Vector Magic - Convert Raster Images to Vector Images

Vector Magic is an online application and server for vectorization, the process of converting raster images (BMP, JPG, GIF) to vector images (SVG, EPS, AI, PDF). The advantages of vector images are that they can be enlarged to anysize without losing any quality and the files are generally smaller in size. One can think of vector images as giving someone directions, and raster images as drawing a map.

Vector Magic was originally developed at Stanford University and allows a wide choice of options in converting your file into a vector image. It asks you a series of questions about your image to best determine how to convert your file. Some potential uses of this are to create a print ready file for a corporate logo or text, clean up files with compression, and enlarge low resolution graphics for large format printing.

When using commercial printers, they prefer to deal with vector graphics. This makes sure you get the crisp and sharp looking output that you are expecting. Vector logos, for example, will look excellent whether they are printed onto a business card or enlarged and placed on a billboard. This would not be possible with raster graphics, such as any images you find on the internet (however, you can usually download vector graphics from stock photo websites). One additional use for this program would be to clean up files they look fuzzy (with different color squares or pixels visible) due to image compression.

This online application used to be free, and they still allow you to test it for free, with full functionality, for two images if you register with their site. They now have a variety of payment options, including unlimited online use for under $8 a month or a pay per use option. They recently released an unlimited desktop version for professionals for just under $300. I have personally tried a wide variety of these vectorization programs, including free and paid versions, and have found this to be by far the best one available. It is also the easiest to use when converting raster images to vector images. At Elevate Printing, we frequently use it to enlarge customers images for large format output onto banners and signage.

Some Tips for using Vector Magic:
Choose the correct number of colors (if it is a corporate logo, chose the number of colors in your logo). I also recomend trying a variety of different settings, as certain ones work better for certain images. Trial and error will quickly show you what works best for your image. The whole process of vectorization does not work well for photographs. It also does not work great with certain times of line drawings, such as a map outline.