If you want a logo, you can make one from scratch.
If you want one which is already available, it is, well, a lot of work.
That can be done better.

Bitmap:
Search on the internet for a good logo: large enough. I take a simple
one, on:http://velomobiel.wordpress.com/ you can find 'QuestXS and
Carbon QuestXS'. Click on it. With your browser you can enlarge it (CTRL
mouse wheel and capture it), or download it (first click on it and then:
right mouse click and choose: save picture as).

Tracing in Inkscape:
It can be done in PGS Pro, but even much better in Inkscape!
The key-word for good tracing is the size and the smoothness of the
subject (not smooth? Then a lot of extra nodes).
Be sure to select the picture (when imported), and then go to the menu:
Path and Trace Bitmap... Click on Update (if that didn't show, click on
OK).
I use Brightness cutoff, Smooth, Remove background. (In options there
are more refined options).
Only the blackish colors are to be seen, not the gray ones. Make the
Threshold in Brightness cutoff to 0.85, for instance. And do an update
(or OK) again.
All is black now, but that can be changed in PGS!
Click on OK. Close the Trace Bitmap window.
Save as:
Now PGS can't load a SVG, so the only way to import the logo is to save
it as PDF (EPS doesn't show in PGS, and so it can't be edited).

PageStream Pro:
Open the pdf-document in PGS Pro. If it shows black, just move one of
the layers to see which you had selected. If all is well you you see the
traced logo.

For further refinement goto the menu Object and Path and Split. You see
that the Q, b and o are completely black. Service of PGS.
Just select the inside, eye, of the Q which should have been empty.
Change the color of the eye into white. Now select the black and white
of the Q, and go to menu Object, to Path and Exclusive. Do that for
every object with an eye.

Coloring:
If you want the original color, then in a bitmap program find out with a
dropper the RGB-value (or another method). You can now make in PGS a new
color with those values, and assign it to those you want to have that color.

Now this was an easy one, just two colors, and no complex shapes. You
can place this logo anywhere without worry about the background, or
resize it into a massive logo.

I miss, in PGS, the automatic deleting of excessive nodes for more
complex logo's, which was in ArtExpression present (Aah! Those Amiga-days!).

Anymore tips? Has anyone tips for me?

Theo

--
PageStream Pro 5.0.5.8 on Windows 7 Pro 32 bits (Dutch), Python 2.7.1 and PySide 1.0.5
AMD Athlon(tm) II X2 215 Processor at 2.70 GHz and 2 GB RAM

Hi Theo,

On Feb 16, 2012, at 6:37 AM, Theo Zweers wrote:

> Tracing in Inkscape:
> It can be done in PGS Pro, but even much better in Inkscape!
> The key-word for good tracing is the size and the smoothness of the
> subject (not smooth? Then a lot of extra nodes).
[snip]
>
> I miss, in PGS, the automatic deleting of excessive nodes for more
> complex logo's, which was in ArtExpression present (Aah! Those Amiga-days!).
>
> Anymore tips? Has anyone tips for me?

Just as you found Inkscape's trace to be an improvement on PgS's, Illustrator's trace is IMO a similar improvement on Inkscape. I don't often have a need for tracing bitmaps so it has been a while, but IIRC Illustrator can remove excessive nodes.

Adobe's products are expensive, but if you can wrangle an educational discount (in my case I work for a university) it was cheaper to buy a creative suite bundle that included Illustrator than to buy it separately. Quite a bit cheaper, IIRC.

With Illustrator I was able to take a set of black and white line drawings and have them converted in batch mode. It is fast enough that batching isn't necessary, but it is more convenient and easier than clicking through a dozen or more files.

I think PgS's free-hand smoothing function must be related to its autotrace which, for free-standing line art, has resulted in my sketching by hand on paper and scanning or on a tablet, tracing with Illustrator then importing to PgS for tweaking (I found PgS's tools easier to use for precision work than Illustrators).

If the free-hand is in-context on the page then, for me, I've found it helps to go slow and in areas that need to have more points it helps to give some extra wiggle to convince PgS to add more points. But going slow is basically a must or it will be simplified to an extreme degree.

Tim Doty

Hi Tim,

just remembered (!) that I have Coreldraw 11 and so also CorelTrace.
Inkscape runs circles around CorelTrace (meaning Coreltrace is not that
good at all, just in PGS Pro league).
Adobe is too expensive for me (I shall be doing not that much with it to
buy it). From CorelDraw I use only CorelPaint once in a while (bought it
cheap). And CorelDraw to make some SVG's to AI (which I forgot to do
with 'making a logo'. Then again, Inkscape is free to use).

Theo

Op 16-2-2012 14:23, Tim Doty schreef:
> Hi Theo,
>
> On Feb 16, 2012, at 6:37 AM, Theo Zweers wrote:
>
>> Tracing in Inkscape:
>> It can be done in PGS Pro, but even much better in Inkscape!
>> The key-word for good tracing is the size and the smoothness of the
>> subject (not smooth? Then a lot of extra nodes).
> [snip]
>> I miss, in PGS, the automatic deleting of excessive nodes for more
>> complex logo's, which was in ArtExpression present (Aah! Those Amiga-days!).
>>
>> Anymore tips? Has anyone tips for me?
> Just as you found Inkscape's trace to be an improvement on PgS's, Illustrator's trace is IMO a similar improvement on Inkscape. I don't often have a need for tracing bitmaps so it has been a while, but IIRC Illustrator can remove excessive nodes.
>
> Adobe's products are expensive, but if you can wrangle an educational discount (in my case I work for a university) it was cheaper to buy a creative suite bundle that included Illustrator than to buy it separately. Quite a bit cheaper, IIRC.
>
> With Illustrator I was able to take a set of black and white line drawings and have them converted in batch mode. It is fast enough that batching isn't necessary, but it is more convenient and easier than clicking through a dozen or more files.
>
> I think PgS's free-hand smoothing function must be related to its autotrace which, for free-standing line art, has resulted in my sketching by hand on paper and scanning or on a tablet, tracing with Illustrator then importing to PgS for tweaking (I found PgS's tools easier to use for precision work than Illustrators).
>
> If the free-hand is in-context on the page then, for me, I've found it helps to go slow and in areas that need to have more points it helps to give some extra wiggle to convince PgS to add more points. But going slow is basically a must or it will be simplified to an extreme degree.
>
> Tim Doty
>
--
PageStream Pro 5.0.5.8 on Windows 7 Pro 32 bits (Dutch), Python 2.7.1 and PySide 1.0.5
AMD Athlon(tm) II X2 215 Processor at 2.70 GHz and 2 GB RAM

deleting extra nodes from a vector transformed image - on linux Inkscape
has some simplyfying capabilities.

Try Fliters > Morphology > Smooth Outline

the SVG format is open source so I would thing the ability to import it
could be added to Pagestream in a fairly straight forward fashion.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bonnie Dalzell, MA
mailO box 9767 Baldwin, MD, USA 21013 | EMAIL:bdalzell@qis.net
shipping adddress:5100 Hydes Rd 21082 (Hydes Post Office closed Jan 2012)
Freelance anatomist, vertebrate paleontologist, writer, illustrator, dog
breeder, computer nerd & iconoclast... Borzoi info at www.borzois.com.
HOME www.batw.net ART bdalzellart.batw.net BUSINESS www.boardingatwedge.com

Hi Bonnie,

yes, we asked for a SVG import (export). I only see no fast update (PGS)
at present.
Simplify? Ah, I see! Thanks!

Theo

Op 17-2-2012 20:51, Bonnie Dalzell schreef:
>
> deleting extra nodes from a vector transformed image - on linux Inkscape
> has some simplyfying capabilities.
>
> Try Fliters> Morphology> Smooth Outline
>
> the SVG format is open source so I would thing the ability to import it
> could be added to Pagestream in a fairly straight forward fashion.
>
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Bonnie Dalzell, MA
> mailO box 9767 Baldwin, MD, USA 21013 | EMAIL:bdalzell@qis.net
> shipping adddress:5100 Hydes Rd 21082 (Hydes Post Office closed Jan 2012)
> Freelance anatomist, vertebrate paleontologist, writer, illustrator, dog
> breeder, computer nerd& iconoclast... Borzoi info at www.borzois.com.
> HOME www.batw.net ART bdalzellart.batw.net BUSINESS www.boardingatwedge.com
>
--
PageStream Pro 5.0.5.8 on Windows 7 Pro 32 bits (Dutch), Python 2.7.1 and PySide 1.0.5
AMD Athlon(tm) II X2 215 Processor at 2.70 GHz and 2 GB RAM

On Fri, 17 Feb 2012, Theo Zweers wrote:

> Hi Bonnie,
>
> yes, we asked for a SVG import (export). I only see no fast update (PGS)
> at present.

well an svg file is a form of XML and consists solely ascii text. for

if you have never looked into one excepr with an svg capable tool, look at
one in a text editor such as bbedit, texted, gedit, turbotext (depending
on your OS)

here is a sample line from one of my svg files

<path
id="path2225"
d="M 10.438827,25.098748 C 6.3126388,27.601769 3.8008027,26.914767 1.1620233,25.112036"
style="fill:none;fill-opacity:0;stroke:#000000;stroke-width:0.1"
/>

Pagestream has the capabilities to have add on modules written in a
programming language - it might not be that hard to write a svg
interpretor.

as I recall, I think they went with python.

> Simplify? Ah, I see! Thanks!
>

> Theo
>
>
> Op 17-2-2012 20:51, Bonnie Dalzell schreef:
>>
>> deleting extra nodes from a vector transformed image - on linux Inkscape
>> has some simplyfying capabilities.
>>
>> Try Fliters> Morphology> Smooth Outline
>>
>> the SVG format is open source so I would thing the ability to import it
>> could be added to Pagestream in a fairly straight forward fashion.
>>
>>
>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>> Bonnie Dalzell, MA
>> mailO box 9767 Baldwin, MD, USA 21013 | EMAIL:bdalzell@qis.net
>> shipping adddress:5100 Hydes Rd 21082 (Hydes Post Office closed Jan 2012)
>> Freelance anatomist, vertebrate paleontologist, writer, illustrator, dog
>> breeder, computer nerd& iconoclast... Borzoi info at www.borzois.com.
>> HOME www.batw.net ART bdalzellart.batw.net BUSINESS www.boardingatwedge.com
>>
>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bonnie Dalzell, MA
mailO box 9767 Baldwin, MD, USA 21013 | EMAIL:bdalzell@qis.net
shipping adddress:5100 Hydes Rd 21082 (Hydes Post Office closed Jan 2012)
Freelance anatomist, vertebrate paleontologist, writer, illustrator, dog
breeder, computer nerd & iconoclast... Borzoi info at www.borzois.com.
HOME www.batw.net ART bdalzellart.batw.net BUSINESS www.boardingatwedge.com

Hi Bonnie,

On Feb 17, 2012, at 2:26 PM, Bonnie Dalzell wrote:

> On Fri, 17 Feb 2012, Theo Zweers wrote:
>
> > Hi Bonnie,
> >
> > yes, we asked for a SVG import (export). I only see no fast update (PGS)
> > at present.
>
> well an svg file is a form of XML and consists solely ascii text. for
>
> if you have never looked into one excepr with an svg capable tool, look at
> one in a text editor such as bbedit, texted, gedit, turbotext (depending
> on your OS)
>
> here is a sample line from one of my svg files
>
> <path
> id="path2225"
> d="M 10.438827,25.098748 C 6.3126388,27.601769 3.8008027,26.914767 1.1620233,25.112036"
> style="fill:none;fill-opacity:0;stroke:#000000;stroke-width:0.1"
> />
>
> Pagestream has the capabilities to have add on modules written in a
> programming language - it might not be that hard to write a svg
> interpretor.

I'm not sure of all the capabilities of SVG, but in terms of translating SVG defined nodes/control points to PgS's internal -- that should be very straightforward. Sadly, I lack the time to even contemplate such a project and, despite previous advocacy for this from several people there is still no SVG import/export. While it would be straightforward to do, it would require someone comfortable with C and the time and willingness to write it.

> as I recall, I think they went with python.

Python is used for scripting. It would be possible to abuse it to import an SVG file (not via the import menu, but by running a script that opened a file requester, parsed the selected file and created a vector object via the scripting interface). Sadly, although I am much more comfortable in Python than C and am willing to do something like that I lack the time and I don't see that changing any time soon.

Tim Doty

>
> > Simplify? Ah, I see! Thanks!
> >
>
> > Theo
> >
> >
> > Op 17-2-2012 20:51, Bonnie Dalzell schreef:
> >>
> >> deleting extra nodes from a vector transformed image - on linux Inkscape
> >> has some simplyfying capabilities.
> >>
> >> Try Fliters> Morphology> Smooth Outline
> >>
> >> the SVG format is open source so I would thing the ability to import it
> >> could be added to Pagestream in a fairly straight forward fashion.
> >>
> >>
> >> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> >> Bonnie Dalzell, MA
> >> mailO box 9767 Baldwin, MD, USA 21013 | EMAIL:bdalzell@qis.net
> >> shipping adddress:5100 Hydes Rd 21082 (Hydes Post Office closed Jan 2012)
> >> Freelance anatomist, vertebrate paleontologist, writer, illustrator, dog
> >> breeder, computer nerd& iconoclast... Borzoi info at www.borzois.com.
> >> HOME www.batw.net ART bdalzellart.batw.net BUSINESS www.boardingatwedge.com
> >>
> >
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Bonnie Dalzell, MA
> mailO box 9767 Baldwin, MD, USA 21013 | EMAIL:bdalzell@qis.net
> shipping adddress:5100 Hydes Rd 21082 (Hydes Post Office closed Jan 2012)
> Freelance anatomist, vertebrate paleontologist, writer, illustrator, dog
> breeder, computer nerd & iconoclast... Borzoi info at www.borzois.com.
> HOME www.batw.net ART bdalzellart.batw.net BUSINESS www.boardingatwedge.com
>
>