Vectorise an Image: PNG or JPG to Editable Vector
Pixel artwork has a ceiling. Enlarge it and the edges go soft, and no amount of sharpening brings back detail that was never there. Vectorising rebuilds your design out of curves instead of pixels, so it stays crisp at any size and every shape becomes editable. Upload a PNG or JPG, see a free preview of the real result, and only pay if it came out well.
What vectorising actually does
A PNG or JPG is a grid of coloured squares. At the size it was made, it looks fine. Scale it up for a shop sign or a large decal and those squares get bigger too, which is why enlarged artwork looks blurry or blocky.
A vector file stores shapes as mathematical curves. There is no resolution, so the same file prints at 30 mm or 3 metres with identical sharpness. It is also editable: you can recolour an individual shape, delete a background, or nudge a curve, none of which is realistically possible with pixels.
| PNG or JPG | Vector SVG | |
|---|---|---|
| Enlarging | Goes soft and blocky | Sharp at any size |
| Editing colours | Repaint pixel by pixel | Select a shape, change it |
| File size | Grows with resolution | Usually far smaller |
| Print shops | Often rejected for large format | The expected format |
| Removing a background | Manual masking | Delete the shape |
See the result before you pay
Vectorising quality depends enormously on the artwork you start with, and no tool can promise a good result on every input. So CutPath Pro does not ask you to buy blind.
The trace runs as soon as you upload, and it is free. You get a watermarked preview of the actual traced result, not a generic sample, so you can judge the quality yourself. Only if you are happy do you spend 3 credits to unlock the clean SVG and PDF.
Each result also shows how many colours the tracer found. That number is a useful warning sign: a logo usually lands in single figures, while a photograph explodes into hundreds. If you see a high count, look closely at the preview before unlocking.
White and black knockout
Most artwork arrives sitting on a background, and a tracer faithfully reproduces that background as a filled shape. On a white-background logo that means a white rectangle behind everything, which prints as a white block and cuts as a square.
A single click removes it:
- Remove white strips near-white shapes, so your material shows through. This is what a decal, sticker or heat-transfer vinyl job needs.
- Remove black does the same for artwork drawn on a dark background.
- As traced keeps everything, for when the background is part of the design.
Knockout is tolerance-based rather than an exact colour match, because tracers quantise colour and a "white" background usually arrives as something like #FBFBFB rather than pure #FFFFFF. Switching between the options is free and instant, and it never re-runs the trace.
What vectorises well, and what does not
Being straight about this saves everyone time.
Works well: logos, lettering and monograms, line art, decals, tattoo-style designs, solid-colour illustrations, anything with clear edges between flat areas of colour.
Works badly: photographs, soft gradients, drop shadows, blurred or heavily compressed JPGs, artwork with fine texture. These have no clean edges to follow, so the tracer produces hundreds of overlapping shapes that look approximately right and are miserable to edit.
If yours falls in the second group and the result disappoints, you have not lost anything: you saw the preview first.
Vectorising is not the same as a cut file
These get conflated constantly, and picking the wrong one wastes an afternoon.
Vectorising rebuilds the artwork itself as coloured vector shapes. You want this when a print shop asks for vector artwork, when you need to enlarge a logo, or when you want to edit a design you only have as a PNG.
A cut file is a single continuous line for a blade to follow round the outside of your design, in the spot colour your machine expects. You want this when you are cutting stickers or decals. That is what the CutPath Pro editor produces, and it is a different job with a different output.
If you are cutting stickers, start with the cut path. If you need editable artwork, vectorise. If you need both, they are separate operations on the same upload. See PNG to cut file for the cutting side.
How to vectorise an image
- Upload a PNG, JPG or WebP. Large files are fine; oversized images are scaled to a sensible working size automatically, which costs nothing in quality because the output is vector anyway.
- Wait for the trace. Typically a few seconds. Progress is shown while it runs.
- Check the preview. Watermarked, and it is the real result. Zoom in on the fiddly parts.
- Pick a knockout if the background needs removing. Free to change your mind.
- Unlock for 3 credits and download the SVG or PDF. Re-downloads are free forever.
Try it on your own artwork
Tracing and the preview are free. You only spend credits if you like what you see.
FAQ
What does vectorising an image actually do?
It rebuilds your artwork out of mathematical curves instead of pixels. A pixel image has a fixed resolution and goes soft when enlarged. A vector version stays sharp at any size and every shape can be edited in Illustrator, Inkscape or Affinity Designer.
Do I have to pay before I see the result?
No. Tracing is free and you always see a watermarked preview of the actual result first. You only spend credits if you are happy with it.
What does vectorising cost?
Three credits, which unlocks that artwork permanently. The SVG and PDF are then free to re-download from your account whenever you need them.
What kind of artwork vectorises well?
Flat artwork with clear edges: logos, lettering, line art, decals and solid-colour designs. Photographs and heavy gradients trace poorly because there are no clean edges to follow.
Can I remove the white background?
Yes. White knockout removes near-white shapes so the material shows through, and there is a black knockout for artwork on dark backgrounds. Switching is free and instant.
Is vectorising the same as making a cut file?
No. Vectorising rebuilds the artwork as colour shapes; a cut file is a single line for the blade to follow. CutPath Pro does both, but they are separate jobs.