Topic: All you computer graphics guru's out there...

[Steve F]

I need help, and know that a few of you out there have the correct software and experience to git 'er done.  I am the assistant director of a local emergency services volunteer group, and we're in the process of updating our 25+ year old logo.  The logo has already been designed incorporating a modified version of the United States Great Seal in the center.  I was trying to get a local guy to re-do the heavily pixelated .JPG seal image in ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR, but there doesn't seem to be any progress there.  I'm going to try to attach a .JPG image of what I need.  The image needed to satisfy the sign makers and the printers is in ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR.
The Great Seal has been modified to remove the "star cloud" over the eagle, and the shield has been "cleaned up" a bit.
If anyone out there is willing to donate some of your time to a volunteer organization in the form of artwork, it would be extremely appreciated.
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

[heffay]

so, i'm just guessing... is that the largest version you have and you've been trying to print it off onto something w/ it being larger. 
if that's the case, you're never really going to be able to get the pixelation to go away if that is what you're trying to do. 
i suppose someone might have the time or energy to try to tackle that problem but, there's never much luck in that. 
as the image stands right now it doesn't seem that pixelated to me... when i zoom, it of course becomes more pixelated.

anyway, let us know how much larger it needs to print.  that is the first step is knowing if it can be done or not.

[Steve F]

Yeah, I know what you're talking about, and it DOES look pretty good at the small size.  But when the sign maker goes to enlarge it to the required size for our vehicles, the pixelation makes the image "fuzzy" lloking.  We're talkiing about enlarging that image to about 8 inches square, which is way too large for a clear image.
I'm hoping one of you guys or gals can re-create this in Illustrator for us.  The talent pool in my town seems to be somewhat lacking. 

[SD750F]

Steve F,

What you really need is a raster to vector conversion. The raster image is composed of many pixels to make the illusion of vectored lines by one, having enough resolution so the mind will create the angles and polylines. Or two, using a technique of anti-roster that blends the edges of the small square to aid in the illusion. A vector image is a image of true lines, arcs, and polylines that are not composed of any square or pixels unless they are expressed in the file intentionally.

For anyone to use a low resolution bit map image (raster) and convert it a EPS (Embedded Post Script) or Adobe Illustrator file (both vector) would require a much higher resolution image and the conversion process in Illustrator with any good results. Or the artist would have to re-create the image from scratch and depending on the skill set of the individual, that would take several hours to say the lease...

Scott

[heffay]

i can straighten out the arrow edges and other loose edges but, i'm leaving tomorrow on my trip w/ pop. 
i might be able to do a bit today but, i wouldn't get done w/ it.  i'll be returning in a week and could give it some more. 
anyway, if other people work on it we should share files to make it a well worked finished product.

to rework pixelation in the artwork could take days... i'm really just gonna fix the edges (the noticeable parts).  and, maybe redo the text. 

i do have autocad homework to take care of when i get back though so, there will be no depending on me.   

[Glenn Stauffer]

Any chance that scanning the image could produce a large image of sufficient quality?  I've scanned very small photos and ended up with a much larger image, albeit, I've scanned at high resolution and lowered the resolution for display or printing before ending up with the larger image.  How many dpi are necessary for the reproduction you are after?

[jabbadeznuts]

The Great thing about vector based graphics is that they scale to any size. Small or large.

[Steve F]

Any chance that scanning the image could produce a large image of sufficient quality?  I've scanned very small photos and ended up with a much larger image, albeit, I've scanned at high resolution and lowered the resolution for display or printing before ending up with the larger image.  How many dpi are necessary for the reproduction you are after?

Your suggestion of scanning is interesting.  Perhaps the DPI could be boosted using this method.......Hmm you got me thinking, great suggestion.  Not sure about the required DPI, but a minimum of 600 keeps coming to mind.  I wish there was an easy fix for something like this, but the more I think about it the more I realize that the only "fix" is to start from scratch in a vector based program like Ilustrator (which I don't have, and at around $600 never will).  I'm not very artistically inclined, and me trying to "re-do" (more like screw it up) the Great Seal would be like using crayons to paint the Mona Lisa.  Maybe I'll have a try at scanning.

[Bob Wessner]

I think Glenn's suggestion is worth a try anyway. After he posted that, I located some old family scans I had done. I don't recall the exact resolution I scanned at, but it was quite high. It was a 4x6 sepia portrait of my mother at her high school graduation. It resulted in a 50MB file. I just tried resizing it to 12x18 in. and it looked quite good on-screen. Anyway, worth a try and let us know how it turns out.