Inkscape.org
Beginners' Questions MacOS display, export issues
  1. #1
    ezequielm ezequielm @ezequielm
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    Hello. I am having three issues with various files:

    1. If I export a file above a certain DPI (around 500), the file looks like just a bunch of pixels. This occurs with all my projects.

    2. On one project, if I scroll too far to the right and zoom in too far, black blocks start to appear.

    3. In that same project, the exported files don't have the gradient that I applied.

    Here you should be able to see an example of what I see when I export a file above 500 DPI, a screen shot of the blocks I see, and the difference in gradient. Thank you in advance.

    (Link removed by moderator, please attach to the comments using the papaerclip button below the textarea.)

     

  2. #2
    Tyler Durden Tyler Durden @TylerDurden

    Your question has a much better chance of getting fast, good answers if you follow these simple tips:

    1. Create a new topic for your question in the appropriate forum. Do not add your question to an unrelated topic.
    2. Describe what you have found about the issue by exploring Inkscape's Tutorials (in the Help menu),  the Manual, the Release Notes, using the forum search, and by searching the web.
    3. Describe the source of the file: created with Inkscape, downloaded, imported from another program, etc.
    4. Describe the specific steps you took, the result you expected, and the result that actually happened.
    5. Describe your OS (your computer's Operating System: Mac/Windows/Linux/etc. & version).
    6. Describe if Inkscape was newly installed, or upgraded from an earlier version.
    7. Describe the version of Inkscape and the installer you used (the file you downloaded from the web: .msi/.exe/.zip/appimage/other, PPA/Snap/Flatpak, dmg/other )
    8. Describe any special hardware being used, like tablet/stylus, external drives or multiple monitors.
    9. Describe any helper/assistive programs or keyboard modifiers (macros, languages, etc.).

    Bonus points, if you:

    • Attach* a screenshot of the issue.
    • Attach* an example SVG file that has the issue.

    Posting links to outside hosts is also permitted, hotlinking (embedding) is not.

     

    Most forum participants are other Inkscape users (not developers). We can help each other better and faster, with good questions.

  3. #3
    ezequielm ezequielm @ezequielm

    I can't post my clips because they are greater than 30mb. Why is WeTransfer not allowed?

  4. #4
    Tyler Durden Tyler Durden @TylerDurden

    I removed the link because: I could not determine the url, the file,  and you are a new user. 

    I would also hesitate to download a 30mb file. Most svg files are a few kb to a few mb. I'm going to guess the file is simply too large.

    The file size might be reduced by using File>clean up document. Other ways to reduce file size are to use clones where possible and avoid filters.

     

  5. #5
    ezequielm ezequielm @ezequielm
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    The file is a video. I've been using Inkscape for over two years now.

  6. #6
    ezequielm ezequielm @ezequielm

    Oh, and I did compress optimize the file with Clop.

  7. #7
    Tyler Durden Tyler Durden @TylerDurden

    Ok, I looked at your files.

    I'm not replicating the issue exporting a 1920x1080 500dpi png file having a gradient.

    55 pages is probably asking too much of lil 'ol Inkscape. I suggest using separate files for each page and exporting individually. That could also help in identifying if any specific pages have issues.

     

  8. #8
    ezequielm ezequielm @ezequielm

    I don't think that the issue is the page count because if I take the pages that are having issues and move them to the left, the blocks disappear. I did copy and paste all the items from one file to a brand new one (I changed nothing else) and the blocks went away. As for the gradient: that is still showing, even in the new file. And did you manage to try to replicate the issue where the image looks pixelated? Or whatever you'd call that. Thank you in advance.

  9. #9
    Tyler Durden Tyler Durden @TylerDurden
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    Here's an example of the 1920x1080 svg with gradient exported at 500dpi.

    I'm not sure what pixelated means for you. feel free to attach a screenshot or file.

    click on the thumbnail to expand/download.

     

    1920X1080 500Dpi
  10. #10
    ezequielm ezequielm @ezequielm

    You can see in the "Slide_2.jpg" file that there are clear lines going across the image diagonally. Also: the colors are much brighter in the exported file than how they are in Inkscape. In Inkscape, they're more pastel-like (see "Slide_2_in_Inkscape.png").

    When I say "pixelated," I don't mean that the image is in low resolution. Instead, at least to me, the image looks like a bunch of individual pixels that are all grayed out. I'm just not thinking of a better way to explain it. In any event, see "Pixelated_Image.png." Thank you in advance.

    Pixelated Image
    Slide 2 In Inkscape
    Slide 2
  11. #11
    Tyler Durden Tyler Durden @TylerDurden

    You display is set to outline overlay, resulting in diminished values. I'd use Normal.

     

     

    Here are screenshots of my document and export settings, which seem to work.

     

     

     

    I'm running Inkscape 1.3.2 under Windows 10.

  12. #12
    ezequielm ezequielm @ezequielm

    My display setting was set to "Normal." I also appear to be using version 1.3 with close to the latest version of macOS.

  13. #13
    Tyler Durden Tyler Durden @TylerDurden

    I've edited the title to be more descriptive, maybe a Mac helper will jump in.

     

  14. #14
    Paddy_CAD Paddy_CAD @Paddy_CAD
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    I don't think this is a mac issue. Maybe not even an Inkscape issue.

    Colour banding occurs when you have too few paints in your palette. I can reproduce the problem if I set jpeg quality to 25. It's nearly undetectable with a value of 90.

    I agree that banding is (counterintuitively) more apparent at higher resolution. Inkscape uses ImageMagick libraries for jpeg export. Perhaps there's an explanation over there.  https://github.com/ImageMagick/ImageMagick/discussions

    I don't see banding when I export a png but the file size is much larger. Is this an option for you?

    I used Gimp to convert from png to jpeg and some banding appeared again, so this could be a limitation of the jpeg compression algorithm. Maybe a 16x16 pixel block is too small detect subtle colour gradients over large areas. This would also explain why there's less banding at lower resolution.

    By the way, 500 ppi is absolutely huge. What are planning to do with this?

  15. #15
    Paddy_CAD Paddy_CAD @Paddy_CAD
    *

    I should have done this before writing the last comment.

    Search the internet for "jpeg gradient colour banding" and you'll find a multitude of discussions from photographers trying to get sky tones to look right.

    It's not mac. It's not Inkscape. It's jpeg!

  16. #16
    ezequielm ezequielm @ezequielm

    Exporting to .png fixed the issue I was having with the gradient, but the issue I was having with the pixelated image is still present. And then there's also the issue of the black blocks. Did you manage to see those? Thank you in advance.

  17. #17
    Paddy_CAD Paddy_CAD @Paddy_CAD

    I looked at "Pixelated_Image.png" but I don't understand it. What are you trying to do here? Maybe you can upload a sample svg.

  18. #18
    ezequielm ezequielm @ezequielm

    It should be attached.

    Test Clearance Sign
  19. #19
    Tyler Durden Tyler Durden @TylerDurden

    Issues not reproduced here 1.3.2 under Win 10.

    I will suggest when sending to a print shop, to save a copy as PDF and send the pdf. It will provide superior resolution and retain small file size. Saving the image as a png or other bitmap format is likely to be unnecessary and counterproductive.

  20. #20
    Paddy_CAD Paddy_CAD @Paddy_CAD

    I examined your svg image. Text and background gradient look good here. (Inkscape 1.4 on an ancient macbook.) Shapes are outside the page boundary so [File > Document Properties...] [Display > Resize to content] or [shift+ctrl+r]. Exports to png, pdf, jpg all look good. I don't know what happened to your "Pixelated_Image.png".

  21. #21
    ezequielm ezequielm @ezequielm

    Perhaps I set the DPI to be so high that my computer is unable to render such a high quality image? I'm not a computer-inclined person, so I may be spewing nonsense. For reference, I have a 2024, M3 MacBook Air with 24 gigabytes of RAM.