Software to vectorise

[Paul_]

Does anyone have any recomendations for software either free or otherwise to turn a standard image into a black and white vectoised file ready for engraving?

If Vistool won't quite manage the job then i use the services of someone like Crystal Galleries to do it for me but i'd like to do it myself. Any suggestion?

Examples of the kind of thing i mean are attached.

Thanks in advance

 

[beware]

Inkscape is free. 

You will find that you need a very high resolution source image to get good results. 

Often some preprocessing of the image is sensible in. Package like paint.net or gimp (both also free). I normally play with brightness and contrast first and then consider whether converting it to black and white will help. 

You will find that crystal galleries will often redraw all or parts from scratch ch rather than vectorising. 

They will also have a library of things like globes and crests which can be put together to provide the finished vector. 

I also tend to add the text seperately after preparing the vectors, possibly using text-on-arc/curve. 

Often the first thing to do is have a really good google, sometimes you can find eps or svg files online. Wikipedia often has good logos. Brandsoftheworld will also have lots of brand names and logos. 

Please also note that without the prooer permissions you should not be engraving military crests. 

[Paul_]

Cheers, I alreasdy use Crystal Galleries for re-drawing/vectorising images when needed.

I'll take a look at the other sites you mentioned and have a play.

For anyone else interested in the thread i do use www.vectormagic.co.uk quite a lot (free), that site will make an image much more crisp and turn into a single colour.

What i really want to know is what program does someone like Crystal Galleries use?...Coral draw?

[beware]

More than likely Adobe Illustrator.