Logo Design Files Part 2

Ask your designer which Free Fonts have been used in the logo, so you could purchase it for use in other materials. This will avoid the lengthy and time-consuming process of font matching, should you work with other designers.

You should receive several different versions of the software's native file formats from the designer, in case a future designer or printer ever uses an older version of the software. For example, I provide Illustrator files in Illustrator CS along with Illustrator 9.

EPS format — I recommend that your logo be in EPS 9 format. EPS can be opened and processed by many different programs. This is also the file format most commonly accepted/requested by printers.

PDF format — you will not be able to view many of the file formats of your design that you receive unless you have graphics software applications. I suggest that you receive the PDF files of each Color Version of your Logo Design. You will be able to view the PDF files using Adobe Acrobat Reader, available for free on Adobe's web site at www.yourdesignneeds.com.

"Outlined" original format — The difference between this graphic and the original would be found in the Illustrator files. The fonts in the outlined original format would be outlined, which means that the letters are converted into shapes. In Photoshop, the type should be rasterized and the layers should be flattened. This outlined file should be provided in all of the formats listed above—original program format, EPS, and PDF.

These outlined file versions should be provided to any printers or service bureaus to lessen the chance that the elements in your logo could inadvertently be shifted around. This will make sure that your logo will print with the right font should the printer not have the font used in your Logo Design Training.

JPEG and GIF formats — For web or email use. The GIF graphic should be created with a transparent background.

TIF format at 300 dots per inch (DPI) resolution, in RGB color format — For use in Microsoft Word and PowerPoint files.

TIF format at 300 DPI — Some printers, ad vendors (i.e., the Yellow Pages), or other designers may require this file format in order to create additional designed materials.

Having your logo in these formats will ensure that you won't ever need to have your logo redrawn or re-created for use in future projects. After all, you own your Logo Design—shouldn't you be able to use it as well?