Logo use for a client

[sqthreer]

I designed a logo for a client using Photoshop, and they like it and want to use it for various things.

My problem is that I don't know how to get it to them in a way that they can use it on things. They don't have Photoshop, so sending the PSD isn't an option, and I just don't have experience with this sort of thing.

Does anyone have any idea what I can do?

[Dilbert]

In the Save As menu, change the file type from PSD to PNG. That'll save it as a stand-alone image.

[Rob Pomeroy]

You need a bit more information from your clients.  What size do they need the final image to be; what will they be using it for; what will the final medium be (print/screen); what resolution is appropriate to the medium, etc.

In this kind of scenario a designer will typically supply the finished artwork at several different sizes, in several different formats.  Think PNG, GIF and JPEG at resolutions of 72, 96 and 300 dpi with pixel dimensions circa 100, 500 and up to 2000 or so.

[Zylstra]

In the Save As menu, change the file type from PSD to PNG. That'll save it as a stand-alone image.

If you have an older version of Photoshop, you may want to click File, then Export and choose the options...
(If you need to make it smaller, you can click File, Save for Web)
File Formats you should choose:
PNG, GIF, JPG, JPEG, or (help us all!) bmp

[sqthreer]

You need a bit more information from your clients.  What size do they need the final image to be; what will they be using it for; what will the final medium be (print/screen); what resolution is appropriate to the medium, etc.

In this kind of scenario a designer will typically supply the finished artwork at several different sizes, in several different formats.  Think PNG, GIF and JPEG at resolutions of 72, 96 and 300 dpi with pixel dimensions circa 100, 500 and up to 2000 or so.

This is very helpful (as usual) thank you!

She said that she's mostly going to be using it on print like brochures, signs, business cards etc.

I probably should know more about it, but what's the deal with dpi? About all I know is that it's a crucial part of print graphics, and that it stands for 'dots per inch'. I suppose I'll look up the information when I get a chance.

Well anyway, thanks everyone for helping. I should have assumed that the answer was something like that. My brain doesn't seem to be working.

I wish I could help out with some of questions here too, but most of them are way over my head :[

[Rob Pomeroy]

For an intro to DPI, try the >Wikipedia< (the article is informative, but a little opinionated, surprise surprise).  In bitmap-based computer graphics, DPI is little more than a suggestion.  A 1000x1000 pixel image at 72DPI has exectly the same number of pixels and hence detail as a 1000x1000 pixel image at 300DPI.  The 300DPI image will tend to appear smaller however because of the suggestion that each pixel be printer/displayed 1/300 of an inch apart.

For your application, if the brochures/signs are going to be professionally printed, then aim for a very large image size - 3000x3000 pixels (bitmap images) or A4 at 900DPI (vector-based graphics) - unless you happen to know that the signs will be quite large - in which case you may need to up the detail even more.

If the stuff is going to be printer in-house, then you could ask the client what the maximum resolution and paper size is of her best printer.  Then you can target the image size to that printer.  Feel free to post back if you need a hand with the calculations.