Trace a PNG into SVG vector paths in full color. Logos and icons work well; photos come out as simplified, posterized shapes.
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Traces a PNG into SVG paths: the image is split into regions of similar color (up to 64), and each region becomes a filled vector shape. Transparent areas stay transparent.
It suits flat artwork such as logos and icons; a 200×120 test graphic became a 4 KB SVG with 23 paths. Tracing runs in your browser, so the PNG is not uploaded.
The result is a trace of the pixels, not the vector file the artwork was drawn from, so curves follow the PNG's resolution and anti-aliasing. Cutting-machine software such as Cricut Design Space and Silhouette Studio imports SVG paths, which is why people trace PNG logos; how a particular machine treats the traced file is not something this tool can promise.
A logo, icon or flat illustration works best.
The image is traced into colored vector paths using up to 64 colors. Images over about 480,000 pixels are traced at a smaller size, and the SVG is scaled back to the original dimensions.
Check the traced SVG next to the original. A line under the result tells you if the image was reduced.
Save the file. It is named like logo_converted_codittools.svg.
Trace a flat PNG logo, then open the SVG in a vector editor to tidy the paths before using it at large sizes.
Trace a one- or two-color design and import the SVG into the machine's software. Check the paths there before cutting.
A busy background is traced along with the subject. Remove it first with the Background Remover.
Source
logo.png - 200×120, 2.3 KB, shapes on a transparent backgroundResult
logo_converted_codittools.svg - 200×120, 3.9 KB, 23 paths, transparency keptA simple image still gives a larger file than the PNG: each color region becomes a path, and anti-aliased edges add extra regions.
Source
photo.png - 1440×960, 3.48 MBResult
traced at 848×565, scaled back to 1440×960; SVG of 1.5 MB with about 5,700 pathsA detailed photo becomes a posterized trace: fine texture is simplified into flat-color shapes and the SVG is still large. The converter is built for flat artwork.
Continuous tones are simplified into flat-color regions, so a photo loses fine texture and still gives a large file. Use PNG to JPG or PNG to WebP for photographs instead.
Text becomes outlined shapes rather than editable text, and edges follow pixels.
The trace uses up to 64 colors with no control over color count or smoothing.
Above roughly 480,000 pixels the image is traced at a smaller size and the SVG is scaled back up. A trace that runs longer than 30 seconds is stopped with an error.
Tracing is not the same as having the original vector file. These answers deal with cutting machines, what traces well, color, and why some SVGs come out large.
Cricut Design Space accepts PNG for print-then-cut projects, where it prints the image and cuts around the outline. It cannot follow precise internal cut lines from a PNG, because a PNG is a grid of pixels with no path data. SVG supplies paths the software can use for cutting.
High-contrast images with clear edges: logos, monograms, simple clipart and line art, ideally with a transparent or plain background. Soft backgrounds, low contrast and anti-aliased edges are traced along with the subject and add noise.
Yes, up to 64 colors. Distinct colors in the PNG are kept rather than collapsed into one silhouette. A cutting machine cuts outlines, so a simple one- or two-color design is usually what you want there.
Each color region becomes a path, and detailed images create thousands of them. A 1440×960 test photo became a 1.5 MB SVG of about 5,700 paths from a 3.5 MB PNG, and a 200×120 flat graphic became a 4 KB SVG from a 2.3 KB PNG. Flat artwork with few shapes gives small files; photographs give large ones.
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