Expert: Amy - 10/24/2007

Question
Amy, we have a small ad specialty business and need to submit our artwork in vector format (currently use bmp). I am trying to locate a low cost program that will convert bmp to vector and also open vector (eps) from Illustrator. I downloaded Inkscape (it's free). Currently we pay someone to do this and she uses Illustrator. She converted a jpg/bmp to vector (eps) with Illustrator but I can't open it (format not recognized) with Inkscape. I am trying to learn this process but don't want to invest much $ until I have more knowledge converting bmp to vector. Are there any free or inexpensive apps you know of that will do this conversion and also open vector files created/converted with Illustrator? Can Illustrator vector eps files be open by any other program or are they unique to Illustrator.
Thanks for any advice you can give.
John

Answer
Hi John,

That's a real tough one.

It's not really a conversion of a file - it's actually a tracing. Illustrator has a feature called Live Trace that does a fairly decent job of tracing bitmaps and turning them into paths. Manual tweaking of the paths is almost always required after the automatic part. (I do a lot of it).

Your artist could also EXPORT the drawing as SVG - Inkscape documentation says SVG is the format of choice.

I don't know if Inkscape opens ANY eps documents. To test this, have your artist save DOWN to EPS v 9 or earlier. If she doesn't know how to do this, in CS, CS2 and CS3, it's a choice available after you choose save as and pick your format. You then pick the EPS version from a drop down menu.

Or, can you get her to SAVE the traced image as PDF? The latest version of Inkscape says it does PDF, too.

Yes, Illustrator EPS documents can be opened and edited by many programs, including a lot of the programs used for vinyl graphics cutting, silk screen printing, Freehand, Corel Draw, and others. I believe that most of these other applications need the EPS saved as a lower version. v9 is frequently requested by vinyl cutters I work with.

Inkscape looks like it's worth a look.

There's a huge list of apps that may work for you here:
http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/bitmaptovector/Bitmap_to_Vector_Conversion_Trac...

Good Luck!
Amy