Guide · Updated 4 September 2026 · 5 min read
What resolution does a logo need for a business card?
A logo prints sharply at about 300 dots per inch at the size it is placed, which is 12 pixels per millimetre. So a logo placed 25 mm wide needs roughly 300 pixels across, and one placed 40 mm wide needs about 470. A vector file (SVG, PDF or EPS) has no resolution and is sharp at any size, which is why printers ask for one.
Resolution is about placed size, not the file
A file has no resolution on its own. It has a number of pixels, and how sharp it prints depends on how many millimetres those pixels are spread across. The same 180-pixel logo is crisp as a small mark and soft as a large one. So the question to ask is: how big will it be on the card?
| Placed width on the card | Pixels needed at 300 dpi | A 180 px logo works out to |
|---|---|---|
| 15 mm | 177 px | 305 dpi |
| 25 mm | 295 px | 183 dpi |
| 40 mm | 472 px | 114 dpi |
| 85 mm | 1004 px | 54 dpi |
Below roughly 300 dpi the edges soften; below 150 they visibly step. How much that matters is a judgement. A photograph forgives it, a logo with thin lines and sharp corners does not, and a mark printed at 15 mm is looked at less closely than one at 40.
Vector beats any number of pixels
A vector file describes the logo as shapes rather than pixels, so it is sharp at any size. If a designer made the logo there is a vector version somewhere: an SVG, a PDF, an EPS or an Illustrator file. Ask for it. A PNG exported from that file is a photograph of the shapes and throws the precision away.
A photograph cannot be traced back into vector cleanly, and neither can a logo with gradients or soft shadows. Those stay raster and need the pixels.
Two traps in the file itself
- Transparent backgrounds turn black. A PNG with a transparent background looks right on screen, but many tools, and most image models, flatten transparency onto black. A black wordmark on a transparent ground arrives as black on black and disappears. If the logo is dark, keep a version on white.
- Thin lines vanish on press. The thinnest stroke a press holds is about 0.5 pt, 0.2 mm. A logo with a 1-pixel outline at 180 px, placed at 15 mm, prints that outline at 0.08 mm and it breaks up. Check the thinnest line at the size it will print, not on screen.
What to send, in order of preference
- SVG, PDF or EPS: vector, any size.
- PNG at least 1000 px on the long side, on a white or solid background.
- JPEG at the same size, accepting that it cannot carry transparency.
- A screenshot, a photo of a sign, or a small web logo: usable for colour, rarely for print.
How Cardsetting handles an uploaded logo
The studio reads an uploaded file and reports its pixel size, whether it has transparency, its background colour and what it works out to in dpi at 15, 25, 40 and 85 mm. It states the 300 dpi convention and leaves the judgement to the size the mark is placed at, because a rule that rejects a file without knowing how big it will be is answering the wrong question. A file too coarse to print from is still good for pulling the brand's colours out of.
Questions people also ask
- Is 72 dpi good enough for a business card?
- Only if the image is very small on the card. A 72 dpi web image printed at the size it appears on screen has a quarter of the pixels print needs, and the edges step. The pixel count is what matters: a 72 dpi image with 1200 pixels across is fine at 100 mm.
- Can I use my logo from Instagram or my website?
- Usually not for print. A web logo is typically 150 to 400 pixels wide, which is sharp up to about 15 to 30 mm on paper and soft beyond that. It is good enough to match colours from. Ask whoever made the logo for the vector file.
- What file format should a logo be for printing?
- Vector first: SVG, PDF or EPS. If only a raster exists, a PNG of at least 1000 pixels on the long side on a solid background. JPEG is acceptable but cannot hold transparency.