Send your logo as an SVG if you have one. If you do not, send the largest, cleanest PNG or JPG you can find — ideally a file that was made for print, not one saved off your website. Frontline Frames accepts PNG, JPG, and SVG in the builder, and the upload shows you the result in a live preview before you pay for anything.
That is the short answer. The longer answer is about why the file type matters so much when the printed area is this small.
What logo file formats does a plate frame printer accept?
Frontline Frames accepts PNG, JPG, and SVG uploads. SVG is the best of the three, PNG is the best raster option because it supports transparency, and JPG works but adds compression artifacts and a solid background you may not want.
| Format | Type | Transparency | Use it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| SVG | Vector | Yes | Always, if it exists |
| PNG | Raster | Yes | No vector available; logo has a transparent background |
| JPG | Raster | No | Last resort; logo sits on a solid white or colored square |
What is the difference between vector and raster, and why does it matter here?
A vector file stores your logo as mathematical shapes, so it can be scaled to any size with no quality loss. A raster file stores it as a fixed grid of pixels, so enlarging it past its native size produces soft or blocky edges. On a plate frame, where the logo is reproduced small and viewed against a reflective background, soft edges are immediately obvious.
Vector formats: SVG, AI, EPS, PDF (when it contains vector art). Raster formats: PNG, JPG, GIF, TIFF, BMP, PSD.
The practical test: open the file and zoom in to 800 percent. Vector edges stay razor sharp at any zoom. Raster edges turn into visible squares. That takes ten seconds and tells you which conversation you are having.
How do I get an SVG version of my dealership logo?
Ask the person who made it. In order of likelihood, your vector logo lives with your original logo designer or branding agency, your website developer, the vendor who printed your last batch of signage or business cards, or in an old brand-guidelines PDF sitting in a shared drive.
Ask specifically: "Do you have the vector source file for our logo — .ai, .eps, or .svg?" Asking for "the high-res logo" gets you a bigger PNG, which is not the same thing.
If nobody has one, a designer can redraw your logo as vector art. For a mark you will use on frames, signage, apparel, and print for years, that is a one-time cost with a long payback. It is not something to skip and then repeat every time a vendor asks.
What resolution does a raster logo need for printing?
The widely used print standard is 300 DPI at the final printed size. A raster logo intended for print should be built at, or above, the size it will be reproduced at — a 300-pixel-wide PNG that is fine on a web page is not the same asset as a print-ready file.
The trap is that DPI is not a magic property you can add later. Opening a small PNG and setting it to 300 DPI in an image editor does not create detail that was never captured. It just makes the file claim a resolution it cannot deliver.
So the rule is simple: start from the biggest, most original file you have. Never upscale a small one and hope.
How do I check whether my logo file is good enough?
- Find the source. Search your shared drive for .ai, .eps, and .svg before you settle for a PNG.
- Check the pixel dimensions. Right-click the file and look at its properties. Note the width in pixels.
- Zoom to 800 percent. Sharp edges mean vector or a genuinely high-resolution raster. Blocky edges mean you need a better file.
- Look at the background. A checkerboard pattern in an image editor means transparency. A white square means the logo will carry that square onto the frame.
- Upload it to the builder. The live preview shows the logo at frame scale immediately.
- Judge it at real size. Zoom the preview to roughly the size of an actual frame on your screen, then look at it from a few feet back.
Should the logo have a transparent background?
Yes, in almost every case. A transparent background lets the logo sit directly on the frame's material — chrome, black powder-coat, pewter, or a colored plastic — instead of on a white rectangle that makes it look like a sticker.
SVG and PNG both support transparency. JPG does not, which is the single biggest reason to avoid JPG for a logo. If your only file is a JPG with a white background and the frame is not white, ask a designer to knock out the background or supply the original.
How should a full-color logo be handled on a small frame?
Simplify it. Fine gradients, drop shadows, thin outlines, and small type inside a logo all lose definition when they are reproduced at plate-frame scale. Most brand guides already include a one-color or simplified version for exactly this reason.
If your logo has a horizontal lockup and a stacked or icon-only variant, the icon or the compact version usually reads better on a frame. The frame's text bands already carry your dealership name, so the logo does not need to spell it out a second time.
What if my logo has small text inside it?
Consider dropping that text from the logo and putting it in the frame's text field instead. Type inside a logo image is fixed in size and shrinks with the whole mark. Type in the frame's text field is set independently, in a font chosen for legibility, and can be sized to fill the band.
A common example: a logo lockup that includes "Est. 1974" or "Sales · Service · Parts" in small letters. On a business card that reads fine. On a plate frame it becomes a gray blur. Move the words you actually need into the top or bottom line and let the logo be a shape.
What file mistakes cause the most reprints?
- Screenshotting the logo from the website. A screenshot is a low-resolution raster copy of an already-compressed image.
- Pulling the logo out of a PowerPoint or Word file. Office apps compress embedded images on save.
- Using a JPG with a white box on a black or chrome frame.
- Upscaling a small PNG in an image editor and assuming that fixed it.
- Sending an outdated logo because it was the file easiest to find. Confirm you are using the current mark before you order hundreds of frames.
- Skipping the preview. The builder shows the logo on the frame before checkout. Look at it.
What does the upload process actually look like?
Open the builder, choose your material, and upload the logo file. You place it on the frame and see it rendered against the real material and alongside your text. Adjust or swap the file as many times as you want before checkout — there is no proofing round-trip and no sales call to get a price.
Once you approve and order, production and shipping run 2 to 3 weeks. That is the window to build into your planning, so getting the logo file right on the first pass is worth the ten minutes it takes.
What if I do not have any usable logo file at all?
You have two options. Order text-only frames now — a clean dealership name and a domain in a strong condensed font is a perfectly good frame, and many dealers run exactly that. Or commission a vector redraw of your logo, then order once it is in hand.
What you should not do is order hundreds of frames with a blurry logo because it was the file you could find that afternoon. Those frames go on customer cars and stay there for years. If you are unsure whether a file will hold up, upload it to the builder and look, or get in touch before you commit to a volume order.