how to size drawing to specifics

Hi Cynthia,

jpg is a lossy format, that's one of the reasons why Inkscape does not support to export to that format.

It might be wiser to send them a png, if the magazine didn't explicitly ask for a jpg, to ensure that the image quality is okay.
(In fact, many print magazines require tiff (lossless raster) or, more often, pdf formats (vector/raster) for their advertising sections, often also in a different color space than the screen's RGB (CMYK). If you need that, ask another question here.)

There are two ways to get a png image of the necessary size:
Which of these options you choose depends on the info you got from the magazine.
Keep in mind that png (unlike jpg) supports transparency. You might want to add a white background, depending on the requirements of the magazine (do they also want to use it on a website?).

- If you know the size in pixels:
Just export the image (as png, via File -> "Export PNG image"), and set the pixels to the required size (e.g. 800x500px).

- If you know the resolution of your advertisement (in dpi, for example 600dpi), and the size in inches:
set the document size via File -> Document properties first, then resize your contents (Select all: Ctrl+A, Resize: pull on handles while holding Ctrl down for proportionate resizing - or click on the little lock between the width and height fields in the tool control bar, and just enter the size into the width / height fields) first, and in the Export PNG Image dialog, choose the desired resolution of the image.

If you then really need a jpg, open the png image file with any raster graphics editor (a simple image viewer may suffice, or Gimp can be used for this) and save a copy as jpg.

Hope this helps,
Kind regards,
 Maren

Thank you for your reply. I am a complete novice at this and am learning
as I go. I created a great ad using two layers but cannot for the life of
me figure out how to send it to any one.

Tried what you said about re-sizing to fit the magazine ad specs but they
are 3 5/8 inches by 4 7/8 and there are no options for those dimensions.

I used what was closest to those measurements, to see what would happen,
but when I try to export it (clike Export PNG Image) nothing happens.

I tried "select all layers (I only used two) and then clicked on Export but
nothing happens.

I don't know vector from a raptor but am a pretty smart person and what I
want to do is so simple, this is maddening!

The magazine says it is printed in CMYK (whatever that is) so "no RGB or
spot colors" ????

If I could just export it in PNG then surely I can figure out a way for
someone to help me save as JPEG or TIFF (their requirement) at 300 dpi/100%.

Thank you for taking the time to help me. I bought the instruction book
but I don't know enough to find what I need to do.

Cynthia

Cynthia H. Neely
Writer, Producer, Creative

Hi Cynthia,

making advertisements in CMYK with free and open source software is *not* an easy task for noobs. It took me several months to learn how to do it, and I'm still no master at this.

First you need to learn all the printing vocabulary, and then you need to find a good workflow, using at least two different programs.

For your first problem, setting the document size, you can enter any value in the dialog I pointed you to.
File -> Document properties -> Custom size (in the middle)

For your second problem, 'nothing happens' is a bit difficult to understand for me... Is it that you do not get a dialog, when you click on 'Export PNG Image'? Look at the right of the right scrollbar. There should be a new icon or text, symbolizing the dialog that does not want to open. Click on it. It should be open now (that's a known problem with dockable dialogs - change it in the settings: Edit -> Preferences -> Interface -> Windows, choose 'floating' instead of 'dockable').

Vector images use a different way of describing an image - not with dots of different colors, as you know from jpg, but with nodes, lines and objects (like a collection of mathematical graphs). This allows you to zoom in and out without the picture becoming blurry (among other things).

For the difference between RGB and CMYK, see Wikipedia for a good introduction. It's basically the difference between mixing light to get a color (like on a screen) and mixing pigments to get a color (like in a magazine).

Inkscape only partially supports CMYK - it cannot export it to pdf/png/tiff. Read more about this, and how to work around it, here: http://libregraphicsworld.org/blog/entry/getting-cmyk-colors-from-inkscape-to-scribus

But we should get you to PNG export first, before we start with the difficult things :)
Choose Export Area: Page, and enter 300 dpi in the dialog after setting the page size correctly and resizing the contents.

Regards,
 Maren

THANK YOU for the additional information. I have to quit now, but do see
what you mean. Perhaps I am using the wrong type of program to do the
task? All I want is to layer text over a photograph. If you have another
program to recommend, let me know. I just can't afford anything expensive.
You are very gracious and I will tackle this again tomorrow!
Cynthia

Cynthia H. Neely
Writer, Producer, Creative

On Mon, Jun 29, 2015 at 5:26 PM, Hachmann <
<email address hidden>> wrote:

> Your question #268637 on Inkscape changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/inkscape/+question/268637
>
> Status: Open => Answered
>
> Hachmann proposed the following answer:
> Hi Cynthia,
>
> making advertisements in CMYK with free and open source software is
> *not* an easy task for noobs. It took me several months to learn how to
> do it, and I'm still no master at this.
>
> First you need to learn all the printing vocabulary, and then you need
> to find a good workflow, using at least two different programs.
>
> For your first problem, setting the document size, you can enter any value
> in the dialog I pointed you to.
> File -> Document properties -> Custom size (in the middle)
>
> For your second problem, 'nothing happens' is a bit difficult to
> understand for me... Is it that you do not get a dialog, when you click
> on 'Export PNG Image'? Look at the right of the right scrollbar. There
> should be a new icon or text, symbolizing the dialog that does not want
> to open. Click on it. It should be open now (that's a known problem with
> dockable dialogs - change it in the settings: Edit -> Preferences ->
> Interface -> Windows, choose 'floating' instead of 'dockable').
>
> Vector images use a different way of describing an image - not with dots
> of different colors, as you know from jpg, but with nodes, lines and
> objects (like a collection of mathematical graphs). This allows you to
> zoom in and out without the picture becoming blurry (among other
> things).
>
> For the difference between RGB and CMYK, see Wikipedia for a good
> introduction. It's basically the difference between mixing light to get
> a color (like on a screen) and mixing pigments to get a color (like in a
> magazine).
>
> Inkscape only partially supports CMYK - it cannot export it to
> pdf/png/tiff. Read more about this, and how to work around it, here:
> http://libregraphicsworld.org/blog/entry/getting-cmyk-colors-from-
> inkscape-to-scribus
>
> But we should get you to PNG export first, before we start with the
> difficult things :)
> Choose Export Area: Page, and enter 300 dpi in the dialog after setting
> the page size correctly and resizing the contents.
>
> Regards,
> Maren
>
> --
> If this answers your question, please go to the following page to let us
> know that it is solved:
>
> https://answers.launchpad.net/inkscape/+question/268637/+confirm?answer_id=2
>
> If you still need help, you can reply to this email or go to the
> following page to enter your feedback:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/inkscape/+question/268637
>
> You received this question notification because you asked the question.
>

Hi Cynthia,

yes, I think in this case you might get quicker results with the free and open source Gimp:
http://www.gimp.org/ - which is a program to edit raster graphics, mainly photos - but you can add text layers, too, and there is CMYK support:

http://www.gimp.org/
http://askubuntu.com/questions/114858/how-to-convert-image-to-cmyk-in-gimp
(or google for Gimp, Tiff, CMYK and separate (the name of the extension that does the conversion))

You might also need a color profile from the magazine. Those are files ending with the extension .icc that describe all colors that can be used for printing (some colors just can't be printed with the dies they use).

I hope you'll succeed - if not, ask the magazine if they can make an exception. They will tell you 'ooooh - but then the colors may look ugly', of course - they don't want to be responsible for the conversion to CMYK, which can turn out quite bad in some cases....
but they might still make an exception. Let them send you a printing proof in pdf, so you can check the colors.

Good luck to you! (I yet have to find a simple, step-by-step click guide for a color workflow with open source software... from monitor calibration to output settings in scribus... Or gimp. It's a djungle for the non-printers... )

Kind regards,
 Maren