Review: Vector Magic, a bitmap tracing tool
Vector Magic allows you to upload a logo or photo and convert to a vector graphic, in much the same way Adobe Illustrator and Flash use their Live trace feature. The advantage is that it has much more intuitive controls, and you don’t have to purchase a very sophisticated product just for one feature.
Produced by Stanford university this was originally a free product, and now is charged as a subscription ($4.95 month) or on a per image basis – approximately $2.80 per token.
The process
I mentioned before that Vector Magic has an intuitive process to vectorising images. I think this is its biggest advantage. It distinguishes between what type of image you are trying to convert (photograph, logo with anti-aliased edges, logo with rough edges) and applies a different algorithm depending on the input.
It also allows you to set the level of detail in the original e.g. if you have a very low quality JPG or a high resolution original file. You can also adjust palette colours, and the biggest advantage: at each stage you can step backwards and forwards and tweak your changes.
Feature Set
Bookmarking
Retrace photo until happy with the result
Displays original and vector version side-by-side
Intuitive controls
Accepts: PNG, GIF, JPG, BMP, TIFF, PSD
Expensive
Does not allow for high degree of control
Doesn’t cope well with complex images
Competitors
It is my hope that the growth of SVG will see this sort of product come under increasing competition in the future.
References
- Creative Curio demonstrates the results of Vector Magic
- Steven Clark examines Vector Magic’s decision to begin charging for their service.
Comments
Felicity Evans Sun Jun 15, 2008 at 10 42 pm
Steven, I’m sorry if I misrepresented your blog post. I found it to be a very helpful and even-handed review of their pricing scheme. It also touched on the broader issue of internet business models.
I have reworded my reference to more neutral language, I hope this more accurately reflects your article. Many thanks for you informative posts. I look forward to future topics.
Steven Clark Sun Jun 15, 2008 at 11 56 am
I think my particular issue with Vector Magic is their rant about what the user is apparently making per hour so therefore they deserve a slice of the cake… which sounds a bit to me like academics who should have consulted economics students… if that makes sense.
I don’t doubt their product is worthy but their math equates across to sofware like Adobe Suite which offers far more than one utility, too.
So, while I may eventually use Image Magic, it will be very rarely and only if absolutely necessary. A better business model would have been to leave the online application for free while developing the desktop version. Get sponsors along the way and make a small advertising deal in there to stay afloat if possible. Then when the time comes release it as shareware at $10 per year maximum. What’s that saying “if only I could get 1 cent off everyone in China”?
At that time consider the online pricing, perhaps. But definately don’t turn it on the user (potential customer) by taking an economic paranoid stance that everyone’s getting rich but me. Because, take my example, it just makes bad marketing on the word of mouth trail.
I think Vector Magic have a good product for what it is. But they need to see it for what it is - not Adobe Suite. They need to market in ways that don’t include pleading rants about pricing justification, too.
I don’t say they shouldn’t make money. Just that the way they saw the potential and got a little greedy right in the beginning was not a “nice company” approach.