How to save a vector file in photoshop

The short answer

Photoshop can save vector content, but only the parts of your document that are already vector. To keep that content, save a copy as Photoshop PDF, or as Photoshop EPS with the Include Vector Data option turned on. To hand only the path outlines to a vector editor, use File > Export > Paths to Illustrator. No save format turns pixels into vectors. A scanned sketch, a painted brush stroke or a rasterized layer will be embedded as an image inside the PDF or EPS, even though the file type can hold vectors.

Some terms used in this guide:
Vector artwork is described as mathematical paths, so it scales to any size without losing edge quality.
Raster (pixel) artwork is a grid of colored squares, and its sharpness is fixed by its resolution.
In Photoshop, vector content comes from three sources: paths drawn with the Pen or shape tools, shape layers (paths filled or stroked with color), and live type layers (text that is still editable).

What Photoshop keeps as vector and what it doesn't

• Usually kept as vector in PDF or EPS output: shape layers with solid fills or strokes, paths, vector masks, and live type layers.
• Always raster: pixel layers, scanned or photographed sketches, brush and eraser work, filters, and anything that has been rasterized.
• May be rasterized depending on settings and version: layer styles such as shadows and glows, some blending modes, transparency effects, and Smart Objects. Check the output of these rather than assuming they stayed vector.

The file extension does not prove what is inside. A PDF or EPS can contain only pixels, only vectors, or a mix of both. The extension also says nothing about whether you have permission to reuse or modify a logo. Confirm usage rights separately from the technical format.

Before you start

• Find out which Photoshop version you are using. Menu names and available formats have changed between releases. This guide uses common command names, but they were not verified against a specific version.
• Open the Layers panel and identify each logo element by layer type: shape, type, pixel or Smart Object.
• Keep the original layered PSD as your editable master, and export copies from it.
• Know what the delivery needs: an editable vector master, a print-ready file, or a file for a vector application. The answer decides which method below fits.

Rebuilding a hand-drawn sketch as vector shapes

If your logo started as a sketch, the scan is pixel art. It stays pixel art no matter how you save it. The sketch must be redrawn as paths before any vector export is meaningful. Photoshop has no automatic tracing feature like the image tracing found in dedicated vector editors. Redrawing therefore happens by hand or from selections.

• 1. Place the scanned sketch on its own layer, lower its opacity, and lock it as a reference.
• 2. Choose the Pen tool and set its mode to Shape in the options bar so each closed path becomes a filled shape layer.
• 3. Trace each element with as few anchor points as possible. Place points at the extremes of curves and at corners, and drag handles to shape curves. Fewer, well-placed points give smoother curves and cleaner files.
• 4. For simple, high-contrast marks, you can select the ink with the Magic Wand or Color Range. Then use Make Work Path from Selection in the Paths panel menu. A larger tolerance gives fewer points with less accuracy. Review and clean up the result with the Direct Selection tool.
• 5. Use solid fills for logo shapes. Avoid layer effects for core logo geometry, because effects may not survive as vector.
• 6. Hide or delete the sketch layer before exporting so it is not embedded as a raster image.

Handling typography

Live type layers can stay vector in PDF and EPS output, but they depend on the font. Depending on your settings, the font may be embedded or required on the recipient's system. For a logo master, the safer choice is usually to convert lettering to outlines. Right-click the type layer and choose Convert to Shape. The letters then become shape layers that no longer need the font. Keep an unconverted copy of the type layer, hidden or in a separate file, so the wording can still be edited later. Font licenses vary, so check the license terms before embedding or distributing a font.

Method 1: Save as Photoshop PDF

This is the most common way to save a vector-capable file from Photoshop for print or for handoff.

• 1. Open the layered master and hide any reference or background layers that should not be delivered.
• 2. Choose File > Save As. In some recent versions, formats other than PSD appear under File > Save a Copy instead.
• 3. Select Photoshop PDF as the format and click Save.
• 4. In the Save Adobe PDF dialog, choose a preset or settings that suit the destination.
• 5. Note that compression and downsampling settings affect only the embedded raster content, not vector shapes or type.
• 6. Decide whether to keep Preserve Photoshop Editing Capabilities on. It lets Photoshop reopen the file with layers, but it adds data that a recipient using another application doesn't need.
• 7. Save the PDF, then check it using the steps in the verification section below.

Method 2: Save as Photoshop EPS with vector data

• 1. Choose File > Save As, or Save a Copy in some recent versions, and select Photoshop EPS.
• 2. In the EPS Options dialog, turn on Include Vector Data so shapes and type are written as vectors.
• 3. Choose the preview and encoding options your recipient requires. If you don't know the requirements, ask before sending the file.
• 4. Save the file and verify it in a vector application.

Reopening that EPS in Photoshop rasterizes its contents. Keep working in the PSD and treat the EPS as an output copy only. EPS is an older format, so check whether your recipient actually needs it before choosing it over PDF.

Method 3: Export Paths to Illustrator

File > Export > Paths to Illustrator writes the path geometry to an AI file. You choose which path to export, or all paths, in the dialog. Only the outlines are exported. Fills, strokes, colors and type formatting are not included. Use this method when you want to finish or refine the logo in a dedicated vector editor and need the exact curves you drew in Photoshop. You will need to reapply color there. Shape layer paths may need to be shown in the Paths panel, or loaded as a path, before they can be selected for export. Check this in your version.

What about exporting as SVG?

SVG support in Photoshop has varied by version. Some releases offered SVG in File > Export > Export As, or a way to copy a layer as SVG, and later releases removed or changed these options. To see whether SVG is available to you, open your version's Export As format list. Even when it is available, only shape and type layers translate cleanly, and the result should be checked in a vector application. If you need SVG reliably, export paths or a PDF and produce the SVG in a vector editor.

Choosing a method

Method | Keeps vector shapes | Keeps color and fills | Keeps live type | Best fit

Photoshop PDF | Yes, for shape and type layers | Yes | Yes, depending on font settings | Print handoff and general vector-capable delivery

Photoshop EPS with Include Vector Data | Yes, for shape and type layers | Yes | Yes, depending on font settings | Recipients or workflows that specifically require EPS

Paths to Illustrator | Path outlines only | No | No | Moving geometry into a vector editor for finishing

SVG via Export As | Version-dependent | Version-dependent | Version-dependent | Verify availability first; screen use

How to confirm the file is really vector

• 1. Open the PDF, EPS or AI file in a vector application rather than in Photoshop.
• 2. Switch to an outline or wireframe view, often View > Outline. Vector shapes and outlined type appear as thin path lines. Embedded pixel content appears as a box or image placeholder instead of paths.
• 3. Select individual elements. Vector shapes show anchor points; raster content selects as a single image object.
• 4. Zoom in far on curves and letter edges. Vector edges stay sharp at any magnification, while pixel content shows stair-stepped edges or blur.
• 5. Check the file for missing or substituted fonts if you left type live.
• 6. Confirm that no unintended layers, such as the original sketch, were included.

If any logo element fails these checks, return to the PSD. Find out whether that element is a pixel layer, an effect or a Smart Object, and redraw it as a shape layer before exporting again.

Gaps in this guide

No version-specific documentation was supplied for this article. Menu locations, the Save As versus Save a Copy behavior, SVG availability and the handling of effects and Smart Objects should be confirmed against the Photoshop version you are using. No file specifications, printer requirements or delivery standards were provided either. Get those from the recipient or print provider before finalizing a logo file.