Inkscape and font rendering

[mgwhit]

I'm using Inkscape on Mac OSX to design my waterslide labels, and I've just bumped into something I've never noticed before.  I have the name of the pedal in a large font spanning the width of the label, so the left side of the first letter and the right edge of the last letter are aligned with the right and left edges of the graphics above and below them.



When I go to save to a PDF (which is what I usually do before taking my graphics to a print shop), the text enlarges down and to the right, just enough to visibly ruin the spacing and alignment.



(Apologies -- the two screen caps were made at different levels of magnification, but you should be able to see the issue.)

It does the same thing when I do a Print Preview function...unless I set the Backend to bitmap instead of vector.  This got me thinking, so I did an Export Bitmap at 300 dpi re-imported it into my SVG file, resized it to match my vector image and did Print Preview the text maintained its alignment and size, but the rounded edges of my graphic were disfigured!

Any idea what could be going on with the text and how to prevent that?

[bcalla]

A couple of things.  First, I can't view the graphics in your post.  Second, I'm on Windows - not a Mac - and I never tried sending my inkscape files to pdf.  But I have had problems printing from inkscape and matching that output to what's on the screen.  The alignment is all over the place.  I get around it by selecting all objects in inkscape and exporting to a png graphic file.  Then I insert the png file into MS Word.  I make sure that Word doesn't scale it.  This always works for me.

[davent]

I get 'access forbidden' if i try going directly to the images website.

[mgwhit]

I get 'access forbidden' if i try going directly to the images website.

Sorry.  I'm an idiot.  I think I've fixed that.

I get around it by selecting all objects in inkscape and exporting to a png graphic file.  Then I insert the png file into MS Word.  I make sure that Word doesn't scale it.

Cool.  It looks fine when I export it as a PNG, as long as I use at least 300 dpi.  I'm pretty sure I can print from Word at the print shop I use.  I'd still like to know what the problem is, but it's good to have a back-up solution!  Thanks!

[chuckbuick]

I can't help you with the "why" part but I can tell you you're not alone.  I have the same issue on my Windows 7 laptop.  I use the same fix as you.  I save it as a .png file.  I then import it back into Inkscape and resize it.  I then save it as a .pdf file.  It's clunky, but it works.

[pickdropper]

I don't use Inkscape, but Illustrator has a feature called "convert to outlines" that basically turns a font into a vector graphic.  Does Inkscape have an equivalent command?  I have no idea if that would fix it, but I would give it a shot.

[wgc]

I think there's a setting somewhere that concerns stroke settings. It looks like the letters are stroked "externally" at a default width instead of a finer internal stroke upon export. I'm not sure what the fix is but hopefully this will let you search more accurately.

As for using word, you're going from vector (preferred) to raster (pixels), and word is in my experience a poor imaging program. But if it works for you, don't change.

[wgc]

I don't use Inkscape, but Illustrator has a feature called "convert to outlines" that basically turns a font into a vector graphic.  Does Inkscape have an equivalent command?  I have no idea if that would fix it, but I would give it a shot.

It does but if the graphics were created in Inkscape, they are vector to start with and it's the opposite problem.

After chewing on this a bit, I think it has to do with resolution settings on export, e.g. If your vector line is finer than your resolution setting, it will try to match the coarsest resolution while applying a stroke during conversion to raster at export.

So, I'd add a stroke width at say 1 pixel in the color of your fill, stroke to inside.

Try setting your resolution higher and export to PDF or bmp.

[mgwhit]

When using Save As and then selecting PDF format there is a Convert Text to Paths option that did not work for me earlier today, but selecting the text and choosing Path > Object to Path totally did the trick.  Thanks, everyone!