If you are involved in designing or handling printed circuit boards (PCBs), you probably come across the Gerber format frequently. Currently used as an actual standard in the PCB industry, the GBR extension is attached to files that contain images and descriptions of various board data, including layers, solder masks, electrical connections, drilling data etc.

GBR are vector files and converting to them can be a problematic process in case of some input file formats. Converting another vector to GBR usually implies getting unfilled areas, which is not what you want when sending your PCB plan to print. For this reason, when converting to GBR with reaConverter’s latest edition, the software will first rasterize the input vector image — a process which implies filling all closed area with black — before vectorizing the image again as a valid GBR.

The raster to vector conversion is included by default in the conversion to GBR process because it ensures the resulting files will be operational. But in some specific cases, users prefer to customize the conversion process and opt for converting directly from vector to vector. In this case they can disable the “Create GBR using raster to vector conversion” option. The output file, however, may happen to be invalid in this case.

Install reaConverter

How does it work?

Load one or more image files you intend to convert to GBR.

reaConverter can help you handle batch conversions easier by including a drag-and-drop tool and an Advanced file select option. The latter lets you automatically select a number of files from a folder according to their size or extension.

Edit Images

In case any adjustment needs to be done to the input files, reaConverter offers several actions under the Edit images tab.

Here you can rotate, crop or use other suitable options, whose effect you can check in real time by clicking the Preview box.

GBR Saving Settings

The conversion to GBR automatically includes a raster-to-vector stage, as this is the safest way to create a valid GBR. But if you prefer to convert directly from vector to vector, go to Menu → Saving settings → Format saving settings

Click the GBR tab and uncheck the box near “Create GBR using raster to vector conversion”.

You can also reach this location by placing the pointer on the GBR button from the lower part of the window and then clicking the Settings icon from its upper left corner.

Saving Options

In the Saving options tab, pick the location for the resulting GBR images.

Finally, pick GBR from buttons placed in the Convert to section, on the lower part of the window.

Then simply press Start!

Video Tutorial

Advanced users can convert to GBR with command line tool or DLL in manual, automated or scheduled mode. You are welcome to contact our technical support when you have any questions about reaConverter.

While most people describe SVG as a vector format containing vectors, animations or interactive graphics and supported by the largest part of web browsers, few know that SVGs can also store raster images. And the best part is that these raster images can handle alpha-channel and JPEG compression, which makes SVG a great alternative for the larger-sized PNG.

SVG is also a better alternative than WebP, JPEG2000 or JPEG-XR when it comes to web programming, as it is supported by Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer 9+ and Firefox — thus covering all major browsers.

Here is a simple example:

PNG with Alpha-Channel, 56.6Kb

SVG with JPEG compression and Alpha-Channel, 14.2Kb

The result — image size reduced to about 75%, keeping Alpha Channel.

How to create SVG with JPEG compression?

reaConverter’s latest edition helps you convert from a wide array of image formats into raster JPEG compressed SVG with Alpha-Channel.

Install reaConverter

Load files for conversion

Load one or more image files into reaConverter by browsing local folders or using the drag-and-drop tool.

Set SVG to be raster

Go to the Menu button and click Saving settings → Format saving settings. Then pick the SVG tab, tick the button that says Create SVG raster and customize the quality of the output image.

You can also reach this window directly from the SVG button placed in the lower part of the reaConverter window. Just click the Settings icon placed on the upper left side of the button.

Save the result

Go to the Saving options tab and pick a location for your output files. Save them in the source folder or in another local folder of your choice. Finally, make sure you have picked the output extension SVG from the buttons placed in the lower part of the window. If you don’t see it there, click the Plus button and a new window with all the supported formats will appear.

Then simply press Start and get ready to use your new SVG images with alpha channel!

Video Tutorial

Advanced users can create transparent SVG images with JPEG compression using command line interface or DLL in manual, automated or scheduled mode. You are welcome to contact our technical support when you have any questions about reaConverter.

The SWF format is one that you’ll find commonly used for browser games, vector animations and other types of multimedia that imply video, sound and/or user interaction. Initially developed by Macromedia, SWFs are currently Adobe Flash files and their name is an acronym for ShockWave Flash or Small Web File.

SWF files can contain a collection of images, including both vectors and bitmaps, as well as ActionScript content — a scripting language that facilitates user interaction. A SWF file can contain from few images to more than a hundred pictures with text, animation, and scripts in various combinations. For example, one page with text and several raster images inside it. Extracting all raster images by converting a SWF file to one or more image files can be a tricky operation and requires using a software program that can process multi-page image files, such as reaConverter.

Here Is How It Works:

Download and install reaConverter. It can be downloaded and tried for free at this address: www.reaconverter.com

Install reaConverter

Load Your SWF Files

Start reaConverter and load one or more SWF files into reaConverter by using the drag-and-drop tool or by browsing them manually from your hard drive.

Set-up SWF Loading Options

Go to the Menu button and click Saving settings → Additional saving settings and go to the Multipage tab. Here you can customize the way you want your images to be grouped after conversion from muti-page SWF.

To extract raster images from vector images included in the SWF file, go to Loading settings → Vector format loading settings. In the newly opened window, click Extract images from SWF.

Save the Result

Finally, go to Saving options and pick a location for your converted images, as well as their format — from the buttons conveniently placed in the lower part of the screen. In case you choose a single page format, such as JPG, your output images can be stored separately from one another, but if you pick a multi-page one, such as PDF or TIF, all images included in the SWF file can be collected in a single output file. Also, if you pick GIF, the result will be a similar animation, but one that might be easier to handle than its Adobe Flash input version.

After selecting the desired format, simply press Start and your new images will soon be ready!

Video Tutorial

Advanced users can convert SWF files using command line interface or via DLL in manual, automated or scheduled mode. You are welcome to contact our technical support when you have any questions about reaConverter.