Expert: Amy - 2/27/2004

Question
I need some advice on software. We are making a lot of signs. I am currently using Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0. The difficult part is we send these signs to a sign shop with a vinyl cutter. The art we make in Photoshop Elements is bitmap based. The vinyl cutter need it in a vector based format. What software do I need to edit vector graphics? would there be such a thing as a converter (Bitmap to Vector?) I will need to be able to edit the final file. The person at the sign shop said it would be nice to work with .EPS files. On browsing the web site I noticed Adobe Illustrator would this be the right product for me?

Answer
Hi Glen,

First of all, there is no such thing as a converter, unfortunately.  Bitmap graphics must be traced in order to form vector versions of the contents. There is a tracing program (Adobe Streamline) but it's not easy to use and you end up doing so much cleaning up that you might as well have just done it all over again in Illustrator.

Adobe Illustrator and Corel Draw are the main commercial examples of the software you'll need to create vector artwork.  Textual content is easy but if your signs include graphic elements, you'll need to learn to draw in one of those programs, neither of which is terribly easy to learn.

In fact, the learning curve is the biggest complaint.  I'm a person who actually enjoys learning new programs but you might not have the time.  In that case, there are several vector art programs that are said to be easier to learn and might be able to get you what you need.

Here are some commercial $-$$$$ alternatives:

PhotoShop is a raster art program but it has vector tools within it. (Pen, paths)

Xara. Very user friendly. I believe there's a free trial.
www.xara.com/products/xarax/

PaintShop Pro also has a free trial. It has vector tools much like PhotoShop's.
www.jasc.com

Canvas Pro.  Tech drawing program... tech people love this one.
www.deneba.com/products/canvas9/cv9Pro.html

Macromedia's Freehand is a good vector program - it used to be a stiff competitor for Illustrator.
www.macromedia.com

Here are some FREE or almost free alternatives, some are Windows Only (you didn't say what you use):

www.sodipodi.com (foreign...looks cool.)

www.mayura.com (shareware)

www.openoffice.org (this one looks like a bigger challenge to learn than Illustrator)

Drawplus:
www.freeserifsoftware.com/index.asp

Each of the programs I listed above are 100% vector drawing programs or have vector drawing components in them.  Now I don't know if all of these can save or export to .eps format but it's highly probable, since that's the most common format for postscript/vector files.  If it were me, and I had the money, I'd buy Illustrator because you're already familiar with the Adobe interface.

Good luck
Amy Pace