Bitmap to vector

|MarK|

hey guys just wondering is it possible to make a bitmap image into a vector image... if so what do i need

gerky

You could download Inkscape and use the trace bitmap feature, how it'll come out will depend a lot on the type and quality of your picture.

|MarK|

is it mac osx compatable

gerky

I'm fairly sure it is, its open source also so it wont cost you anything.

|MarK|

cool thanks ill have to give it a go, get rid of those blocky bitmaps

gerky

If your not happy with the results you could stick it up here and I'm sure some of us would have a go at it.

|MarK|

im trying to get bitmaps to vector for printing bitmaps are so crappy for prints and getting resolution has to be exact, thats why i want vectors they are independent to resolution

gerky

I don't use inkscape much but a far as I know it should do what you want no problem.

Hank_Scorpio

Even when you trace an image from bitmap to vector it will still be blocky. Simply because pixels are square anyway, and all the vectors will do is trace the square pixels. There really would be no advantage if the image is very complex. But you can get good results with line-art work.

You should look into downloading a free trial (30 days) of Adobe Illustrator and look at some tutorials on how to use the Pen Tool.

That is the real way to trace a bitmap to vector, by hand and using the tools available (whether it's in Illustrator, Corel Draw, or inkskape).

Perhaps you should post an image of what it is you're trying to trace to vector.

|MarK|

ive got illustrator, but im unfamiliar with that tool, i knew Ai was for vector images but didnt know it could convert, its not just one image im trying to do it with its for a lot, mostly for printing

Hank_Scorpio

|MarK| wrote: »

ive got illustrator, but im unfamiliar with that tool, i knew Ai was for vector images but didnt know it could convert, its not just one image im trying to do it with its for a lot, mostly for printing

If it's for printing you most likely won't improve the quality of the image. I think the Trace Image comes in with Illustrator CS2.

When you place a bitmap image you can will see at the top there is a button called Live Trace. Click that. You will get a poorly image. There is a button to the left of that that brings up the dialog box for fine tuning it.

Again, if it's for print you probably won't increase the quality if it's a complex image, say a photograph, or a lo-res highly coloured logo etc.

Can you post an image of what you want to trace? You could be wasting your time doing a live trace.

gman2k

Wintopo raster to vector conversion software (free version can be downloaded here)
I use it for converting scanned maps in bitmap format into dxf files then pull into AutoCAD.
Dunno if it's what you are looking for...