CorelDRAW Convert to Vector: Tracing a Scanned Logo into Clean Artwork

The Short Answer

CorelDRAW converts raster images to vector artwork with its built-in tracing engine, PowerTRACE. You import or open the scanned logo, select the bitmap and run an Outline Trace or a Centerline Trace. You then adjust the trace settings and accept the result. The output is a group of editable vector shapes that sits on top of, or replaces, the original image.

Some terms are needed to understand what that means. A raster image, also called a bitmap, is a grid of pixels. Scans, photos, JPEG and PNG files are raster images, and they blur or show jagged edges when enlarged. A vector graphic describes shapes as mathematical paths: lines and curves defined by points called nodes. Vector graphics scale to any size without losing sharpness. Tracing is the automated process of detecting edges in a raster image and generating vector paths that follow them.

Automatic tracing gives you a starting point for a logo, not finished artwork. A scan of a printed logo carries paper texture, ink spread, dust and slight distortion. The tracer turns all of these into lumpy curves, extra nodes and stray shapes. Usable logo files usually need manual cleanup after the trace. Some parts need to be redrawn, especially geometric shapes and lettering.

Tracing a logo does not give you any right to use it. A vector file of someone else's mark is still their mark. Also, a file's extension does not prove what is inside it. An EPS, PDF or SVG can contain an embedded bitmap rather than true paths, so check the contents of any file you receive or deliver.

Before You Start

• Confirm you are authorized to reproduce the logo, either as its owner or with the owner's permission.
• Get the best source available. A clean print, an original letterhead or a high-resolution scan traces far better than a photo of a sign or a compressed web image.
• Find out what the artwork is for: print, embroidery, signage, cutting, engraving or screen use. This decides your color mode, whether you need outlines or centerlines, and which formats to export.
• Check your CorelDRAW version. Menu names and the location of tracing commands have changed between releases, so match the steps below against your installed version's menus and help.

Step 1: Scan and Prepare the Image

The quality of the trace depends directly on the quality of the bitmap. Time spent preparing the scan reduces cleanup later.

• 1. Scan the print flat, at the highest optical resolution your scanner offers, so edges contain as much detail as possible. Avoid interpolated (software-enlarged) resolution.
• 2. Import the scan into CorelDRAW with File > Import, or open it directly.
• 3. Straighten and crop the image so only the logo and a small margin remain. CorelDRAW includes a Straighten Image dialog in the Bitmaps menu in recent versions.
• 4. Raise contrast and remove background tint, either in CorelDRAW's image adjustment tools (such as Image Adjustment Lab) or in Corel PHOTO-PAINT. The goal is crisp, solid areas of color against a clean background.
• 5. For a one-color logo, convert the image to black and white (1-bit) or grayscale before tracing. This removes noise colors the tracer would otherwise try to reproduce.
• 6. Remove specks, scratches and paper texture where you can, because each one becomes a vector shape if left in.

Step 2: Trace the Bitmap with PowerTRACE

• 1. Select the bitmap with the Pick tool.
• 2. Choose Bitmaps > Outline Trace for filled shapes, which is how most logos are built. Choose Bitmaps > Centerline Trace for line drawings, technical marks and artwork meant for engraving or plotting, where you want single strokes rather than filled outlines. When a bitmap is selected, the same commands are usually available from the Trace Bitmap button on the property bar.
• 3. Pick a preset that matches the source. For Outline Trace, these typically include Line Art, Logo, Detailed Logo, Clipart, Low Quality Image and High Quality Image. Logo or Detailed Logo is the usual starting point.
• 4. In the PowerTRACE window, compare the before and after previews and adjust the settings described in the table below.
• 5. Click OK. The traced result is placed as a group of vector objects.
• 6. Move the traced group aside, or hide the original bitmap, so you can inspect the vectors on their own.

Quick Trace, where available, runs a trace with default settings and no dialog. It is useful for a fast test but gives you no control over the result, so use the full PowerTRACE dialog for logo work.

Setting | What it controls | Guidance for logos

Detail | How many small features the tracer keeps | Lower it until noise disappears while real features remain

Smoothing | How much jagged edges are averaged into smooth curves | Raise it for ink-spread scans; too much rounds off intended corners

Corner smoothness | Whether sharp corners are kept or rounded | Keep it low for logos with crisp angles

Color mode and number of colors | The palette the trace is reduced to | Set it to the actual number of logo colors; merge near-duplicate colors in the color list

Remove background | Whether the paper or background color is dropped | Usually enable it so no white backing shape is created

Merge adjacent objects of the same color | Combines touching same-color pieces | Usually enable it to reduce fragmentation

Remove object overlap | Whether shapes stack or sit edge to edge | Choose based on output; stacked shapes can hide gaps, edge-to-edge shapes suit cutting

Delete original image | Whether the bitmap is removed after tracing | Leave it off so you can compare against the scan

Trace result details | Reports the number of curves, nodes and colors | Use it to compare settings; fewer nodes generally means cleaner, easier-to-edit artwork

The table lists no numeric values because the right values depend on each scan. Adjust the sliders while watching the preview, and judge the result by the edges, not by the overall impression at small zoom.

Step 3: Clean Up the Paths

After tracing, switch to wireframe view (View > Wireframe) to see the actual path structure without fills. Problems that solid colors hide become obvious: stray fragments, overlapping duplicates and wobbly edges.

• Ungroup the trace and delete stray specks and leftover background pieces.
• Use the Shape tool to select nodes and apply Reduce Nodes from the property bar, then fix any edges that changed too much.
• Redraw geometric elements from scratch instead of repairing them: circles with the Ellipse tool, rectangles and bars with the Rectangle tool, straight edges with the Pen or Bézier tools. Convert them to curves (Object > Convert to Curves) if they need further editing.
• Use Weld, Trim and Intersect (Object > Shaping) to rebuild compound shapes precisely.
• Restore symmetry where the original was symmetrical. Rebuild one half, mirror it and weld the halves.
• Combine shapes that should behave as one object, such as letters with counters (the enclosed holes in letters like O and A), so holes stay transparent.
• Compare the cleaned vectors against the scan at high zoom. Correct for distortion from the print or scan rather than copying it faithfully.

Step 4: Rebuild the Typography

Traced lettering is almost never accurate enough for a logo. Ink spread thickens strokes, and the tracer softens serifs and joins. Wherever you can, replace traced text with real type.

• 1. Identify the typeface by comparing distinctive letters with candidate fonts, or by using a font-identification tool on a clean crop of the lettering.
• 2. Confirm that you have a license for the font that covers the intended use.
• 3. Retype the wordmark with the Text tool and match its size, tracking (overall letter spacing) and kerning (spacing between specific letter pairs) against the scan.
• 4. If the lettering is custom or modified, start from the closest font and edit the converted outlines. If nothing is close, redraw the letters by hand.
• 5. Keep an editable copy with live text in your master file. For delivery copies, convert text to curves (Object > Convert to Curves) so the logo displays correctly on systems without the font.

Step 5: Define the Colors

Traced colors are sampled from the scan, so they reflect paper, lighting and scanner color shifts rather than the brand's specified colors. Replace each sampled fill with a defined value: a spot color from a color library for printing with specific inks, CMYK values for process print, or RGB or hex values for screen use. If the official brand colors are not documented, flag this to whoever owns the logo instead of treating the sampled values as official.

Step 6: Save and Export

• Save a master CDR file containing the cleaned artwork, the editable text copy and, on a hidden or locked layer, the original scan for reference.
• Export delivery files with File > Export or File > Save As. Common choices are PDF and EPS for print vendors, SVG for web and screen, and AI for recipients working in Adobe Illustrator.
• In the export options, convert text to curves, export only the selected logo artwork where the option exists, and check the color settings so spot colors and color profiles are handled the way the recipient expects.
• Create separate versions as the use requires, such as full color, single color, reversed (light on dark), and outline or centerline versions for cutting or engraving.

How to Confirm the Result

• In wireframe view, the logo shows clean closed paths with no stray fragments, duplicate stacked shapes or leftover background shape.
• At very high zoom, edges are smooth and corners are crisp where intended, with no pixel stair-stepping. Stair-stepping means a bitmap is still present.
• The Object Manager (also called the Objects docker) lists only curves and shapes, with no bitmap objects in the delivery artwork.
• Text in delivery files has been converted to curves, and the master file still holds an editable version.
• Every fill uses a defined color value, and the number of distinct colors matches the logo's intended palette.
• The exported file opens correctly in a different application, at large and small sizes, and still shows paths rather than an embedded image.
• Placed at small size and at large size, the logo stays legible and true to the original.

Limits of This Guide

No version-specific documentation was available for this guide. The menu paths, preset names and option labels above reflect how CorelDRAW has generally organized its tracing tools, but they can differ in your release. Check them against your installed version's menus and help. For the same reason, the guide gives no numeric scan resolutions or trace settings. Those depend on the source and the intended output, so choose them by testing on your own scan.