How to tell if your logo is a vector file
The fastest way to know is to drop the file into the checker. It opens the file and looks at what’s actually inside, so it catches the cases the methods below can miss, like a picture hiding inside an .eps or a logo a computer traced. You get a grade from A to F in a few seconds, and most files never leave your computer.
If you’d rather check by hand, here are four ways, from quickest to most thorough. Each one tells you something, and each one has a blind spot.
1. Look at the file extension (a clue, not proof)
The letters after the dot tell you what kind of file it is, and that narrows things down.
- .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .gif, .webp, .heic, .tif, .psd: These are raster (pixel) formats. A logo in one of these is not a vector, no matter how sharp it looks on screen.
- .ai, .eps, .svg, .pdf: These formats can hold vector artwork. They can also hold a plain picture. So these are “maybe.”
- .cdr: A CorelDRAW file. Also a vector format, but fewer apps can open it, so many printers will ask for an AI, EPS or PDF instead.
What it misses: An extension only tells you what a file could contain. A JPG saved as a PDF, or a PNG renamed to .eps, still has a .pdf or .eps on the end. More on that in fake vector files.
2. Zoom in a long way
Open the file in any viewer that can display it: Preview or Acrobat for a PDF, a web browser for an SVG. Find a curved edge, like the round part of a letter, and zoom in to 800% or more.
- Edges stay perfectly smooth, no matter how far you zoom: probably vector.
- Edges turn into little squares, or go soft and blurry: that part is made of pixels.
What it misses: A large, high-resolution picture can still look smooth at 800%. A logo a computer auto-traced will stay sharp at any zoom, even if the shapes are lumpy. And a file that’s mostly vector can hide one small picture in a corner you didn’t zoom into.
3. Open it in a design app and switch to outline view
This is how designers and print shops check. You need Adobe Illustrator, or the free app Inkscape.
- In Illustrator: open the file, then choose View > Outline (Ctrl+Y on Windows, Cmd+Y on a Mac). Vector shapes turn into thin black outlines. A picture shows up as a plain box, often with an X through it. The Links panel (Window > Links) also lists every picture placed in the file.
- In Inkscape: open the file, choose Edit > Select All, and read the status bar at the bottom. If it mentions an “Image,” there’s a picture in there. View > Display Mode > Outline shows the shapes the same way Illustrator does.
What it misses: Auto-traced artwork shows up as real outlines too. The giveaway is that there are far too many of them: hundreds of tiny jagged shapes, or curves with dozens of points where a hand-drawn logo would use a handful. See auto-traced logos.
4. Ask how it was made
Sometimes the quickest answer comes from whoever sent you the file.
- Usually vector: a logo drawn from scratch in Adobe Illustrator, Affinity Designer, Inkscape, CorelDRAW or Figma, and exported from there.
- Often not vector, or traced: anything made in Canva with an uploaded logo image, Photoshop, Word, PowerPoint, a phone app, or a free online “PNG to vector” converter.
What it misses: People don’t always know. Plenty of logos are delivered as an .ai file that’s really a picture placed inside Illustrator.
What the grades mean
When you run a file through the checker, it gets one of six grades:
| Grade | What it means | Ready to print? |
|---|---|---|
| A | True vector | Yes, at any size |
| B | Vector, but has live text whose font isn’t included | Yes, after the text is converted to outlines |
| C | Mostly vector, with a picture inside | Depends on the picture and the print size |
| D | Auto-traced from a picture | Sometimes. Edges may look lumpy up close |
| E | A picture saved inside a vector file type | No, it prints like the original picture |
| F | A plain raster image (JPG, PNG and so on) | Only up to a certain size, which the result tells you |
If you got a D, E or F and need a real vector, here’s how to get one.