Frostline Design & Fabrication trace.
Trout artwork traced into red cut paths
Original artwork loaded in Trace
Tracing, output and fabricator settings panel
Calibrate physical size dialog
Islands highlighted in orange on the traced preview
Tiny cutout highlighted in purple
Cut outline shown in red around the shape
Frostline Trace / visual tourScreenshot from the desktop app

Frostline Trace / A visual tour

From artwork
to cut-ready.

Trace turns your image into precise paths, then checks them against real manufacturing limits. Six quick steps. Scroll at your own pace.

Enter the process ↓

Frostline Trace / screenshots from the desktop app

01 / Bring it in

Start with any image.

Drop in your artwork. Trace builds the cut-line preview beside it, with your original on the left and the traced result on the right.

Original artwork, as loadedNext ↓

02 / Find the line

From pixels to paths.

Start from a preset for the job, then tune threshold, smoothing and detail until the preview looks right.

Laser cuttingLaser engravingEngrave + cut outlineStainless silhouette
Presets for common jobsNext ↓

03 / Get the size right

Real size. Real inches.

Click two points on something with a known length, type that length in, and the design scales to true inches or millimetres. Every check after this uses real dimensions.

Calibrate in secondsNext ↓

04 / Look closer

Catch it before the cut.

Inspect Manufacturing checks the finished artwork at its real size for islands, narrow bridges, thin parts and pointed tips. It runs only when you click it.

Island: would fall out
One click, real dimensionsNext ↓

05 / Consider the material

Beyond the outline.

Inspect Cut Paths checks the paths as they will be exported: tiny cutouts and slots, crossing or duplicate paths, and parts too small to survive. Click any finding to jump straight to it.

Tiny cutout
Findings, listed and clickableNext ↓

06 / Make the next move

Outline. Export. Done.

Add one cut outline around the whole design and choose how far it sits from the artwork. Then export a clean SVG and open it in your design software.

SVG

Opens in Illustrator
Cut outline on its own layer

Outline offset in inches or mmSee it side by side ↓

Before / After

Your artwork. Its cut paths.

Drag the divider. The same screen, the same image, before and after tracing.

Original trout artwork
Traced cut paths in red
↔
TracedOriginal
Screenshots from the Trace desktop app. Results depend on the source image and settings.

Examples

Works on any design.

Logos, lettering, wildlife scenes, long narrow shapes. The same steps apply.

Northwoods Supply logo traced
Detailed logoFine texture and lettering
Kitchen sign traced
Script letteringFlowing curves and counters
Bullet shape traced
Tall, narrow shapeScenery inside a silhouette

Details

A closer look.

Tap any screenshot to enlarge it.

Preset dropdown
PresetsLaser cutting, engraving, engrave plus cut outline, stainless silhouette
Inspect Manufacturing description
Inspect ManufacturingIslands, narrow bridges, thin parts, pointed tips
Zoomed island: source on the left, orange highlight on the right
Zoomed inThe problem in the source, and where Trace flags it
List of findings
Findings listClick any finding to jump to it
Outline offset setting and tooltip
Outline offsetParts closer than twice this share one outline
Exported SVG in Illustrator with separate layers
In IllustratorClean SVG, cut outline on its own layer