Question about Inkscape and printing

[Gigi]

I am helping the kids with their wedding invitations - very unconventional style but fun and clever...all their design. I was going to just print then and hand cut them because they were straight cuts (invitation and inserts in a pocket - will take pics when they are done!) Now they added some circles with lettering and it all came in a pdf. Well even the best "hand" cutter doesn't a perfectly round circle. So I tried to import into Inkscape and it doesnt like the PDF (I don't have all of the fonts and it's just off. So ...

If they resend to me as a jpg which I know I can print and cut, will I lose quality in the printing as a jpg. And what about the sizing - will that alter or will I just have to play with it to get it the right size? I think I am most concerned about the print quality and would love to know what to do I think they originally made the invitations in PowerPoint.

Thanks for any advice - trying not to screw these up!

And BIG thanks to Dawn for walking me through a PNC earlier today - it cut almost perfectly. (that was after two really bad cuts that were at least 10 times the size they should have been - it was bizarre!!) If there is a hard way to do something, I will find it.

Thanks for your help. And if we have to hand cut (or even die cut the circles) it's not the end of the world - there are only 80 of them!! But if I can get them right, that would be fun (and amazing!!)

[Angel135612]

They sound amazing Gigi.... sorry I can't help with PDF files into Inkscape, I have never tried it. Is the PDF file a vector image? That would import into MTC, and then you could save it as an svg to bring it into inkscape. Not sure about the quality of the print after doing all that though.

Would you be able to use a punch if you had one the right size, or maybe change the invitation a bit, to fit around the size of a circle punch?

You should be able to adjust the size once you get it into Inkscape. Not sure about the quality of the print from a jpeg, but I would think if it is a high enough resolution jpeg, you shouldn't have to worry about the print quality.

I would do some testing before I tried to do all 80 of them, to make sure you are getting the results you want.

[Suzan]

Have them send a jpg and png. According to hubby, everytime you copy a jpg it loses quality, I don't know if png's work in inkscape though.

[Angel135612]

You can open and trace a png in inkscape just fine. It is just another format of an image, but with a transparent background.

And yes, jpegs do lose some quality each time they are opened, but it is so miniscule that it would take a lot of of opening the file to see a noticeable difference. Of course this depends on the quality of the image to begin with.

[Gigi]

Thanks for all of the info. I definitely would test it first. No - it's not a vector file -it's just text.

I may just print them and die cut the circles since everything else can go on a paper trimmer. I just thought I would ask and learn!!

Interesting that you brought up the png and inkscape. When I was trying to trace some images and pull the shadow, on some I could not pull a shadow layer - it was all in pieces. I wonder if those were the pngs. Will have to pay more attention the next time I try that.

And I did know that the more you fool around with a jpg the resolution goes down. It may just be easier this time to hand cut (die cut) the few circles and cut the rest on the paper trimmer.

Thank you!

[Suzan]

Bryan is really finnicky with this stuff, But he does it for a living, where we would never ever probably notice the difference.

[Phyllis]

Gigi, I had that same experience last night with PNC, cut 10 times the size of the image. At that point I turned everything off and went to bed. Is there a simple fix to this? Also, when pulling the shadow image off, I just keep clicking close to the edge until I find it, sometimes there are a whole lot of pieces but eventually I find the shadow one. Hope your letters and circles work out, I'm not much help, still learning Inkscape.

[Retta]

Can you send me the file. Tell me the size you want. I may be able to help?

[Gigi]

You guys are the best.

First of all, my son finally sent me the jpg of the file and as I guessed the quality was awful, BUT the size was the same.

So I am going to see if I can convert the jpg to a cut file for the circles primarily, and Dawn shared a trick when you are cutting a ton of the same thing so you don't have to set the calibration each time - so will see if that works easily. I can print from the pdf after that. If it's too hard to line up will just die cut them - it's only 80 circles and all of the rest of the invitation parts are straight cuts. So no big deal. And the kids and her Mom and sister are coming on Tuesday to assemble so we will have plenty of hands to cut if need be. But I would LOVE to get the circles done so they look nice!

Phyllis - I had one setting off in my cutter settings - I know I had it right at one time but who knows what I did!! If you open signcut and click on Cutter at the top, a box opens up. Go to the bottom and look at handshake: and be sure it says: (software XON/XOFF) - Dawn said if that is off all kinds of strange things can happen. After that was adjusted I got a normal cut.

One last thing - I was playing with an image last night and I saved the file as far as I got. When I went to pull the shadow layer (and there were a zillion little pieces), the shadow layer came off in pieces too - so I had no idea what to do at that point. I have had this happen with a few other images too - I dont know why some pull apart easily and others don't.

If anyone has an answer to that, I would love to hear it so I can learn to do it right. Getting closer and closer to perfection (not me but the cut! )

[Phyllis]

Gigi, thanks for that info on the XON/XOFF setting. I will check mine. That trace bitmap really confuses me, I never know when to choose edge or brightness (what ever those first two settings are), I just work with both of them until I get a total (or mostly total) background but I've only tried 2-3 images so far.

[Angel135612]

Gigi, I think the problem with the shadow layer may be dependent on the image you start with. I know there are some images that I can do it easily and others just don't work no matter what I try. Some may need more editing to get it to look right, and others may be great from the start. I think if the designer draws the image with the idea in mind that it is going to be nothing more than a digi stamp to print and color, they may not close all the "lines" and that is when you have problems. If they create it knowing it will be taken into software to split and used for paper piecing, they may be more aware of needing to have all shapes closed.

When I try to do the Trace Bitmap in Inkscape, some times I will get a good trace, and other times I won't, and even when I change my settings, it doesn't seem to help much. I don't always want to spend a lot of time trying to clean up an image, so I decide if I really want to use it, or if I can find something that works better for what I have in mind.

[Thyme]

The problem is partly the image and partly the trace.
The way I usually trace if I want just an outline is to use Brightness Cutoff, take the figure as high as you can before you start getting stray outside speckles. Make your trace.
Now change the display mode to Outline (its under view) Now you can see all of the bits that got traced. Do Path/Break apart. Grab just the outside piece cos now you can see it, drag it away and then go back and delete all the rest.

You will find that as you use Inkscape more, that you can edit an image a lot faster than you can now

[Gigi]

The problem is partly the image and partly the trace.
The way I usually trace if I want just an outline is to use Brightness Cutoff, take the figure as high as you can before you start getting stray outside speckles. Make your trace.
Now change the display mode to Outline (its under view) Now you can see all of the bits that got traced. Do Path/Break apart. Grab just the outside piece cos now you can see it, drag it away and then go back and delete all the rest.

You will find that as you use Inkscape more, that you can edit an image a lot faster than you can now

Dawn - showing that trick yesterday (taking to outline ans zooming in) really helped - but as Diane and others said - some images just don't have the shadow layer that pulls off well - it's in pieces. So guess I just have to avoid those when I get to that point - unless you are saying that the trace wasn't good enough? Hmmm -

I just think I am making progress and then I hit a glitch!! LOL And of course when I did an image with Dawn there were no issues - go figure!

Will keep persevering - and dump the images I cannot figure out for now (except that I REALLY like this one! ) LOL

[Retta]

Weld it into one piece and you should have and outline!

[Gigi]

Can I send you the file because it isn't coming apart that easily - I stopped at the weird spot and saved it so you can see.... it pulls some of the outline and some of the pieces and I tried to break it apart again and got nowhere!

I am SURE it is user error - as are most of my problems! Just ask Dawn!!

[Thyme]

Email it to me and I will take a look at it.
Also include the original image that you traced. make sure that you use Extensions/Image?embed images though before you save it

[Gigi]

OK??? I will resave it that way and send to you - you are a brave soul and will be sick of me by the end of the day - or before!!

Any bets on how long it will take Dawn to send me to the corner - or just kick me off the forum altogether?? I REALLY do not want to be this high maintenance (only child syndrome maybe??!!??) It just bugs me when I think I understand how to do something and then it doesn't work - I want to know why!!

[Angel135612]

LOL Gigi.. I don't think Dawn will kick you off... and she seems to have the patience of a saint... so when you learn how to do this, you can help me when I have problems...

[Thyme]

Nope, you have to BE VERY VERY BAD for me to do that

[Gigi]

LOL Gigi.. I don't think Dawn will kick you off... and she seems to have the patience of a saint... so when you learn how to do this, you can help me when I have problems...

It's a deal, Diane - I actually think I am getting close...........scary huh??!!??