Can we talk about the time a client's logo file was just a screenshot from their website?

I was at my shop in Tacoma yesterday and a client sent over their 'logo' for a big t-shirt order, but it was a 72 DPI screenshot that looked fine on screen but printed super pixelated. I had to call them and explain we needed a vector file, which added a whole extra day to the job. Has anyone else had to deal with clients not understanding basic file types?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_sam6d ago

So what do you even say to them on that call? Do you have a go-to way to explain vectors that doesn't make their eyes glaze over? I always struggle with that part.

evan2947d ago

Oh man, that's the worst. I read a blog post from a designer who said the "screenshot logo" is practically a rite of passage. They had a client send a tiny JPG pulled from a Facebook profile picture for a billboard. Another story was about someone using a photo of a business card they took with their phone. It just shows how what looks okay on a phone screen falls apart completely in print. You end having to give a crash course on pixels versus vectors.