{"course":{"slug":"vector-and-print","title":"Vectors, Logos and Things That Get Printed","url":"https://addaly.com/learn/vector-and-print","level":"beginner","track":"create"},"lesson":{"slug":"the-delivery-pack","title":"The folder you hand over","url":"https://addaly.com/learn/vector-and-print/the-delivery-pack","position":44,"of":73,"minutes":8,"answer":"Hand over a numbered folder with print, screen, source and usage material plus a plain-text README that tells a printer, a developer and an embroiderer which file each of them needs.","keyIdea":"Hand over a numbered folder with print, screen, source and usage material plus a plain-text README that tells a printer, a developer and an embroiderer which file each of them needs, and include a Lab value, because it is the only colour notation that means the same thing at two different suppliers."},"body":{"format":"markdown","text":"## The deliverable is a folder, not a file\n\nA client who receives one PNG will, within six months, have somebody redraw the mark in Word, stretch it on a banner, and put it on a dark background with a white box behind it. Every one of those is preventable by what you hand over.\n\n## The folder\n\n```\nacme-logo/\n  README.txt\n  01-usage/\n    acme-logo-usage.pdf\n  02-print/\n    acme-logo-primary-cmyk.pdf\n    acme-logo-primary-cmyk.eps\n    acme-logo-stacked-cmyk.pdf\n    acme-logo-mono-black.pdf\n    acme-logo-mono-white-knockout.pdf\n    acme-icon-cmyk.pdf\n  03-screen/\n    acme-logo-primary.svg\n    acme-logo-primary-1024.png\n    acme-logo-primary-512.png\n    acme-icon-256.png  128.png  64.png  32.png  16.png\n    acme-favicon.ico\n  04-source/\n    acme-logo-master.ai        (or .cdr / .svg / .afdesign)\n    acme-logo-master-outlined.pdf\n  05-fonts/\n    fonts.txt\n```\n\nFive folders, numbered so they sort in the order somebody needs them. The numbering is not decoration; it is the difference between a client finding the right file and picking whichever is first alphabetically.\n\n## What each file is for\n\n- **PDF** is the universal print deliverable. Vector, fonts outlined, opens everywhere, and a printer with nothing else can use it.\n- **EPS** because some older shops and some embroidery digitisers still ask. No transparency in it, which is fine for a flat mark.\n- **SVG** for the web and for developers.\n- **PNG with transparency** at declining sizes, because the client will need them and will otherwise make them badly.\n- **ICO** for the favicon, containing 16 and 32 px, because browsers still want one.\n- **The source file** in your working format, clearly named as the master.\n- **An outlined PDF of the master** as a format-independent archive, so the mark survives even if nobody can open your `.cdr` in ten years.\n\n## The usage PDF\n\nFour to six pages, no more. Anything longer is not read.\n\n1. The mark, large, and the lockups.\n2. Clear space and minimum sizes, shown as diagrams with the unit drawn.\n3. Colours: hex, RGB, CMYK, **Lab**, and the spot reference if there is one. Lab because it is the only value that means the same thing at two different printers.\n4. The one-colour and knockout versions, with a line saying when each is used.\n5. Backgrounds: what is allowed, what needs the plated version.\n6. The \"do not\" page, with six crossed-out examples.\n\n## The README\n\nA plain text file, ten lines, at the top level. It is read by the person who opens the folder in a hurry.\n\n```\nACME logo pack — delivered 2026-09-21, v1.0\n\nIf you are a printer: use 02-print/acme-logo-primary-cmyk.pdf.\nIf you are a web developer: use 03-screen/acme-logo-primary.svg.\nIf you are an embroiderer: use 02-print/acme-logo-mono-black.pdf and read\n  page 4 of 01-usage/acme-logo-usage.pdf for minimum size.\n\nColours:  Primary  #0B5FA5  /  C90 M60 Y0 K10  /  Lab 38 -3 -44\n          Black    100K only for small text\n\nDo not redraw or re-set the wordmark. The source file is in 04-source/.\nContact: <your name and email>\n```\n\n## Naming that survives\n\nLowercase, hyphens, no spaces, no version numbers in the filename except in the source. `acme-logo-primary-cmyk.pdf` tells you what it is. `Logo FINAL final2 (1).pdf` does not, and you will be sent it by somebody within the year.\n\n## Send it as a zip, and keep a copy\n\nZip the folder and send it once, with the README's contents pasted into the email so it is read before anything is downloaded.\n\nThen keep your own copy, with the date, indefinitely. You will be asked for it again: after a hard disk fails, after the marketing person leaves, after the client changes printers. Being the person who still has the file three years later is worth more business than most portfolios.\n\n## What to leave out\n\nA delivery pack gets worse as it gets larger, because the client stops being able to find anything in it. Three things people include that they should not:\n\n- **Every intermediate version.** Ship the final. Keep the rest in your own archive.\n- **Mockups.** The photograph of the mark on a mug is a presentation asset, not a deliverable, and somebody will send it to a printer.\n- **A forty-page brand manual** for a business with four employees. They will not read it and its existence makes the six rules that matter harder to find.\n\n## Walk the pack before you send it\n\nOpen the zip on a machine that is not yours: a different laptop, a phone, a cyber café computer. Then answer three questions as if you were the client.\n\n1. Can I find the file a printer needs, from the README alone, in under thirty seconds?\n2. Does the SVG open and render correctly in a browser?\n3. Do the PNGs have genuine transparency, or a white background somebody will notice on a dark slide?\n\nThose three checks catch nearly every packaging failure, and each takes a few seconds. The pack is the last thing the client sees of your work, and it is the only part of it that their next three suppliers will ever see at all."},"check":{"question":"A client's new printer emails asking for \"the logo in high resolution\". The designer's delivery pack contains PDFs, an SVG, PNGs and the source file. What is the most useful reply?","options":[{"text":"Send the 1024 px PNG, since that is the highest-resolution raster file in the pack and resolution is what was asked for.","correct":false,"tempting":"Supplies a raster when a press needs vector, and answers the literal wording rather than the actual need. A 1024 px PNG fails at any decent print size."},{"text":"Send the source file, since the printer can then adjust the artwork for their own press requirements.","correct":false,"tempting":"Hands over an editable master and any embedded fonts unnecessarily, and most printers neither want nor should modify the artwork."},{"text":"Send the print PDF and note that vector artwork has no resolution, so they need the finished size instead.","correct":true},{"text":"Ask the printer to specify a dpi figure so the correct PNG can be exported from the source file at that resolution.","correct":false,"tempting":"Accepts a category error and extends it. Asking for a dpi on a logo produces a number that describes nothing about vector artwork."}]},"prev":{"slug":"naming-trademarks-ownership","title":"Names, trademarks and who owns the file","url":"https://addaly.com/learn/vector-and-print/naming-trademarks-ownership"},"next":{"slug":"styles-are-the-whole-point","title":"Eighty pages, one font change, six hours of your life","url":"https://addaly.com/learn/vector-and-print/styles-are-the-whole-point"},"authorship":"Founder and series editor: Dr Mustafa Mun. Written by AI models to a written standard. Exam keys checked blind by a second model: 3,665 of 3,666 agreed. Academic review invited.","review":{"status":"Draft, open for academic review"},"cite":"Addaly (2026) 'The folder you hand over', in Vectors, Logos and Things That Get Printed. Edited by M. Mun. Addaly. Available at: https://addaly.com/learn/vector-and-print/the-delivery-pack (Accessed: 13 October 2026).","licence":{"name":"CC BY-NC-SA 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/"},"reader":{"schema":1,"title":"The folder you hand over","courseTitle":"Vectors, Logos and Things That Get Printed","module":{"index":5,"slug":"designing-a-mark","title":"Designing a mark"},"answer":null,"keyIdea":"Hand over a numbered folder with print, screen, source and usage material plus a plain-text README that tells a printer, a developer and an embroiderer which file each of them needs, and include a Lab value, because it is the only colour notation that means the same thing at two different suppliers.","hero":{"kind":"plate","image":null,"alt":null,"caption":null},"blocks":[{"t":"h2","id":"the-deliverable-is-a-folder-not-a-file","runs":[{"text":"The deliverable is a folder, not a file"}]},{"t":"p","runs":[{"text":"A client who receives one PNG will, within six months, have somebody redraw the mark in Word, stretch it on a banner, and put it on a dark background with a white box behind it. Every one of those is preventable by what you hand over."}]},{"t":"h2","id":"the-folder","runs":[{"text":"The folder"}]},{"t":"code","lang":"","label":"Text","text":"acme-logo/\n  README.txt\n  01-usage/\n    acme-logo-usage.pdf\n  02-print/\n    acme-logo-primary-cmyk.pdf\n    acme-logo-primary-cmyk.eps\n    acme-logo-stacked-cmyk.pdf\n    acme-logo-mono-black.pdf\n    acme-logo-mono-white-knockout.pdf\n    acme-icon-cmyk.pdf\n  03-screen/\n    acme-logo-primary.svg\n    acme-logo-primary-1024.png\n    acme-logo-primary-512.png\n    acme-icon-256.png  128.png  64.png  32.png  16.png\n    acme-favicon.ico\n  04-source/\n    acme-logo-master.ai        (or .cdr / .svg / .afdesign)\n    acme-logo-master-outlined.pdf\n  05-fonts/\n    fonts.txt"},{"t":"p","runs":[{"text":"Five folders, numbered so they sort in the order somebody needs them. The numbering is not decoration; it is the difference between a client finding the right file and picking whichever is first alphabetically."}]},{"t":"h2","id":"what-each-file-is-for","runs":[{"text":"What each file is for"}]},{"t":"ul","items":[[{"text":"PDF","b":true},{"text":" is the universal print deliverable. Vector, fonts outlined, opens everywhere, and a printer with nothing else can use it."}],[{"text":"EPS","b":true},{"text":" because some older shops and some embroidery digitisers still ask. No transparency in it, which is fine for a flat mark."}],[{"text":"SVG","b":true},{"text":" for the web and for developers."}],[{"text":"PNG with transparency","b":true},{"text":" at declining sizes, because the client will need them and will otherwise make them badly."}],[{"text":"ICO","b":true},{"text":" for the favicon, containing 16 and 32 px, because browsers still want one."}],[{"text":"The source file","b":true},{"text":" in your working format, clearly named as the master."}],[{"text":"An outlined PDF of the master","b":true},{"text":" as a format-independent archive, so the mark survives even if nobody can open your "},{"text":".cdr","code":true},{"text":" in ten years."}]]},{"t":"h2","id":"the-usage-pdf","runs":[{"text":"The usage PDF"}]},{"t":"p","runs":[{"text":"Four to six pages, no more. Anything longer is not read."}]},{"t":"ol","start":1,"items":[[{"text":"The mark, large, and the lockups."}],[{"text":"Clear space and minimum sizes, shown as diagrams with the unit drawn."}],[{"text":"Colours: hex, RGB, CMYK, "},{"text":"Lab","b":true},{"text":", and the spot reference if there is one. Lab because it is the only value that means the same thing at two different printers."}],[{"text":"The one-colour and knockout versions, with a line saying when each is used."}],[{"text":"Backgrounds: what is allowed, what needs the plated version."}],[{"text":"The “do not” page, with six crossed-out examples."}]]},{"t":"h2","id":"the-readme","runs":[{"text":"The README"}]},{"t":"p","runs":[{"text":"A plain text file, ten lines, at the top level. It is read by the person who opens the folder in a hurry."}]},{"t":"code","lang":"","label":"Text","text":"ACME logo pack — delivered 2026-09-21, v1.0\n\nIf you are a printer: use 02-print/acme-logo-primary-cmyk.pdf.\nIf you are a web developer: use 03-screen/acme-logo-primary.svg.\nIf you are an embroiderer: use 02-print/acme-logo-mono-black.pdf and read\n  page 4 of 01-usage/acme-logo-usage.pdf for minimum size.\n\nColours:  Primary  #0B5FA5  /  C90 M60 Y0 K10  /  Lab 38 -3 -44\n          Black    100K only for small text\n\nDo not redraw or re-set the wordmark. The source file is in 04-source/.\nContact: <your name and email>"},{"t":"h2","id":"naming-that-survives","runs":[{"text":"Naming that survives"}]},{"t":"p","runs":[{"text":"Lowercase, hyphens, no spaces, no version numbers in the filename except in the source. "},{"text":"acme-logo-primary-cmyk.pdf","code":true},{"text":" tells you what it is. "},{"text":"Logo FINAL final2 (1).pdf","code":true},{"text":" does not, and you will be sent it by somebody within the year."}]},{"t":"h2","id":"send-it-as-a-zip-and-keep-a-copy","runs":[{"text":"Send it as a zip, and keep a copy"}]},{"t":"p","runs":[{"text":"Zip the folder and send it once, with the README’s contents pasted into the email so it is read before anything is downloaded."}]},{"t":"p","runs":[{"text":"Then keep your own copy, with the date, indefinitely. You will be asked for it again: after a hard disk fails, after the marketing person leaves, after the client changes printers. Being the person who still has the file three years later is worth more business than most portfolios."}]},{"t":"h2","id":"what-to-leave-out","runs":[{"text":"What to leave out"}]},{"t":"p","runs":[{"text":"A delivery pack gets worse as it gets larger, because the client stops being able to find anything in it. Three things people include that they should not:"}]},{"t":"ul","items":[[{"text":"Every intermediate version.","b":true},{"text":" Ship the final. Keep the rest in your own archive."}],[{"text":"Mockups.","b":true},{"text":" The photograph of the mark on a mug is a presentation asset, not a deliverable, and somebody will send it to a printer."}],[{"text":"A forty-page brand manual","b":true},{"text":" for a business with four employees. They will not read it and its existence makes the six rules that matter harder to find."}]]},{"t":"h2","id":"walk-the-pack-before-you-send-it","runs":[{"text":"Walk the pack before you send it"}]},{"t":"p","runs":[{"text":"Open the zip on a machine that is not yours: a different laptop, a phone, a cyber café computer. Then answer three questions as if you were the client."}]},{"t":"ol","start":1,"items":[[{"text":"Can I find the file a printer needs, from the README alone, in under thirty seconds?"}],[{"text":"Does the SVG open and render correctly in a browser?"}],[{"text":"Do the PNGs have genuine transparency, or a white background somebody will notice on a dark slide?"}]]},{"t":"p","runs":[{"text":"Those three checks catch nearly every packaging failure, and each takes a few seconds. The pack is the last thing the client sees of your work, and it is the only part of it that their next three suppliers will ever see at all."}]}],"check":{"question":[{"text":"A client’s new printer emails asking for “the logo in high resolution”. The designer’s delivery pack contains PDFs, an SVG, PNGs and the source file. What is the most useful reply?"}],"options":[{"text":[{"text":"Send the 1024 px PNG, since that is the highest-resolution raster file in the pack and resolution is what was asked for."}],"correct":false,"tempting":[{"text":"Supplies a raster when a press needs vector, and answers the literal wording rather than the actual need. A 1024 px PNG fails at any decent print size."}]},{"text":[{"text":"Send the source file, since the printer can then adjust the artwork for their own press requirements."}],"correct":false,"tempting":[{"text":"Hands over an editable master and any embedded fonts unnecessarily, and most printers neither want nor should modify the artwork."}]},{"text":[{"text":"Send the print PDF and note that vector artwork has no resolution, so they need the finished size instead."}],"correct":true,"tempting":null},{"text":[{"text":"Ask the printer to specify a dpi figure so the correct PNG can be exported from the source file at that resolution."}],"correct":false,"tempting":[{"text":"Accepts a category error and extends it. Asking for a dpi on a logo produces a number that describes nothing about vector artwork."}]}],"order":[0,1,3,2],"why":null},"prev":{"slug":"naming-trademarks-ownership","title":"Names, trademarks and who owns the file","minutes":9},"next":{"slug":"styles-are-the-whole-point","title":"Eighty pages, one font change, six hours of your life","minutes":9}}}