches pixels.

Under the press, blurry edges stay blurry. We flag it when we send the proof, before printing.

Digitizing, for embroidery

An embroidery machine doesn’t read an image. It reads a stitch file: the order of passes, the thread direction, the density, the colours. Converting your logo into that file is digitizing. It’s done by hand, logo by logo.

At Maison Brody, digitizing costs $7, charged once per order regardless of quantity. It’s free from five embroidered pieces and included in every bundle.

What breaks at small sizes

Embroidery has physical limits. Thread has a thickness, and a chest logo is usually 8 to 10 cm wide.

• Text under 5 mm tall. Letters close up and become unreadable.
• Very thin lines. A line thinner than the thread itself can’t be followed.
• Gradients. Thread is one colour per pass; a gradient turns into bands.
• More than ten colours. The logo gets heavy, stiff and slower to produce.

If your logo falls into one of these, we suggest an adapted version: larger text, thicker lines, grouped colours. You approve it before we embroider. If the adaptation betrays the logo, we recommend printing.

For printing: background and colours

• Background. Artwork with no background, as a transparent PNG, always prints better than artwork sitting on a white square. On a black shirt, the white square stays a white square.
• Colours. Screens and fabric don’t render colour the same way. If a colour has to be exact, include its Pantone reference or hex code with your order.
• Number of colours. No limit, no extra charge. A photo costs the same as a one-colour logo.

Before sending: the checklist

1. The file is vector, or the image is at least 300 dpi at actual size.
2. The background is transparent, if the artwork is going to be printed.
3. The smallest text is over 5 mm, if the logo is going to be embroidered.
4. Fonts are outlined, or the file is a PDF.
5. You know where the logo goes on the piece: left chest, centre, back, sleeve.