Affinity designer SVG sizing

I have started using Affinity Designer instead of Inkscape, but I can’t figure out how to create an SVG that imports into the GF at the correct size. Every setting I’ve tried brings the SVG at the wrong size and I have to resize it manually in the GF which is really risky for something that needs to be sized precisely.

I have tried the dpi on the document resolution, the dpi on the export and various settings with no avail.

Has anyone figured out how to do this just as seamlessly as it is with an Inkscape SVG into the GF?

Thanks!

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The #1 culprit is having “Responsive” checked in the export settings, not the DPI. Here’s a great resource that will get your AD exports dialed in…

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I use Affinity and start with a template, Glowforge bed size 12"x20" (304.8mm x 508mm) and doing all my designs on that template and all my designs come out sized correctly. I also just export all my designs as a PDF, and send them to the Glowforge.

Hope that helps

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Same thought process as @numosbk, I have created a ‘preset’ for everything I make;

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Just export as PDF instead. :slight_smile:

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This was perfect, finally I got this fixed for both my Glowforge and also for Easel/X-Carve which had the same problem. As long as I export with these settings, from that link, I’m golden it seems. Thanks again!

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There are three ways to have files import correctly into the Glowforge user interface:

  1. Save your SVG at 96 DPI. Illustrator and recent versions of Inkscape do this by default. Some other programs (including Affinity Designer) default to other DPI values but Glowforge expects 96 dots per inch.
  2. Or you can set the page size to 20" wide and 12" tall when creating a document. When the Glowforge software sees a file with this exact aspect ratio it will size it will automatically assume that it’s this size, even if it’s not 96 DPI.
  3. Or you can just save as PDF instead. PDF files use real-world measurements (e.g., inches or mm) so they should always import at the correct size. Whereas SVG mostly uses pixel dimensions, which will vary in size depending on the DPI setting.
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Glad you got that sorted. :+1:

Good to know as well, thank you.

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