Image to SVG for vinyl and stickers

Your cutter won't cut a PNG, or the decal came out as one blob? Trace the design into vector shapes you can cut, weed and send to a sticker printer.

Drop your decal or sticker design here

Drag and drop an image, or click to choose a file.

Choose image

PNG, JPG, WEBP, BMP, GIF

The converter opens with the recommended settings below. Open the converter without a file

Original raster

Script lettering reading Adventure Awaits above a mountain shape, saved as a one-color PNG

SVGR vector

The same lettering traced to SVG as solid shapes ready for a cutter
Unedited SVGR output with the settings below. The counters in letters like a and e stay as shapes on top of the letters, so Slice or subtract them before you weed.

How to turn an image into a vinyl or sticker file

  1. Simplify the design. Use solid colors, bold lines and a plain background. If you want a set number of vinyl colors, reduce the palette before uploading.
  2. Drop it on this page. The converter opens with the vinyl settings applied. Converting and previewing are free and need no account.
  3. Check the small pieces. Zoom in on thin lines, gaps and small letters. Anything tiny in the preview will be tiny on the vinyl too.
  4. Download the SVG. The download costs one credit. Open it in your cutting software, or in Illustrator or Inkscape if you need another format.
  5. Slice, size, cut and weed. Subtract stacked shapes first, scale the design to its final size, then cut and weed.

Recommended settings

Image typeSilhouetteSilhouette is built for solid shapes with clean edges, which is what a vinyl cutter follows.
Quality3/10A low setting gives you fewer tiny pieces to weed; raise it if thin lines or small letters disappear.
Recognize textNot offered for this typeNot offered for the Silhouette type, so lettering is traced as shapes, which is what a cutter needs anyway.
Transparent backgroundOnOn, so you don't cut a rectangle around the design. Enclosed areas, like the inside of an O, stay as shapes.
Merge pathsOffHas no effect with the Silhouette type (it only applies to photo types), so leave it off. Quality is the setting that controls how many small pieces you get.

Why a PNG doesn't make a good decal

A vinyl cutter follows outlines, and a PNG or JPG doesn't have any. Your cutting software either cuts around the outside of the whole image or has to trace it first.

Converting an image to SVG for vinyl and stickers gives you filled shapes with clean edges that scale to any decal size. An SVG for vinyl opens in Cricut Design Space, and in Silhouette Studio from Designer Edition up.

The same applies when you turn an existing sticker to SVG so you can reprint it at a new size.

Minimum sizes for cutting and weeding

Check these at the final size. A detail that looks fine on screen can become a sliver on a small decal. They are rules of thumb; your material and blade may need more.

Common size rules for vinyl, stickers and stencils
WhatRule of thumb
Lines and gaps in cut vinylAbout 1/8 in or wider
Text on die-cut stickersAbout 1/4 to 3/8 in or larger
Stencil bridges0.1 to 0.25 in wide
Sticker Mule cut lineMagenta stroke, 0.05 to 1 pt

Weeding surprises from stacked shapes

SVGR stacks shapes instead of cutting them out. The hole in an O is a background-colored shape on top of a solid letter, and a two-color design is one color layered over the other.

A cutter cuts every shape's full outline, including edges hidden under other shapes. On one sheet of vinyl that means extra cut lines inside your design and pieces that come loose, or stay put, when you weed. Hide the white shapes instead and the holes fill in.

  • In Cricut Design Space, select a white counter and the shape below it, click Slice, then delete the white.
  • In Inkscape, select both and use Path > Difference before the file goes to your cutter.
  • For heat-transfer vinyl, stacked layers get bulky. Subtract upper colors from the ones below so each color is a single layer.

Sticker printers, Roland cutters and stencils

  • Sticker Mule accepts SVG. Its cut line is a magenta stroke between 0.05 and 1 pt. SVGR doesn't add one, so draw it around your design in a design app.
  • Roland CutStudio has no SVG import; it takes AI or EPS. Open the SVG in Illustrator or Inkscape and save it as EPS.
  • Stencils need bridges, thin strips of 0.1 to 0.25 in that hold islands like the center of an O in place. SVGR doesn't add bridges; draw them in your design app.
  • If a printer asks for a PDF, SVGR's PDF is a vector PDF your printer can scale: RGB, sized to your image, with no bleed. Add bleed in a design app if they need it.

What this won't do

  • No cut lines, offsets, borders or bridges: add them in your cutting or design software.
  • No color-count control. For a two-color decal, reduce the image to two colors before uploading.
  • No EPS or AI: save as EPS from Illustrator or Inkscape if your cutter needs it.
  • Filled outlines, not single lines, so it isn't for pen or sketch tools on a cutter.
  • Tracing follows your source: a blurry or heavily compressed image gives wobbly edges.
  • Transparent background removes the shape painted in the color found at the image corners, which is what people mean by the background. If your artwork bleeds into all four corners, or the corners are different colors, nothing is removed and the background stays — give the artwork a plain, even margin and convert again. Areas fully enclosed by artwork are never removed, and a PNG that already has a transparency channel is left as it is.
  • Curves are traced as many short straight segments. Traced from a small image, they can look slightly angular when enlarged, so start from the largest copy you have.

Frequently asked questions

Why did my decal cut with extra lines inside?

SVGR stacks shapes, and the cutter cuts every outline, including ones hidden under other shapes. Slice or subtract the overlapping shapes before you cut.

Why are the holes in my letters filled in after I hid the white layer?

The holes are separate white shapes on top of solid letters. Slice each counter out of its letter, then delete the white.

Can I send the SVG to Sticker Mule?

Sticker Mule accepts SVG. To set your own cut line, draw a magenta stroke of 0.05 to 1 pt in a design app; SVGR doesn't add one.

My Roland cutter won't open SVG. What now?

Roland CutStudio imports AI or EPS, not SVG. Open the SVG in Illustrator or Inkscape and save it as EPS.

How small can lettering be?

Keep lines and gaps in cut vinyl at about 1/8 in or wider, and die-cut sticker text at about 1/4 to 3/8 in or larger. Check at the final size.

Can SVGR make a stencil?

It gives you the shapes, but it doesn't add bridges. Draw bridges of 0.1 to 0.25 in in a design app so islands stay attached.

Does a decal SVG work for heat-transfer vinyl?

Yes, once you remove the overlaps. Stacked shapes would put vinyl on top of vinyl and get bulky, so subtract upper colors from the ones below first.

Related use cases

Cricut and SilhouetteLayered SVG cut files for Cricut Design Space, Silhouette Studio and Brother ScanNCut.Laser engravingVector logos and artwork for Glowforge, xTool and LightBurn engraving.Screen printingTurn T-shirt and merch artwork into flat-color vector files your screen printer can separate.3D printingFilled SVG shapes your slicer or CAD tool can extrude into keychains, signs and plaques.

Ready to convert?

Converting and previewing are free, with no account needed. Downloading the SVG or PDF uses one credit.