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Has anyone figured out how to do a good trace with X3? I use a lot of BMP and JPG images in my line of work (laser engraving) and I need a fast and efficient way to convert these bitmaps into vector images. Right now I simply import the bitmap into CorelDraw and manually trace over it with bezier lines. Very slow and time consuming. I'd love a better way to at least get a jump start on it!
Cheers,
Ed
Trace in X3 is a big improvement but the better the bitmap image is, the better trace results you will get.
You can download a copy from Corel.com and testdrive it for a month and see if you get the hang up of it.
There are presets which are handy, and sliders that make is seem straight forward, but you have to be watchful on merging colors as these shapes will be then filled with the same color but may not truly be merged as you might need for some processes.
Once you get done with the trace, I recommend to look at wireframe view to see how well the trace went.
No matter what process you use to trace, nothing can be as expert as the technical illustrators doing the trace by hand.
This trace lets you specify which palette you are working with and what you will let you assign any color to specific areas of the trace. You can drop out the background color, only one color, however and also delete the original from which you traced.
But if you know how to edit your trace results, it is a much better trace function than what came with previous versions of CorelDRAW.
I suggest before tracing anything by a trace function, that you improve your bitmap as much as possible so that your edges are as good as can be achieved that way.
Customers who furnish nothing but a .jpeg from their website are not going to be furnishing you anything but a headache no matter how you look at it.
Getting the best from the new X3 PowerTrace also depends on how much time you can devote to learning how to use it.
I get a lot of supposed color separations that were either sent to us in Word or Publisher and cannot be separated for spot color the way they arrive.
Getting into a customer's layout because they didn't use a professional program and they didn't know what they were doing is alwasy risky as even if you have them proof it, they will find an error once done and what the firm to redo at no charge.
Of course, you are always working under pressure and that can compound the problems.
Haven't tried the new Trace in Draw. I'm guessing you have to download the whole X3 suite demo to try it. Certainly didn't find previous versions very usefull.
I still strongly recommend Vector Eye. It's fast, very versatile and the basic versions svg exports can be imported into Draw, making it very affordable ($25). Worth a try of the demo.
http://www.siame.com/converter.html
Sark
Thanks, Sally. I've learned to live with the TRACE fetures that came with both X3 and v.10. The X3 version is fast and good for many photos/pictures, but lacks the "trace to centerline" feature that V.10 has.Quote:
Originally Posted by sallybode
Sooooo... if I can get what I need out of X3, good; otherwise, I fire up good old V.10 TRACE and use that.
Of course, the bottom line is that I always have to get out the bezier tool and clean up whatever I get from either version.
Thanks very much for your thoughts and insight. I appreciate any/all advice!
=Ed=
What I like best with the new Trace and which saves me a lot of time is that I can assign colors while I am there. If I need an RGB file, just leave it alone but I can get 2-bit Black and White Trace just as easily or CMYK or Spot Color requires more steps. As you specify your Pantone Color Palette, then edit the individual colors to what you want including percentages. Merging allows you to limit your trace to fewer colors without losing as much detail. The sliders in the new Trace really do a good job of getting rid of lots of redundant nodes and the preview is quite accurate. And it is convenient, no other app to launch.
BTW, Sark, went to the VectorEye site and found a trace of the Heineken Label and did it in X3, got better results. But for something like that, I'd capture the graphic to its best and reset the text.
It depends on what you like and have gotten used to.
Hi there,
I have found a serious problem in TRACE X3... I have also relayed this to the Corel developers, but I don't think they're taking me very seriously, since my use may be what specialised to validata a real solution... Still this bug prevents me from using TRACE X3 profesionally...
I am a profesional Illustrator and have been using Corel for over 12 years now.
Up til version 10 to great satisfaction... However, at version 10 and up it went wrong.. Lots of bugs that don't get solved... lots of problems in the performance-area and so on... People who have never used Corel before verion 10 may not even know this, but since then the performance in Photopaint for instance took a LARGE step backwards...
My problem with trace is this: When I create vector-art, I do all the drawing and coloring in Photopaint. I do this at 600dpi, to get the best results and also enough detail. I color everything in without ANY anti-aliasing, because I don't want to end up with a thousand or more paths of every single anti-aliased pixel inthe drawing... Even shades are no more than objects of 1 single color, only then a few shades darker than the rest of the particular surface.
Now...
Whe I use CorelTRACE 11 (which was back then a standalone program and actually the ONLY upgrade to the Corel packages that was actually BETTER then the previous versions...) I trace this bitmap and get a beautiful vector-version of the file.:)
When I use the built-in trace function in CorelDRAW X3 however, every bitmap of which at least one side exceeds the size of 1996px, gets downsampled AND anti-aliased by TRACE...:confused:
You can imagine that this does NOT get the desired results!!!:mad:
So... I am stuck with CorelTrace11...
I am sincerely hoping that they will fix this annoying and unnescessary bug so I can use X3... Because other than this bug, I think the trace function has tremendous potential!
Cheers,
Willy
Since you know how large trace can handle, and since once the vector graphic is made it is scalable upwards and downwards, why not make your bitmap to a size it can use?
It would seem that would solve the problem.