Is there a way to EXTRACT the bitmap in the EC3 files?

[nerys]

is there a way to EXTRACT the bitmap in the EC3 files? I am switching over to using jpg's so if we ever have to change software we won't have to change anything also the jpg's are 500kb while the EC3 files are 5MB

I don't want to RESCAN 6000 files. is there a way to EXTRACT the bitmap from the EC3 file so I can then batch convert to jpg and get rid of the EC3 files all together? will save me about 25gig of space!

[redwudz]

Please don't hijack old threads. I've created a new topic for you.

Moderator redwudz

[usually_quiet]

I don't have any .EC3 files to test, but did you try the suggestion in this post?

https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/281589-Convert-Epson-CD-Print-ec3-to-Canon-s-CD-Lab...=1#post1816651

If you don't have the right Adobe products available, maybe you could experiment using Microsoft XPS Document Writer as the printer plus an XPS to JPEG converter to see if that works.

[nerys]

I did not think it was hijacking since it was about the software in the thread (sorry)

thanks for the link to the other thread I posted their as well (no answer on that thread either yet)

[usually_quiet]

You should have stuck with one thread, this one. Posting the same question in multiple threads complicates matters for everyone and is another violation of forum rules.

Here is something to try: Use Microsoft XPS Document Writer as your printer for a test .EC3 file. Unfortunately you may have to use Eson CD Print for this. If the option is available, use its best quality JPEG option when "printing". (May be in "Advanced" in the Microsoft XPS Document Writer window) If the .jpg options provided aren't good enough, and the option is available, use the lossless .PNG option when "printing", and convert to JPEG later.

Assuming this method of "printing" works, rename the resulting file to use the .zip extension. You can open the new .zip file and find out where the .JPG or .PNG file(s) are located. The name and location should follow a convention, so it should be possible to write a script to batch convert once you have figured out where the image files are located.

[usually_quiet]

I don't know the outcome, but as an experiment, you could also try renaming a .EC3 file to .ZIP and see what happens when you try to open it. If it works for XPS files, maybe .EC3 files are organized in a similar manner and this method will work for those as well. If it does work, then it should be possible to write a script to do batch conversion.

[usually_quiet]

I downloaded Epson's Print CD and installed it. The version I had produced .EC4 files, not EC3 files, but I figured that was close enough to experiment with. I created some labels, and saved the .EC4 files.

There is no bitmap inside representing the entire label in the file, just graphics resources used for parts of it. EC4 files appear to be a metafiles of some sort. (The text, background .jpgs, picture .pngs and vector graphics drawing elements used are stored together in one file.) EC1, EC2, and EC3 files likely use very similar metafile formats.

I didn't find anything other than Epson's Print CD software that can read these files directly. Epson has probably never made the specs for these file formats available to others and it doesn't appear that anyone has needed to reverse-engineer them. I found no way to batch convert, so I guess the OP will have to re-scan the images needed to re-create all 6,000 labels/covers (or is it 10,000?).

However, I did find ways to convert the files individually to other formats, or recover graphical assets stored inside The methods used might not be much use to someone with an enormous number of files to convert, but somebody with a few dozen might find them helpful.

I used Epson Print CD with a virtual printer, Microsoft XPS Document Writer (via the Manual Print button), to print to an XPS file.

I changed the .xps file extension to .zip,because the format is basically a zipped .xml file. When I unzipped it, I found versions of the original graphics files that I used to create the disc. (If the zip file is called testec4.zip, the graphics files are in testec4\Documents\1\Resources\Images when it is unzipped.)

Microsoft XPS Document Writer provides the option to use lossless .pngs instead of .jpgs under "Advanced" in its Properties window, so it would be possible to recover complete background files in fairly high quality, if necessary.

TreasureUP XPS to Image Converter can be used to convert groups of XPS files to .jpegs, .pngs, or .gifs that are high-quality representation of the complete labels.

[usually_quiet]

I had no luck finding anything that could extract .BMPs directly from .EC4 files, but I did find a program, JPEG Extractor, that can batch extract JPEGs directly from .EC4s. It is from a shareware publisher, Zexter Research, www.zexersoft.com. They offer a 30 day free trial on their software.

I tried JPEG Extractor on a directory containing 3 .EC4 files for which I had used a JPEG as the background image. (I specified *.ec4 as the mask and turned off the restore pathnames option.) The user interface is odd, but I was able to extract the background images for all three files as JPEGs to another directory I chose. It did not work for a fourth .EC4 where I had used a .BMP as the background image.

If the source files for label backgrounds were JPEGs it wouldn't hurt to try JPEG Extractor. It is possible other versions of Epson Print CD save background images in their original format, and the large file size for some .EC3's is due to something else.

I tried Zexter Research's Bitmap Extractor 2.3 too, but it did not work for an .EC4 where I had used a .BMP as the background image. Some websites hosting Bitmap Extractor said it works for any kind of file, but I suspect it only works for specific file types, mainly executables.