Help exporting images from Inkscape

[Lodovico]

Sorry again for a noob question but I'm having trouble getting this to work.

When I have a logo or label ready to export for printing, how do I adjust the size so that I will be able to print it in word or another program but not loose the sharpness of the image but stay the size of a beer label?

I mean, as long as the image is the size I want it in inkscape when I export it to a .png file, I thought it would remain that size but it doesn't seem to keep the same clarity. Can someone help me figure this out? Thanks!

 

[Edcculus]

Does inkscape not let you print directly from it? Does it let you create a PDF file? Sorry, I don't have Inkscape, but I do understand your problem.

When you save it as a PNG, jpeg, tiff or bmp, you are rasterizing the image, or breaking it up into pixels. Originally, the graphics are vector, which means they are defined by math/algorithms. As soon as you rasterize it, smooth edges will turn "chunky".

The best thing would be to save it in a vector format. THis link might help you install what is needed to save a PDF or postscript file. Ideally, you want to keep your file in vector format, and let the printer handle rasterizing. You will loose the least quality this way.

 

[etamme]

.. okay .. so Edcculus is correct although I think I can clarify for you.

Inkscape uses vector format (it stores geometric shapes and formulas that make up your image). You need to convert this to a bit mapped image. To do this you need to File->Export.

In this menu, you can adjust the pixel width/height and the ppi (pixels per inch). based on these two components you can size your artwork perfectly. If you are having problems, or dont want to calculate size based on ppi, I usually just save an immense png format ... like 2000px wide at 200ppi or some thing. Then I open up in the GIMP and resize the image for printing to 3"x4" at 200dpi for the printer.

The key is that, you should always export your image from Inkscape at least as large as, if not larger than you want to print it. When you try and grow the size of a bit mapped (exported) image, it will look terrible. If you need to shrink the size, its not a problem.

 

[Lodovico]

.. okay .. so Edcculus is correct although I think I can clarify for you.

Inkscape uses vector format (it stores geometric shapes and formulas that make up your image). You need to convert this to a bit mapped image. To do this you need to File->Export.

In this menu, you can adjust the pixel width/height and the ppi (pixels per inch). based on these two components you can size your artwork perfectly. If you are having problems, or dont want to calculate size based on ppi, I usually just save an immense png format ... like 2000px wide at 200ppi or some thing. Then I open up in the GIMP and resize the image for printing to 3"x4" at 200dpi for the printer.

The key is that, you should always export your image from Inkscape at least as large as, if not larger than you want to print it. When you try and grow the size of a bit mapped (exported) image, it will look terrible. If you need to shrink the size, its not a problem.

Very helpful. Thank you.