Help with exporting (I use inkscape btw)

Having trouble exporting my designs correctly as an SVG and understanding dpi :sweat_smile: I’m a beginner… But I have made logo designs for small companies but only for web design not for printing or anything.

Svg is scalable vector graphic. It would not have a PPI.

Oh ok thank you…but would you happen to know why the svg comes out blank? But the dpi I was referring to exporting it as a png. What is the standard dpi for that? And how big should I make it if it’s for maybe a tshirt for example?

What software application are you using? Is it a vector application?

You’re getting DPI mixed up with PPI (pixels per inch). There is no standard. It’s all relevant to what you’re working on.

How about giving us a little more information so that we know how to give you a better answer

Okay then the sooner you get this basic info straight, the better:

Fundamentally, there are two kinds of computer graphics; raster and vector.

RASTER: Made up of pixels—a grid of pixels—each having its own values with respect to color, luminosity, and transparency. Raster images are subject to resolution, typically measured in ppi (pixels per inch). Common file formats are .tif, .jpg, .png, .psd

VECTOR: Defined by mathematical parameters; drawn on-screen via those parameters. Considered “infinitely” scale-able (not subject to resolution) because size change only requires different parameters (numbers), no change in physical properties or “interpolation” of data. Common file formats* are: .ai, .pdf, .svg

*Most or all file formats in which vector data is transported also support the inclusion of raster data.

Inkscape.

Thank you! But yea I know the difference between Raster and Vector images. It’s just I cannot change the ppi I can only change the dpi in Inkscape which is the software I’m using. Idk if that makes a difference

Oh yeah, sorry. You mentioned that in your title.

Why are you exporting to SVG? Is this for the web or other digital use? SVG isn’t a good format for print. It’s great for online, because the files are small and browsers support it, but there are significant limitations in the format given that it’s, in some ways, sort of a dumbed-down format. Many features that InkScape or Illustrator support just won’t translate into SVG. The more complicated the image becomes, for example, the higher the chances are that SVG won’t handle it.

As for exporting to png, the resolution doesn’t matter. Instead, it’s the pixel dimensions that count. I don’t use InkScape, so I’m unsure of its features and limitations. However, exporting a PNG directly from a vector app isn’t the best workflow since they’re not raster apps.

I’ll typically open the vector file directly in Photoshop (which it sounds like you might not be using), then scale it there to the right ppi.

Standard for web would be 72 PPI or in inksvape case it is referring it as dpi.

You then need to make sure it’s the right size for what you want.

It might need to be 100 px wide by 100 px height
That’s your output size at 72 dpi.

If you did end up with 50w x 50h px at 72 PPI… You would be scaling that to 100 x100. Which means effectively the PPI would be lower because it scaled.

Ok I started doing it through gimp. It’s just sometimes my designs don’t look the same on Gimp as they do in inkscape. I also thought that in order to keep it from being blocky you had to do svg or pdf…export it as a vector?

Thank you!

You should really explain what you’re trying you do so we can give the best advice

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Sort of, but it’s a little misleading.

The file, when opened up in Photoshop or whatever, might say 72 ppi since it’s something of an old default parameter. But ppi isn’t really a valid unit of measure for online uses since there are no fixed measurements for digital use.

Everything online is measured in pixels. In other words, if the image needs to be 600x600 pixels, it makes no difference if that 600x600-pixel image is saved to 32ppi, 72ppi, 300ppi, or 1,000ppi — all that matters are the pixel dimensions.

But trying to keep it simple

Yeah, I never realize how complicated this stuff is until we need to explain it. :wink:

It is sorta how it works for websites. If you have a 72 PPI image and put it larger it decreases the PPI.

Same in print. If you have a 300 PPI image and increase it, it loses ppi.

It’s rudimentary. I’ll give it that

I can see where you’re coming from in that enlarging an image (without upsampling) decreases its resolution. But unless you need to print out those images, the inches (or any other fixed unit of measurement) part of the measurement is totally meaningless.

PPI is sort of a conditional measurement but isn’t something inherent to the digital image itself. Instead, it’s a specification instructing the output device to squeeze the pixels together to a specified density when they’re output. In the absence of the image being output to a physical medium, the measurement doesn’t come into play.

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Right; the way I explain it is that resolution is the application of output (print) dimensions.

3000px X 3000px @ 300ppi = 10" x 10"

3000px X 3000px @ 150ppi = 20" x 20"

3000px X 3000px @ 72ppi = 41.667" x 41.667"

When the output is SCREEN, 1 image pixel = 1 screen pixel, so the ‘output dimensions’ are determined by the display resolution

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I’m only trying to export. But I do plan on selling some of my designs on Etsy. So that is why I needed to know.

Thank you that helps so much