Quick answer

Send your logo as a vector file — AI, EPS, PDF or SVG — and every decoration method can be set up from it cleanly. A high-resolution PNG is an acceptable second choice. You do not need to supply a DST file: DST is the stitch file an embroidery machine reads, and the factory creates it from your artwork during a step called digitizing. What actually delays orders is the file buyers send most often — a small JPG or a screenshot of a logo pulled from a website. It cannot be printed sharply or digitized accurately, so the artwork has to be recreated before anything else can start. Bad logo files are the most common cause of quote and mockup delays we see, and they are entirely avoidable.

The three file families, in one table

File type	What it actually is	What it is used for	Should you send it?
Vector — AI, EPS, PDF, SVG	Artwork stored as shapes and curves; scales to any size with zero loss of sharpness	Print setup, embroidery digitizing, mockups, label and packaging artwork	Yes — always the first choice
Raster — PNG, JPG	Artwork stored as a grid of pixels at one fixed resolution	Print, only if the file is large enough for the finished print size	High-res PNG: yes. Small JPG: no
DST	Stitch instructions — needle path, stitch type, sequence — for an embroidery machine	Running the embroidery machine itself	No — the factory creates it from your vector

Vector vs raster, in plain terms

A raster image is made of pixels. Print it bigger than the size it was captured at and the pixels stretch: edges go soft, then visibly blurry. A screenshot that looks fine on a phone may be a few hundred pixels wide — printed across the back of a jacket, it is a smudge.

A vector file is not a picture of your logo; it is the mathematical description of it — this curve, this shape, this colour. The factory can output it at chest-logo size or banner size and the edges are identical: perfectly clean. One vector file serves every purpose in an order: the printed kit, the embroidered polo, the woven label, the hang tag.

The practical rule: send the original file your designer gave you, not a copy of a copy. The vector almost always exists — in a brand folder, a designer’s handover pack, or the files behind your website. A high-resolution PNG, ideally with a transparent background, is the fallback when no vector exists.

DST and digitizing: the embroidery part buyers get wrong

Buyers sometimes arrive believing they must supply a DST file before they can order embroidered garments. You do not. Digitizing — converting your artwork into a stitch file — is a standard factory step, done from your vector or high-res image.

It matters because thread has physical limits a print file does not. The digitizer redraws your logo as stitches — stitch type, direction, density, sequence — and very small text, hairline details and subtle gradients that print beautifully can be impossible to stitch legibly. A good factory flags a detail that needs simplifying at this stage, rather than stitching a poor version and letting you find out on 300 shirts. Digitizing also explains embroidery pricing: per piece, embroidery is driven by stitch count, so a large, dense logo costs more to stitch than a small, simple one — which is why our cost breakdown post insists a factory quoting embroidery without seeing your logo is guessing.

Colours: name them, don’t just show them

“Use our blue” fails because screens lie and “blue” is a thousand shades. What reproduces your colour accurately:

• For print: a Pantone reference (or CMYK values) with your file. Sublimation and screen print both set up from specified colours — and screen print separates your design into one screen per colour, which a clean vector makes straightforward.
• For embroidery: thread is a physical material with a fixed shade range, so your colour is matched to the nearest thread shade. The pre-production sample shows you the real thread on the real fabric — judge the match there, not on a monitor. Our decoration comparison covers how each method handles colour and detail.

What a bad logo file actually costs you

A low-resolution file discovered late costs days in a specific way. The mockup cannot be made properly, so the order waits while the logo is redrawn into vector form — and redrawing adds risks of its own: a substituted font, slightly different proportions, a detail lost, then another approval round-trip before sampling can start. Recreating artwork is routine work; the cost is not the redraw, it is when it happens. Flag a weak file in your first message and the redraw runs in parallel with quoting. Discover it at the artwork stage and it sits squarely on your critical path — which is why the logo file is item four on our quote checklist.

What to send: the checklist

• The vector file (AI, EPS, PDF or SVG) for every logo — club crest, sponsors, brand marks
• A high-res PNG as backup, if a vector does not exist — and a note saying so
• Colour references: Pantone or CMYK values, or the closest physical reference you have
• The finished size and position of each logo on the garment — placement is part of artwork setup, as our tech pack guide details
• Every sponsor logo in the same formats, in the first message — a sponsor added mid-order restarts artwork, and sometimes production

Send those five and artwork stops being a stage in your timeline at all.

Frequently asked questions

I only have my logo as a small JPG from our website. Can you still work with it? Yes — it will need to be recreated as vector artwork before it can be printed sharply or digitized for embroidery. That is routine, but tell us in your first message so the redraw happens alongside the quote, not after it. What we cannot do is print the small JPG itself at a large size; the result would be visibly blurred.

Do I need to provide a DST file for embroidery? No. DST is the machine stitch file, and the factory creates it from your vector or high-res artwork during digitizing. If you already have a DST from a previous supplier, send it as a reference — the factory may still re-digitize to suit its machines and your fabric.

What is digitizing, and does it affect the price? Digitizing converts your artwork into stitch instructions — stitch types, directions, density and sequence. It is a one-time setup step per design. Separately, embroidery is priced per piece by stitch count, so a large, dense logo costs more to stitch than a small, simple one — another reason an embroidery quote needs to see the actual logo.

Will my exact brand colour be matched? For print, a Pantone or CMYK reference gives the closest, most consistent match. For embroidery, your colour is matched to the nearest available thread shade — very close rather than always identical. Either way, the pre-production sample is where you approve the real colour on the real fabric.

Can you use a photo of our logo on a shirt? As a design reference, yes — it shows placement and proportions. As production artwork, no: a photograph distorts proportions, captures shadows and fabric texture, and has no clean edges to print or digitize from.

Do you keep my logo files for reorders? Yes. Your artwork files stay on file with your order once set up — which is why reorders skip the artwork and mockup stages and are the fastest orders to turn around. Send clean files once, and you never send them again.

Send the right file once

Attach your vector logo — plus your quantities, size breakdown and deadline — through the Request a Quote page and artwork never becomes a delay in your order. Ordering embroidered garments? Our custom polo shirts post explains why embroidery is the default finish there. Browsing styles first? Start from the full shop.