Pictures from cameras, phones, scanners and the web are raster images: grids of coloured pixels in formats such as PNG, JPG, WebP or HEIC. Vector images (SVG, PDF, EPS, DXF) store shapes instead: outlines, curves and fill colours. A vector image can be enlarged to any size without blur, recoloured shape by shape, and followed by machines that cut, engrave or draw.
Going from raster to vector means tracing: finding where the edges in the picture are and describing them with curves. This page traces pictures online and saves the result as SVG, with PDF, EPS and DXF on request.
Which pictures convert well
| Picture | Result |
|---|---|
| Logos, icons, flat illustrations | Very close to the original, few nodes |
| Black-and-white drawings, text, signatures | Clean one-colour shapes or single lines |
| Scanned or photographed pages | Clean ink, with uneven light and paper grain left out |
| Photos | A poster of flat colour areas, not a photographic copy |
| Tiny or blurry pictures | Rough: the tracer can only follow the pixels that are there |
Four ways to trace
- Colour shapes: every colour area becomes a filled shape. For logos, clip art and photos.
- One-colour outlines: the drawing is separated from the paper and traced as filled shapes in one colour. For line art, scans, signatures and anything to be cut.
- Single lines (centerline): one line along the middle of each stroke, with a width. For engraving, pen plotters and single-line lettering.
- Lines and shapes: single lines for thin strokes and filled shapes for thick areas, for sketches.
The Picture type chooses one of them along with suitable settings; you can change the method and every setting under More options.
Choosing the format
- SVG works in browsers and almost every drawing, design and cutting program.
- PDF is the safest file for print shops.
- EPS suits older print, sign and embroidery workflows.
- DXF is for CAD, laser and CNC software: polylines, one layer per colour, in millimetres or inches.
Size
A traced picture has no physical size of its own. Choose a size unit and a width under More options and every file is made at that size, for example 150 mm wide; the height follows the picture's proportions.
More about what this tool reads and writes: Image Vectorizer.