19.6.1 PostScript
The first (“constructivist”) design does not have any transparency or gradients;
it is a collection of fully opaque shapes. This means it can be saved without any
quality loss as PostScript or EPS, which most print service providers will accept.
To be on the safe side, preview your PS or EPS output file using Ghostscript.
2
Or, you can directly print such a file to your local printer device by the File4Print
command, which sends the PostScript rendition of the document to the printer.
19.6.2 PDF
For more complex designs, the best output format is PDF (B.3). These days,
nearly all print service providers accept PDF, often in preference to PostScript.
PDF is a more powerful format by itself and it is better supported by Inkscape;
with it, you don’t have to worry about gradients or opacity. Filtered objects—such
as the initials with a drop shadow in our second design—will be automatically
rasterized on export to PDF if you enable this option in the PDF export options
dialog.
Generally, the safest strategy for preparing your design for print is to separate
the necessarily vector elements from those that can be rendered into a bitmap.
For example, text (especially using small-size fonts), logos, and crisp foreground
shapes must remain vector; avoid using filters on them, but separate them into
a foreground layer and convert all texts to paths so they do not depend on the
availability of the fonts. Anything else (background shapes with or without
transparency, filtered objects, imported bitmaps, etc.) can be collectively pre-
rendered into a single bitmap with Make a Bitmap Copy: Set the desired resolu-
tion in Inkscape Preferences (Bitmaps page), select all the objects to rasterize,
and press Alt-B , after which you can delete or hide the vector originals. Thus, an
“export-hardened” file—with best chances of being exported to PDF, imported
into other programs, or printed without loss—would typically have just two layers:
one with bitmap-like artwork rendered as one large bitmap and the other with
vector-like artwork all in paths.
19.6.3 Bitmap Output
As a last resort, if even PDF doesn’t cut it, you can always just export the entire
design as a bitmap. Inkscape can only export as PNG, but any number of other
programs, from expensive Photoshop to the free GIMP or command-line
ImageMagick, will convert a PNG to another bitmap format, such as the old (but
still popular in the print world) TIFF.
2
http://ghostscript.com
Designing a Business Card 327
The Book of Inkscape
(C) 2009 by Dmitry Kirsanov