Logo to vector for vinyl cutting
Turn a customer's JPG or PNG logo into clean outlines for your cutting plotter: one shape per colour, no overlaps, and a DXF with a layer for each colour.
A customer sends a logo as a small JPG, a screenshot or a photo of a business card. Before you can cut it, someone has to redraw it as clean outlines. PathSnapper does that redraw for you: it finds the real colours, traces each one as an outline your cutter can follow, and lets you fix any edge before you export.
From customer artwork to a cut file
- Open the image. Drop in the JPG or PNG, or paste a screenshot. Blurry or blocky files can go through Clean up with AI first, which removes JPEG blocks and noise before tracing.
- Check the colours. PathSnapper ignores anti-aliasing and keeps the real colours. Merge two shades that should be one, remove stray specks, and leave the background out so only the design is cut.
- Choose Made for: Cutting and plotting. Gradients become flat colours, and thin lines become outlined shapes instead of strokes, because a blade can only follow edges.
- Use Cut-outs. With Shapes: Cut-outs, shapes never overlap: a circle on a square becomes a square with a circular hole and a separate circle, like pieces of a jigsaw. Each colour can be cut from its own vinyl. For a layered decal instead, choose Stacked layers: a shape that sits completely inside another colour is cut whole and laid on top of a full piece of the colour around it.
- Tidy and export. Move points, straighten edges, and export a DXF with one layer per colour, or an SVG, PDF or EPS for your cutting software.
Why shared edges matter for vinyl
With cut-outs, every edge between two colours belongs to two pieces of vinyl. In most traced files those are two separate outlines, so moving one point opens a gap or makes an overlap. PathSnapper traces each boundary once and shares it between both shapes while you edit. Move a point and both colours follow. When you export, each colour becomes its own independent shape, and the edges still match exactly.
What you get in the file
| Format | Use it for | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| DXF (R12) | Cutting plotters, laser, CNC and CAD | One layer per colour, named after the colour, so you can cut colour by colour. Curves are written as closely spaced straight segments, which cutters handle reliably. Coordinates have no units, so set the size when you import. |
| SVG | Design and cutting software that reads SVG | Sizes in pixels, scales freely. |
| PDF, AI, EPS | Illustrator, CorelDRAW, RIP and sign software | Editable paths, with CMYK or spot colours if you need them. |
Less weeding, fewer surprises
- Speck size removes tiny islands that would be tedious to weed.
- Tidy circles, polygons and stars makes geometric parts exact, so circles cut round and corners stay sharp.
- Curve complexity trades detail against points. Fewer points give smoother cuts and lighter files.
- The result numbers show contours and anchors as you change settings, so you can see the cost of every detail before you cut.
Check the first cut of any new job at its final size: very fine details in the original artwork may be too small to weed at small sizes, whatever the file.
One boundary. Two shapes. Perfectly in sync.
PathSnapper traces every boundary once and shares it between the shapes on either side. Move a point and both colours move with it: no hairline gaps, no overlaps to repair.
When you export, each colour becomes its own independent, closed shape, and the edges where colours meet still match exactly.
Questions
Will the file work with my cutter?
PathSnapper writes a classic R12 DXF, which almost every cutter and CAD program reads, with curves as closely spaced straight segments. It also exports SVG, PDF and EPS. Try the free preview on your own artwork and test the first cut at its final size.
Do colours overlap in the file?
Not with Shapes: Cut-outs. Each colour is its own shape with holes where other colours sit, so no vinyl is wasted under another colour.
Why does my DXF import at the wrong size?
DXF has no units in PathSnapper's export: one pixel of the traced image is one unit. Set the size you want when you import it.
Try it on a real job
Drop in a customer's logo and see every path and point free, with no account. Pay only when you want the file.
Try it free