posted
I just got their postcard from sign craft for vectorizing bitmaps. www.autotracing.com Check it out and post your comments. My program (vinyl express lxi) has an autotrace feature but it doesn't seem as easy as this. Or maybe I just don't know how to use it properly. Some how I think that's the problem. LOL!
-------------------- Gonzalo Curiel Peewee Signs & designs Oroville Ca 95965
posted
Peewee, have you downloaded the free trial? The advertising, as well as the test samples these companies put out, always look perfect.
Kinda remind me of the Big Mac I had the other night, compared to the picture on the drive through menu board.
One thing for sure. I would never dream of spending that much money on it without giving their trial demo a spin first. Adobe's Streamline is 1/4 the price and Corel's trace program comes with their suite.
Just taking a wild guess, but it wouldn't be surprising to me if your Vinyl Express tracing is just as good. I don't think the software companies have invented any new technology for tracing in years.
[ August 05, 2005, 09:59 PM: Message edited by: Don Coplen ]
posted
See I told ya it was me!! I've got corel 9 but it's bootleg copy someone gave me a long time ago.. I know it has an autotrace I just don't know how to access or use it! I guess I should break down and buy a legit copy with a manual. Where's that Dave Grundy when you need him to do another tutorial!
-------------------- Gonzalo Curiel Peewee Signs & designs Oroville Ca 95965
Don said it well...Why buy something that that you probably already have?
Trace programs will only work as well as the image that they have to work with and they will only work as well as the user has set the trace settings.
As Don pointed out...If I were to illustrate how to do a perfect trace, I'd make sure I started with as perfect an image as I could find. (That's what all vendor's do at trade shows EH?? )
Bruce Bowers gave me the advice to use low resolution images for better traces a long time ago..I have used his advice since. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't.
To tell you the truth...importing the original image as a greyscale bitmap and then manually drawing over it works better for me in most cases.
Every instance is different.
Again, as Don said, you have the technology already..why pay for the same thing again?
-------------------- Dave Grundy retired in Chelem,Yucatan,Mexico/Hensall,Ontario,Canada 1-519-262-3651 Canada 011-52-1-999-102-2923 Mexico cell 1-226-785-8957 Canada/Mexico home
posted
"Again, as Don said, you have the technology already..why pay for the same thing again?" Cuz I'm rich!!!!!!! OK not really.. Stupid question #1 in corel how do I "access" the auto trace feature? A while back some one posted a tutorial on tracing a photo of a snow mobile.. I book marked it and then my computer crashed.. does this ring a bell to anyone? thanks in advance..
-------------------- Gonzalo Curiel Peewee Signs & designs Oroville Ca 95965
posted
Peewee, I know what your talking about.....the snow mobile,I t talked about converting the image and then tracing the converted image, I think I might have saved it uh, somewhere, well anyway, You can acces corel trace a few ways , go to your programs file in your start menu, and if its not next to your corel 9 icon its probably not there, but , try this next there is a little icon in your toolbar. like a "c" with some triangles around it . Try going there and corel trace should be on the dropdown menu, At least it is with mine, I used to have corel 9 , but now I use 11. I think it is the same though.
Sorry for the 3rd grade explanation Peewee, Hardly a Corel King Grundy step by step, But I tried. buenos noches
posted
Ahhh!! I found it! ...It was still on the cd and I had to install it! Thanks Dawud! And people used to say " don't ask stupid questions!" huh! well one thing is for sure.. not even knowing how to use Corels trace feature ( just guessing at it) it sure does a better job the LXi.. time to find a corel Manual..
posted
A COMPUTER PROGRAM IS ONLY AS GOOD AS ITS OPERATOR.......weather its $60 or $700......ive used STREAMLINE 3 & 4.0 since 93 and cant find a better program. saw sign wizard 4.0 when it was new....one of their selling points was its TRACE MODULE....guess what it was STREAMLINE!!!!!!
-------------------- joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-637-1519 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
| IP: Logged |
For the same money you can buy a full version of Adobe Illustrator CS2 (the lastest version), upgrade to CorelDraw Graphics Suite 12 and still have about 10 bucks left.
Like Joe, I have been using Streamline over the years. Unfortunately, Adobe has discontinued production and sales of Streamline 4.0 as a stand alone trace program. "Live Trace" is now included in the Illustrator CS2 package instead.
my 2 cents (and I saved them by smart shopping) Rapid
-------------------- Ray Rheaume Rapidfire Design 543 Brushwood Road North Haverhill, NH 03774 rapidfiredesign@hotmail.com 603-787-6803
I like my paint shaken, not stirred. Posts: 5648 | From: North Haverhill, New Hampshire | Registered: Apr 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
I'm in Don's camp about using tracing programs. Unless it's the kind of art that I know will trace easily and accurately I just use a Photoshop template and trace over it using Adobe Illustrator.
I find that most "automatic" traces put control points in all the wrong places. I just never get the quality I want. Even when it does a decent job, I still have to go in and clean some things up.
There are few shortcuts for good vector art.
-------------------- Paul Bierce - Designer pabierce@hotmail.com www.paulbierce.com Posts: 330 | From: Dix Hills, NY | Registered: Jan 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
If you take the time to learn the bezeir tool in illustrator, freehand, or paths in Photoshop, you can put an outline around anything exactly and precisely where you want it. It always amazes me that people use an auto trace tool and then spend hours cleaning up all the unwanted points. If you must use the auto trace, adjust the sensitivity to get close to what you want. The best artwork possible is a given, but ususally that is the reason that you are cleaning it up in the first place. Thoughts from a grouchy old man
-------------------- Bob Nugent Hotrodsonline.com Gainesville, GA 30506 hotrod@hotrodsonline.com Posts: 46 | From: Gainesville, Georgia | Registered: Mar 2003
| IP: Logged |
For a monthly fee of $25 you can access video instruction on just about any software produced. You can view as many as you want as often as you want. And they are constantly adding new videos.
Each package is broken down into small segments, so it is easy to find what you need without watching an hour of something unrelated to your problem.
I've been a member about a year and it is the best money I could spend. You can cancel your membership at any time.
-------------------- Chapman Sign Studio Temple, Texas chapmanstudio@sbcglobal.net Posts: 6306 | From: Temple, Texas, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
| IP: Logged |
![[Rolling On The Floor]](graemlins/rolf.gif)
)
Printer-friendly view of this topic