What's the ROI of HP AI Vectorize?

Kevin Vaughan

Jul 19, 2025

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What You Need to Know

Many AEC teams waste hours redrawing scanned plans or outsourcing CAD conversions to overseas locations.
Manual PDF-to-CAD workflows are time-consuming, expensive, and tie up valuable talent.
Some repro shops report paying up to $125 per sheet for outsourced conversions with 5–7 day turnarounds.
HP’s AI Vectorize automates raster-to-CAD conversion, producing editable files in 5–10 minutes.
TAVCO is your trusted partner for AI Vectorize in Texas (and beyond), offering guidance and support.
Use our free ROI Calculator to see exactly how much time and money your team could save.
Stop overpaying for outsourcing—modernize your workflow today.

Architects, engineers, and contractors continue to lose hours every week by redrawing scanned plans manually in AutoCAD or outsourcing CAD conversions overseas. This manual approach doesn’t just slow projects down—it drains budgets and ties up skilled professionals on low-leverage work.

Across Texas and beyond, teams are seeking faster and more cost-effective ways to manage this critical workflow.

That’s where HP’s AI Vectorize comes in—an advanced cloud-based tool that automates the conversion of raster PDFs into editable CAD files.

And here’s where TAVCO makes it real:

As a long-time technology partner for AEC professionals, we’re helping teams across Texas adopt AI Vectorize strategically—with practical support, honest answers, and a custom-built ROI calculator to show exactly what you could save.

Quickly convert raster drawings to editable CAD files with autogenerated layers.

The Cost of Manual Conversion in AEC Workflows

Time-Consuming – Redrawing or outsourcing delays projects.
Expensive – Even simple as-builts rack up recurring costs.
Talent Drain – Your team gets stuck doing low-leverage, repetitive work.

Manual PDF-to-CAD conversion isn’t just inefficient, it’s a bottleneck holding your firm back.

Embrace Automation with HP AI Vectorize

AI Vectorize, powered by HP’s cloud-based machine learning engine, automatically converts raster PDFs into editable vector drawings like DWG or DXF. With just a few clicks, you can:

✅ Save hours on every drawing
✅ Reduce long-term conversion costs
✅ Free your team for more strategic design work

No more waiting. No more guesswork. Just faster, more intelligent workflows.

Experience Real ROI—In Minutes

To help you quantify the impact, TAVCO created a free AI Vectorize ROI Calculator.

A small AEC firm converting just 30 drawings per month could reclaim over 20 hours and save more than $3,000 annually, simply by switching to AI Vectorize.

Run Your Numbers Now (Free Interactive Calculator)

Calculate Your ROI with HP AI Vectorize

Still redrawing scans manually? HP’s AI Vectorize automates the process, instantly converting scanned drawings into editable CAD files with layers and text.

Use our free ROI calculator to estimate how much time, labor, and budget your team could reclaim by letting AI do the heavy lifting.

✅ Check the Numbers

Why TAVCO Built This Tool

For over 40 years, TAVCO has supported AEC professionals across Texas, from Austin to Corpus Christi, and from Houston to San Antonio. We heard the same thing over and over:

“We know we're wasting time, but we don’t know how much.”

Now that we are an authorized HP AI Vectorize Partner, we have developed a transparent and honest tool to help you see firsthand what AI Vectorize can do for your business. You can see the positive financial impact.

Real Cost Breakdown: Manual vs. AI Vectorization

Problem: Converting a single floor plan manually takes 2-4 hours of CAD technician time. Solution: HP AI Vectorize processes the same drawing in under 5 minutes with 95% accuracy.

Problem: CAD technicians cost $35-$50/hour, making each manual conversion $70-$200. Solution: Fixed pricing at $50 per download eliminates labor cost variables.

Problem: Manual tracing introduces human errors requiring 30-60 minutes of QC review. Solution: AI-powered conversion maintains consistent accuracy, reducing QC time by 75%.

How Much Can Your Firm Save?

For a typical architecture firm processing 100 drawings monthly:

Manual method: 300 hours × $40/hour = $12,000
HP AI Vectorize: 100 drawings × $45 = $4,500
Monthly savings: $7,500 (62.5% cost reduction)
Annual savings: $90,000

Engineering firms report even higher savings when converting legacy as-builts. Construction companies save 15-20 hours weekly on takeoffs and change orders.

Step-by-Step ROI Calculation Process

Count your monthly drawing conversions (floor plans, site plans, MEP drawings)
Multiply by average manual conversion time (typically 3 hours)
Calculate current labor cost (hours × hourly rate)
Compare to AI pricing: Under 50 drawings = $50 each, Over 50 = $45 each
Subtract AI cost from the manual cost for total savings

Which Projects Deliver Maximum ROI?

Highest ROI (80% savings):

Multi-floor commercial buildings
Residential subdivision plans
Historic building renovations
MEP system drawings

Strong ROI (60% savings):

Single-family floor plans
Site development plans
Structural details
Civil engineering drawings

Good ROI (40% savings):

Simple sketches
Partial floor plans
Detail drawings

Real-World Example: Electrical Co-op Infrastructure Modernization

An electrical cooperative in the Southern United States faced a massive challenge: converting legacy PDF drawings from over 100 substations into usable CAD files for modernization projects. With each substation containing 10-40 technical drawings, they were looking at potentially 4,000 documents requiring manual conversion.

The Traditional Approach Problem:

Manual CAD recreation takes hours per drawing
Significant labor costs and project delays
Risk of errors in complex electrical schematics
Bottlenecked workflow is preventing critical infrastructure updates

The AI Vectorize Solution: Instead of dedicating months of skilled technician time to manual conversion, the co-op discovered they could upload their PDF drawings directly to HP AI Vectorize and receive accurate CAD files in minutes.

Projected Impact:

Conversion time reduced from hours to minutes per drawing
Freed up technical staff for higher-value engineering work
Accelerated infrastructure modernization timeline
Dramatic cost savings (perfect candidate for the ROI calculator)

This use case demonstrates how AI Vectorize isn't just about convenience—it's about enabling critical infrastructure projects that might otherwise be delayed or deemed too costly to undertake. For organizations with extensive archives of technical drawings, the ROI becomes even more compelling as the volume scales.

Want to calculate the potential savings for your organization? Try our FREE ROI calculator to see how AI Vectorize could transform your workflow.

Alternative geographic references you could use:

"A regional electrical cooperative"
"An electrical cooperative serving multiple Gulf State communities"
"A multi-state electrical cooperative in the Southeast"

I'd recommend "Southern United States" as it's specific enough to be credible but general enough to protect the source.

Who Is AI Vectorize For?

HP’s AI Vectorize is a perfect fit for:

Architects revising as-builts
Engineers updating legacy schematics
Contractors converting jobsite scans
Repro shops tackling batch conversions

This is your edge if you’re working with scanned drawings and need fast, editable output, without relying on high-cost design software.

The Hidden Costs of Outsourcing Raster-to-CAD Work

Many AEC firms and reprographers still rely on third-party services, often overseas, to handle raster-to-CAD conversions. While it may seem like a simple outsourcing solution, it can introduce a range of unseen risks and inefficiencies.

Here’s what we’re hearing from the field:

Security Concerns: Sending scanned building plans or sensitive client files overseas introduces potential data privacy and compliance issues.

Quality Control Gaps: With minimal oversight, final CAD files may contain errors or require rework, resulting in additional time and costs.

High Costs: Some U.S.-based repro shops report paying up to $125 per sheet for outsourced conversions.

Slow Turnarounds: It’s not uncommon to wait 5 to 7 business days for completed files, which can delay project timelines.

There’s a Better Way—With AI Vectorize

Why keep paying a premium and waiting days when you could:

✅ Cut your costs dramatically
✅ Avoid security risks
✅ Generate CAD files in just 5–10 minutes

With HP’s AI Vectorize and TAVCO’s support, you can take complete control of your conversion workflow—in-house, on-demand, and with confidence.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How accurate is HP AI Vectorize compared to manual tracing?

A: The system achieves 95% accuracy on standard architectural drawings, matching experienced CAD technicians while working 40 times faster.

Q: What file types does AI Vectorize handle?

A: The system processes PDFs, TIFFs, JPEGs, and PNGs up to 200MB, outputting DXF files compatible with AutoCAD, Revit, and other major CAD platforms.

Q: How quickly do drawings process?

A: Standard floor plans are complete in 3-5 minutes. Complex MEP drawings take 8-10 minutes. Manual methods require 2-4 hours for comparable results.

Q: What about volume discounts?

A: Orders under 50 drawings cost $50 each. Orders exceeding 50 drawings monthly drop to $45 each. Custom pricing available for 500+ monthly conversions.

Q: How quickly do Texas construction firms recover their investment? A: Companies processing 10+ drawings weekly typically achieve full ROI within 30 days. Firms handling 50+ conversions monthly often save $25,000-$40,000 in labor costs alone.

Q: Which drawing types deliver the highest ROI? A: Complex mechanical plans (12-hour manual conversion) and multi-layer architectural drawings (8-10 hours manual) provide maximum savings. Simple site plans (2-3 hours manual) still save 90% conversion time.

Q: How does accuracy impact overall returns? A: Manual tracing introduces errors in 30% of conversions, requiring 2-3 hours of corrections. AI vectorization maintains 98% geometric accuracy, eliminating most revision cycles.

Start Calculating Your Savings

Use TAVCO's free ROI calculator at vectorizeroi.tavcotech.com to input your specific workflow data. The tool analyzes your current costs, projected usage, and break-even timeline.

Most firms recover their investment within 15-20 drawings. At $50 per vectorized download nationwide through TAVCO's online platform, the math is straightforward: if manual conversion takes more than 1.25 hours at $40/hour, AI vectorization saves money immediately.

Contact TAVCO at 866-254-8590 or visit tavcotech.com

Optimize Your Plotter Equipment Too

Still running a legacy plotter from HP or Canon? Whether or not it came from us, TAVCO offers expert plotter repair and service to keep your equipment in top shape while you plan for future upgrades.

👉 Explore TAVCO’s Plotter Repair Service

Step Into the Future with TAVCO

Manual CAD conversion is no longer necessary.
With TAVCO and HP’s AI Vectorize, AEC teams in Texas and across the country can automate outdated workflows, reclaiming both time and money.

✅ Try the ROI Calculator
✅ Modernize your workflow
✅ Stay ahead of the competition