Coverting JPEG to DXF or DWG without looking terrible?

[Roy Berger]

I need to import some logos into my machining program. The online converters to convert jpeg or PNG to DXF makes the logo almost worthless to use. There's so much distortion, it's taking me forever to clean up.

I need to convert to either DXF or DWG to use the logo. I'd like to avoid using a separate program to engrave the parts that I machine with the CNC mill.

Any advise would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[Mark Sipes]

Are you using a Corel Draw program? Trace ? can you attached the jpg?

[Ross Moshinsky]

1. Garbage in. Garbage out. If the original file lacks clarity and detail, tracing is always going to be a huge challenge.
2. Inkscape I find to be one of the better vector tracers out there. It's not great with color logos but it does a good job with B&W.
3. You can always spend about $10-15 and outsource the work to someone. You'll typically get a final product back in less than 24 hours.

[Roy Berger]

Wow. I never even thought about outsourcing this. That would save a ton of headaches. I don't use a drawing program for anything. I draw everything in MasterCam.

[Roy Berger]

What exactly should I ask for? I mean, should I ask for DWG or DXF? Any advise for the best conversion-results?

[Lee DeRaud]

What exactly should I ask for? I mean, should I ask for DWG or DXF? Any advise for the best conversion-results?I would think that the normal options for trace output would be SVG (Inkscape et al), CDR (CorelDraw), or AI (Illustrator), as these are the main apps for that sort of work. And that might be a problem in itself: conversion from these formats to DXF is not an exact science, depending on what program is reading the DXF at the other end of the process. (It isn't helped at all by the number of subtly different DXF versions that have existed over the years.)

Your use of the word "distortion" in your original post is eerily reminiscent of what I fought with for months trying to get a simple CorelDraw-to-gcode workflow. Mike Simpson pointed out that exporting from CorelDraw to EPS is a lot more dependable in terms of reimporting the result in typical CAD/CAM software (Vectrix Cut2D in my case).

[Gary Hair]

Get in touch with William at Excalibur, he will take great care of you. He can provide any type of file you need.

Gary

[Dan Hintz]

2. Inkscape I find to be one of the better vector tracers out there. It's not great with color logos but it does a good job with B&W.

Seconded...

[Mark Sipes]

DXF or PLT works great on my engraver. Ask for the format that will import direct into your software. out source is the best option..

[Roy Berger]

Thanks for all the replies folks. Is there an online graphics person that does this via email?

[Mark Sipes]

Try www RIPTAW com they should be able to help you.

[Gary Hair]

Thanks for all the replies folks. Is there an online graphics person that does this via email?

William Desrochers at excaliburcreations.com will work by email, in fact, I've never spoken to him it's all be email back and forth. You may find cheaper but you won't find better or more responsive.

[Mike Null]

I second William's work, promptness and prices. I've never met him either--everything by email.

[Jim Dawson]

Adobe illustrator cs6 has the best tracing engine I have seen. That being said, if the jpeg is low res , nothing will fix it.

[Dan Hintz]

Adobe illustrator cs6 has the best tracing engine I have seen.

Have you tried Inkscape?

[Roy Berger]

Have you tried Inkscape?

I'm trying. So far, saving image as a DXF, and opening the DXF with MasterCam, crashes mastercam.

Still working on it.

[Kevin Groenke]

Vectormagic is another alternative.
http://vectormagic.com/home

You can download the web client or the desktop app and preview the results before paying for either one-offs via web or the license.

-kg

[Dan Hintz]

Sorry, Roy, my question was aimed towards Jim... he said Illustrator is the best he's seen for tracing, but I was wondering if he had already tried Inkscape before making that comment...

[Graham Parsons]

I can highly recommend Eric - the 'Vector Doctor', if you are considering outsourcing. Fast, accurate and very reasonably priced. We use him in our main sign business and have always got great results. No connection other than a satisfied customer.

http://vectordoctor.com

[matthew knott]

Ive tried them all, Corel and inkscape are ok, Illustrator is slightly better, vectormagic is by far the best imho. On another note Inkscape does some very odd things if you export as DXF of SVG, the files seem to get mixed up when you re-import them into another vector program, makes it hard to trust, but its free and the trace is pretty good. Another thing worth noting is there are lots of settings in all the trace programs, understanding what they do helps a lot in getting better results, again i find vector magic the best as automatically getting the settings and guiding you through the tracing process. Ultimately nothing ever beats a proper graphics designer do it by hand as we all know.

[Ernie Balch]

I convert jpg files to vector files all the time in our sign business. Each of the available programs has different strengths, I have Signlab, Inkscape, Corel and Aspire along with a number of older programs like Casmate and WinTopo. I currently find that cleaning up in photoshop and vectorizing in Aspire works best for me. A couple years ago I was using Inkscape for all my vectorizing.

Contrast, brighness, gamma and various filters to remove noise and blur can make the file much easier to vectorize especially if you start by scanning in a business card.

[Mark Sipes]

Roy, I have asked before...... can you attached the jpg file?

[Dean Fowell]

[QUOTE=Ross Moshinsky;2076410]1. Garbage in. Garbage out.

I don't know how many times I say this when customers call about software problems Garbage in. Garbage out.

[Nathan Shaffer]

While I was a Machinist we used FeatureCam by DELCAM. They have a sign and jewelry program called ArtCam. Based on the data provided in the Videos you can take any image and turn it into at a 2.5d product. I personally have not used it but I do know that FeaturCam is pretty simple to use compared to MasterCam.
Below is a link to a youtube video by DELCAM on how to use ArtCam Express.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZLvovui7jw

Nathan

[Mike Null]

Garbage in. Garbage out.

The first time I heard that saying was 1958 and we were using IBM punched cards at the time.