Inkscape Vectorize Image Settings
Inkscape's Trace Bitmap dialog exposes several settings that directly control vectorization quality. Choosing the right settings for your image type is the most important step in getting a usable result.
About Inkscape vectorize image settings
Trace Bitmap modes and their primary settings:
Brightness Cutoff: - Threshold (0.0–1.0): controls which pixels become black paths vs white background. Lower = more dark areas traced. Best range: 0.45–0.60 for typical logos. - Optimal for: black-and-white logos, line art, silhouettes.
Edge Detection: - Threshold: controls sensitivity to edges. Higher = fewer thin edges traced. - Optimal for: outlined drawings, sketches.
Colours (recommended for most logos): - Number of colours (2–64): determines how many separate colour paths are generated. For logos, 3–8 colours is usually correct. More colours means slower processing and more complex output. - Stack Scans: merges adjacent same-colour zones into connected paths. Always enable for logos.
Global options that apply to all modes: - Smooth Corners: softens sharp angle changes — useful for logos that should have rounded edges, but harmful for precise geometric shapes with defined corners. - Optimise: applies post-trace node reduction. Always enable this. - Remove Background: strips the outermost background path automatically. - Suppress Speckles: ignores isolated pixel regions smaller than the specified size. Set to 2–4 for JPEG sources.
Recommended settings for common image types: - Company logo on white background: Brightness Cutoff, threshold 0.50, Optimise on - Full-colour illustration: Colours, 8–16 passes, Stack Scans on, Optimise on - Hand-drawn sketch: Edge Detection, threshold 0.65, Smooth Corners on - Silhouette or icon: Brightness Cutoff, threshold 0.45, Remove Background on
Use the PNG to SVG Converter above for AI-powered tracing that automatically selects optimal settings for your image type.