Can't get the right results with bitmap tracer

[herbiehysteria]

Hi guys, I have a clear black and white bitmap which I am trying to vectorise using the bitmap tracer tool under utiilities, i have tried tweaking the settings to so many different combinations but it still traces it with jagged edges and it's not very 'clean' as opposed to the original image. it's a black and white drawing with definitive shapes. can anyone recommend the ideal settings to get it looking at least 'close' to a normal vector?

Thanks

[steve.ledger]

Back in 2008 I got myself a copy of Vector Magic because I was doing a fair bit of tracing then and the Xara tracer wasn't good enough.
It hasn't improved and picture like yours has too much detail and anti-aliasing to get anywhere near a clean result.

Attached is the result from VM at default settings, no doubt with more care and tweaking you'd get an even better result.

You can also use VM online for a limited number of times: ► http://vectormagic.com/home

[Michael]

Look at this Xara file. Basically the proces comes down to enlarging the original bitmap, make a bitmap copy and trace that copy.

[gwpriester]

Michael, that is a very good trace except the trace has accurately captured the individual pixels. Some smoothing might help. I am not certain because I was going to suggest, before I saw sledger's post, Vector Magic.

It is the best bitmap to vector product I have found.

Since they are selling it now as a stand alone, the price is astoundingly high for a utility, but if you do a lot of bitmap to vector tracing, it is worth the investment.

I think you get a certain amount of free traces on the www.vectormagic.com website before you have to fork out the money.

[herbiehysteria]

Thanks guys, VectorMagic did the trick, it IS a lot better than the on-board xara facility. PS: I logged in today to the horrible news of Bill Taylor's passing I felt a real connection with him, he helped me many times.

[gwpriester]

Yeah, it was a bit of a shock. Bill is terribly missed in this community.

[musikai]

Hi,
I also recommend trying the bitmap tracer of (free) Inkscape, which is much better than Xara's.

Just make sure you use version inkscape-0.48.1-2-win32.7z because in later versions the trace preview isn't working.

[steve.ledger]

Since they are selling it now as a stand alone, the price is astoundingly high for a utility, but if you do a lot of bitmap to vector tracing, it is worth the investment.

It's seems like a rip off really, but they are aiming their product at professional shops which to be honest is how I ended up getting a copy. The cost can be recouped after just a couple of jobs tracing clients artwork and producing substantial signage.

I think you get a certain amount of free traces on the www.vectormagic.com website before you have to fork out the money.

Yes, I checked this again, you get 2 'tokens' - that's it.