Settings
The best color count for tracing.
The color count is the single setting that most affects a traced result. It sets the palette size before any outlines are fitted, which decides how clean the paths are, how faithful the colors look, and how large the file ends up.
Updated 2026-08-05
What the color count controls
Before paths are fitted, the image is reduced to a palette. The color-count setting decides how many palette entries remain and therefore how many distinct regions the tracer may need to outline.
A low count creates simpler, cleaner shapes. A high count preserves more tonal differences but can turn noise, antialiasing, and compression artifacts into additional paths.
Starting ranges by artwork type
For flat logos, begin around 4 to 16 colors. For illustrations with shading, try 16 to 32. Photographic material may need 32 to 64, although raster formats are often a better final choice for photographs.
- Logos and icons: use the smallest palette that preserves intentional colors.
- Illustrations: raise the count until important shading returns.
- Photographs: compare the visual gain against path count and file size.
Recognize too few or too many colors
Too few colors produce obvious bands in gradients and merge regions that should remain distinct. Too many colors create speckling around edges, unnecessary fragments, and much larger files.
Compare two outputs at full size rather than relying on thumbnails. The best setting is usually the lowest count that preserves the distinctions the viewer actually needs.
Balance palette and tracing detail
Color count and tracing density solve different problems. Density controls how much spatial detail is examined; color count controls how those pixels are grouped. Flat artwork generally benefits from both a modest density and a small palette.
Frequently asked questions
What does the color count actually do?
It sets how many colors the image is reduced to before tracing begins, anywhere from 2 to 512. Every pixel is mapped to the nearest color in that palette, then connected areas of each palette color are outlined and fitted with curves. So the count decides how many distinct regions exist to be traced at all.
What is the best color count for a logo?
Between 4 and 16 for most logos. Start at the number of colors the design genuinely uses plus one for the background, then raise it only if a gradient or soft shadow is losing its shape. Low counts also merge JPEG compression noise into flat, even tones.
What color count should I use for a photograph?
32 to 64, with High density mode. Photographs have continuous tonal variation, so a low count produces visible posterized bands. Above roughly 64 the visual gain becomes hard to see while path count and file size keep climbing.
Does a higher color count always look better?
No. Past the point where the palette covers the tones actually present, extra colors mostly describe noise: grain, compression artifacts, and antialiasing along edges each become their own small regions. The result looks slightly speckled rather than more detailed, and the file grows.
How does the color count relate to the tracing mode?
They are independent controls. Simple, Standard, and High density govern how much source detail the tracing works from; the color count governs how many tones that detail is grouped into. Flat artwork usually wants a low count in Simple or Standard; photographs want a high count in High density.
What if I do not know which count to use?
Convert once at a low count and once at a higher one, then compare the previews at full size. Judge the edges rather than the thumbnail: too low shows banding in smooth areas, too high shows speckling along boundaries that ought to be clean.