Bartco VMS Pixel Converter
Convert any logo or image into a 48×28 PNG using the VMS sign palette: red, green, blue, amber, white on black.
- Upload the logo you want to turn into a VMS graphic.
- Make sure you play around with filters and different background colours to ensure the logo is as close to the original as possible.
- Load the image into Bartco.
Note: It might not be perfect in this tool, but you can also edit the file once in Bartco to get it even closer to the original logo.
Drop an image here, or click to upload
PNG, JPG, SVG, WebP — any size
How to use (detailed instructions)
Drop a logo or image in the box above. Everything updates live in the 48×28 preview on the right. Tweak the controls until it looks right, then download the PNG.
Sliders
- Detail — threshold for which pixels light up. Lower = simpler, fewer lit dots (good for clean logos). Higher = more pixels light up, capturing finer detail (good for photos or shaded artwork).
- Exposure — brightens or darkens the source before pixelating. Push negative if too many stray pixels are lighting up; push positive if your logo is getting eaten away.
- Zoom & crop — zoom into the source to skip whitespace or background and focus on the subject. At 100% the whole image fits; at 500% you're cropped in 5×.
- Pan ←→ / ↑↓ — only shows when zoomed in. Move the crop window around to frame the part you want.
Color
Forces all lit pixels to a single VMS color. The sign only supports these five:
- Auto — picks the nearest VMS color per pixel from the source (best for multi-color logos).
- Red — high-contrast, very visible.
- Amber — warm yellow/orange, classic VMS look.
- Green — bright, easy to read.
- Blue — dimmest on the sign, use sparingly.
- White — brightest, max contrast.
Invert
- Auto — detects light backgrounds (e.g. dark logo on white) and flips so the logo lights up, not the background.
- On — always flip light and dark.
- Off — never flip; treat dark pixels as off.
Background color
Replace the default black background with a VMS color. Combine with Invert to swap foreground and background — e.g. white logo on red, or amber logo on blue.
Toggles
- Sharpen text — crisps up letter edges. Leave on for logos with text.
- Dither — scatters pixels to fake gradients. Off for clean logos, on for photos.
- Smooth downsample — on for photos (smoother scaling), off for hard-edged logos (preserves crisp lines).
Example logos converted to VMS graphics using this tool
