JPG to SVG Converter

Both formats are shown by every major browser, which is why SVG has become the usual format for logos and icons on websites. SVG is a W3C standard, first published as SVG 1.0 in 2001, and it describes pictures as text: lines, curves and filled areas with coordinates and colors. A JPG describes the same picture as millions of colored dots.

That difference is why the two behave so differently when enlarged. Scale a JPG logo up for a sign and every pixel becomes a visible block. Scale an SVG and the curves are recalculated at the new size, so the edges stay perfectly clean. The SVG's file size depends on how many shapes it contains, not on how large it is displayed.

The preset traces in color with up to 16 colors, a middle setting that keeps most logos faithful while filtering out JPEG noise. Change it under Number of colors before you start if your artwork is simpler or richer.

JPEG saves space by smoothing fine detail and approximating colors in small blocks. On a photo that is invisible. On a logo with crisp edges and flat colors, it leaves faint halos around letters, slight color variations inside flat areas and small blocky patterns near sharp corners. A tracer sees all of that as real image content.

The preset of 16 colors limits how many color areas the tracer can create, which merges most of those near-identical shades back into one. For a logo with only two or three colors, lower the count to match; the tracer will then snap every pixel to one of those colors, and the halos disappear. For black line art or a signature, Black & white mode with a threshold works even better, since it ignores color noise completely.

A quick way to choose the count is to name the colors you can see in the logo, add one for the background, and type that number. Gradients and shadows need more; a flat two-color mark needs three at most.

Three settings under Advanced settings shape the result. Detail decides how small a feature has to be before it is ignored; lower it to remove specks, raise it for intricate drawings. Smoothing rounds off jagged edges left by pixels; more smoothing gives cleaner curves at the cost of sharp corners. Curves chooses between smooth curves, straight lines for geometric designs, and pixel edges for pixel art that should keep its square look.

Optimize SVG is on for SVG output and removes redundant points and markup, which keeps the file small. Remove background leaves out the surrounding color, usually white, so the shape sits on any background. Start with the defaults, look at the result zoomed in, then change one setting at a time.

The tracer can only follow what the JPG shows. A larger source, with the logo filling the picture, gives smoother curves than a small thumbnail. If you have the logo as a PNG, use that instead; PNG keeps edges exact and traces more cleanly, and the Image to SVG page accepts it along with other formats.

For other outputs from the same trace, such as EPS, PDF or DXF for cutting machines, change Convert to on the main Image to SVG page. To go back from SVG to an ordinary image, an SVG to PNG conversion renders the vector at any pixel size you need.

Hand-drawn sketches photographed on paper trace best after cropping to the drawing and choosing Black & white. Raise the Threshold if faint lines go missing, and lower it if the paper texture starts to appear as shapes. Up to 20 images can be traced in one batch with the same settings, each into its own SVG.