VectorMagic

VectorMagic is one of those sites that I recently came across that first makes me wonder how do they do that, and second makes me say awesome, because it is a tool I have been needing. Many of my clients send me logos for their websites as .jpg, .tif and quite often as .gif files. While I could send the files back to the client and ask for a better quality version, it is easier sometimes to quickly redo the logo.

Now with VectorMagic all I will have to do is upload the image to their site, and download a nicely vectored .svg or .eps file that I can resize and use on my clients website.

According to the VectorMagic website they support all major bitmap formats. I successfully tested .gif, .jpg and .png files. Files are output and can be saved as .svg or .eps files. You are also able to quickly share the vectored images with people by clicking a share link that creates a shareable link that you can send to people so they can view the image.

They have a quick 2.5 minute video on how to use the site, and I highly recommend you take a look at the video. I did not at first and it would have saved me some frustration when I started, mainly because I had to double click occasionally to start an action.

In the four files I tested the results were good. One image had a gradient that did not come out very well but I think if I took the time to pick better options it would have been clear. I also tried it on a small .gif file and the result was good, not perfect but good enough that in a few minutes in Inkscape I was able to have the image looking perfect.

Overall VectorMagic is a great tool and one that I know I will use when I work with graphics for my clients websites.