SVG to CDR Converter
When an engraver, a sign shop or a promotional-products printer says they need a CorelDRAW file, an SVG is already most of the way there. This page rewrites it as a CDR document with the same curves, colors and size.
CAD Converter
or drop DWG, DXF, DWF … files here ·
Max 95 MB per file· Up to 20 files· Deleted after 30 minutes
Files are processed on our servers and deleted after 30 minutes.
Model space is the full drawing. All layouts exports each paper-space sheet as its own page, as set up in AutoCAD.
Fit to page scales the drawing to fill the sheet. Actual size keeps drawing units 1:1 (1 mm in the drawing = 1 mm on paper) and may span a larger page.
Same as source uses the size set in each layout. A1 and A0 are the usual plotter sheets for architectural drawings.
Auto turns the page to match the drawing's longer side.
Monochrome prints every line black, like plotting with a monochrome.ctb style — best for printed plans on white paper.
White suits printing. Black looks like the AutoCAD drawing area; transparent works for placing the drawing in other documents (not available in JPG).
300 DPI is print quality; 150 is enough for screens. At A1 and 600 DPI an image is 14,000 px wide, so higher values make very large files.
Only used when the input is a photo or scan (JPG, PNG). Outline draws the edges of shapes, good for logos and laser cutting; centreline draws single lines through strokes, good for scanned line drawings and plotters.
Pixels darker than this become lines. Raise it if faint lines are missing, lower it if background noise turns into shapes.
Higher values give fewer, smoother curves; lower values follow the pixels more closely but create more points.
How to use this tool
- 1
Add your SVG files
Upload up to 20 SVGs, 95 MB each: logos, cut files from a bundle, icons or layouts from Inkscape, Figma or Illustrator.
- 2
Keep the real size
Scale is preset to Actual size (1:1), so a 4-inch design arrives 4 inches wide in CorelDRAW. Colors stays on Original colors, because many laser drivers read color as an instruction.
- 3
Convert to CDR
Press Convert to CDR (CorelDRAW), download, and send the CDR alongside the original SVG so the shop has a fallback.
SVG is the open vector format of the web and the cutting-machine world; CDR is the working file of one of the oldest design programs in the print trades. Converting between them is a translation of the same shapes into another program's container.
Who asks for CorelDRAW CDR instead of SVG
CorelDRAW arrived in 1989 and spread through the businesses that turn artwork into objects: sign and vinyl shops, trophy and award engravers, screen printers, embroidery studios and promotional-product suppliers. Laser engravers from makers such as Epilog have long been driven by printing straight from CorelDRAW, so a CDR is what the operator opens first thing in the morning.
Meanwhile, much of the artwork customers bring is SVG: designs bought as cut-file bundles for Cricut and Silhouette, logos exported from Figma or Canva, icons from open libraries. The shop can import SVG, but a native CDR saves them a step and lets you confirm the conversion yourself.
Which programs open CDR and which only open SVG
| Organisation | Requirement | Source |
|---|---|---|
| CorelDRAW Graphics Suite | Opens and saves CDR natively; imports SVG through File → Import. Windows and macOS. | coreldraw.com |
| Inkscape | Native SVG editor; opens many CDR files read-only through libcdr, cannot save CDR. | inkscape.org |
| LibreOffice Draw | Imports CDR through libcdr and exports SVG; no CDR export. | libreoffice.org |
| Cricut Design Space | Uploads SVG and DXF cut files and common bitmaps; does not accept CDR. | — |
What carries over from SVG to CorelDRAW
Paths come across as CorelDRAW curves with their nodes, solid fills and outline colors stay as set, and groups usually stay grouped. Simple linear and radial gradients have CorelDRAW fountain-fill equivalents. Text is the weak point: if the CorelDRAW machine lacks the font, the shop sees a substitute, so convert lettering to paths before you upload. Filters such as blur and CSS-only styling have no CDR counterpart and may be flattened.
Size is the other trap. An SVG that states its dimensions in inches or millimeters lands in CorelDRAW at that size with Actual size (1:1). One that only states bare numbers is read at 96 per inch, the CSS convention Inkscape adopted in version 0.92.
SVG
Scalable Vector Graphics
SVG is an XML-based vector format standardised by the W3C in 2001. Instead of pixels it describes shapes, paths and text, so it stays sharp at any size and is usually tiny for logos and icons. It supports transparency, CSS styling, scripting and animation, and every browser renders it natively. SVG is unsuitable for photographs, and complex illustrations can become slow to render. Illustrator, Inkscape, Figma and browsers can open and edit it.
- Compression
- –
- Transparency
- Yes
- Animation
- Yes
- Introduced
- 2001 · W3C
CDR
CorelDRAW drawing
CDR is the native file format of CorelDRAW, a vector graphics editor first released by Corel in 1989. It stores vector shapes, text, layers and multi-page layouts and is widely used in sign making, vinyl cutting, packaging and print shops. The format is proprietary and changes between CorelDRAW versions, so other programs import it only partially. Most viewers, browsers and design apps outside the Corel ecosystem cannot open CDR files.
- Compression
- –
- Transparency
- Yes
- Animation
- No
- Introduced
- 1989 · Corel
SVG to CDR exists for the moment a CorelDRAW-based engraver, sign maker or printer asks for a native CDR and the artwork was made in Inkscape, Figma or a cut-file bundle that only ships SVG.
TipFor a laser shop, set cut lines to the exact color and hairline width they specify before converting; changing hundreds of outlines in someone else's CorelDRAW is the job they would rather not do.
SVG to CDR questions
CorelDRAW imports SVG already. Why convert at all?
Because the request often comes from someone else's workflow: an order form that accepts only CDR, a shop that does not want to repair imports, or a template system built on CDR files. Converting also lets you check the result before the shop does, instead of after a misprinted job.
Do I need CorelDRAW to make a CDR file?
Not with this page. Free editors can open CDR through libcdr but cannot save it, so without CorelDRAW a conversion service is the only practical way to produce one.
Will a laser engraver see my cut and engrave lines correctly?
Colors and stroke widths from the SVG are kept, and those are what most laser drivers read. Ask the shop which color means cut and how thin the line must be; a common convention is a red hairline for cutting and black fill for raster engraving.
Why does the CDR look smaller or larger than my SVG?
The SVG probably gave its width and height without units. Bare numbers are CSS pixels, 96 per inch, while some older Illustrator exports assumed 72 per inch. Set real units in the SVG editor's document properties and convert again.
What if the shop's CorelDRAW is very old?
Ask for the version number. If it is too old for the CDR, send an EPS or a PDF instead; older CorelDRAW releases import both reliably. SVG to EPS covers the first option.
Can an SVG with embedded photos become a CDR?
Embedded bitmaps travel inside the CDR as images, not as curves. That is fine for printing, but a cutter or engraver cannot follow a photo's outline, so trace those parts separately with PNG to CDR.
