Author Topic: Vectorizing signatures  (Read 2356 times)

Offline tancehughes

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Vectorizing signatures
« on: October 10, 2012, 03:37:53 PM »
Does anyone have any experience scanning in and vectorizing hand written signatures? This is for a class shirt so the signatures are fairly small, but they are with a solid black pen. Do I need to have the sheet blown up larger or what? I've tried tracing in Vector Magic and Corel... any suggestions?


Offline sweetts

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Re: Re: Vectorizing signatures
« Reply #1 on: October 10, 2012, 03:40:58 PM »
Does anyone have any experience scanning in and vectorizing hand written signatures? This is for a class shirt so the signatures are fairly small, but they are with a solid black pen. Do I need to have the sheet blown up larger or what? I've tried tracing in Vector Magic and Corel... any suggestions?
I have done trace line art in Corel also helps if they sign with a black marker

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Offline mk162

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Re: Vectorizing signatures
« Reply #2 on: October 10, 2012, 03:45:00 PM »
why do you need to vectorize them?

Offline tancehughes

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Re: Vectorizing signatures
« Reply #3 on: October 10, 2012, 03:54:53 PM »
Why wouldn't I need to vectorize them? I don't want my printer printing out little halftones all over the film that it picks up from the scanned in paper.

Offline Gilligan

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Re: Vectorizing signatures
« Reply #4 on: October 10, 2012, 03:59:59 PM »
Threshold it.

It's either black or white... no halftones that way.

Offline mk162

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Re: Vectorizing signatures
« Reply #5 on: October 10, 2012, 04:04:31 PM »
are you in corel?  convert them to a black and white lineart bitmap.  Problem solved

send me the scan and i'll do it for you...it will save you so much time

Offline Frog

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Re: Vectorizing signatures
« Reply #6 on: October 10, 2012, 04:05:42 PM »
Increasing the contrast can remove some "debris" after the fact.

I've done a lot of these. I have also had to re-size individual signatures a lot.
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Offline Sbrem

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Re: Vectorizing signatures
« Reply #7 on: October 10, 2012, 04:13:31 PM »
yes, print as bitmap. I usually scan them as grayscale, use either Levels or Curves to make them solid black and white, then convert to Bitmap in Photoshop, and save as a tif. Then you can import, place or whatever they call it in CD and you should be fine. (that last part's a guess, I use Illy) No halftones...

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If you did vectorize them, you'd have gazillions of vector points, making for a huge, bulky, slow moving file.
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Offline 3Deep

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Re: Vectorizing signatures
« Reply #8 on: October 10, 2012, 04:20:03 PM »
I do signatures all the time for class shirts and this what I do, first all signatures must be on  plain white typing paper in black ink.  I then take then and scan them all in photoshop at a 600 dpi clean them up with the tools in photoshop and save as a tiff file, then I use my trace program to vector them, so later I can inlarge or decrease in Illy later and place them.  I,m thinking thats what you might want to do allso is place each name to get a better fit.

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Offline Sbrem

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Re: Vectorizing signatures
« Reply #9 on: October 10, 2012, 05:31:08 PM »
Hey Darryl, try once without vectorizing, at the 600 ppi you scanned at, you'll be fine, and still have plenty of room for resizing. Also, if it's a bitmap tiff from Photoshop, you can color it from your swatch pallet. Not to mention that the scan will be truer than the vectors.

Steve
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Offline tancehughes

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Re: Vectorizing signatures
« Reply #10 on: October 10, 2012, 06:01:01 PM »
Thanks guys, I got it now.

My weak area is graphics, but hopefully will be hiring a graphic artist in January/February.

Appreciate the help!

Offline sweetts

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Re: Vectorizing signatures
« Reply #11 on: October 10, 2012, 06:34:32 PM »
Yes thanks I am now going to do my next One as you guys suggest nice. That's why I love this place

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Offline jason-23

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Re: Vectorizing signatures
« Reply #12 on: October 10, 2012, 06:53:55 PM »
Thanks guys, I got it now.

My weak area is graphics, but hopefully will be hiring a graphic artist in January/February.

Appreciate the help!
Why hire one when there are a bunch of cheap vector whores for hire here.....wait I'm a whore? ???

Offline Inkworks

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Re: Vectorizing signatures
« Reply #13 on: October 10, 2012, 08:03:14 PM »
are you in corel?  convert them to a black and white lineart bitmap.  Problem solved

send me the scan and i'll do it for you...it will save you so much time

Ditto, or convert to black and white and then trace if you really need vector... which you shouldn't
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Offline Fresh Baked Printing

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Re: Vectorizing signatures
« Reply #14 on: October 10, 2012, 11:33:26 PM »
I've LiveTraced a few signatures with quick, good results.
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