Preparing TIFF scans and print files for vectorising
TIFF is the standard format for scanners, print production and archives. It is lossless, it can hold several pages or layers in one file, and it supports high bit depths such as 16 bits per channel and colour models such as CMYK. Those features matter for printing, but tracing only looks at the visible colours of one flat image.
Multi-page and layered files
Save the single page or flattened layer you want as its own image before converting. The converter works on one image at a time.
Bit depth and CMYK
16-bit and CMYK files are much larger than tracing needs. Converting a copy to 8-bit RGB in your image editor keeps it well under the size limit, and SVG colours are defined in RGB anyway.
Scanned line art
For pen drawings, signatures, stamps and technical drawings, scan in greyscale or black and white at 300 to 600 dpi. Clean up dust and paper texture and make the background white. A clear, high-contrast scan gives smooth outlines, while paper grain turns into small specks.
Keeping scans under 10 MB
Uploads are limited to 10 MB. Uncompressed scans grow quickly: a full A4 page at 600 dpi in colour is around 100 MB. Crop to the artwork, lower the resolution or switch to greyscale to bring it down.