Help with Glowforge using full 20" width

[dharden333]

I am having issues with Glowforge Pro not using the full 20" width on proofgrade material. The artwork gets resized down to smaller, and I don’t understand why this is happening. Anyone else having this issue?

[jestelle]

What tool are you using to create your artwork? There’s a somewhat long standing problem with Illustrator, which uses an different DPI which can cause things to resize.

If you are using Illustrator, try copy/pasting instead of saving as SVG.
Or, export as SVG, and make sure [ ] responsive is not checked.
Or, try PDFs

If all else fails, you can use the ruler in GFUI, and type “* 1.3333” after whatever is in there, and it’ll scale it up fixing for the difference in DPI that Illustrator has.

Here’s some discussion of the issue:

Adobe Illustrator - Don't check Responsive when exporting to SVG

Don’t check this box! [image] I learned the hard way that checking the Responsive box when exporting to SVG results in your design being shrunk to 75% expected size when uploaded to the Glowforge UI. Here’s a 1" square uploaded to the Glowforge UI as a responsive SVG and non-responsive SVG [image] For anyone who wants to recreate the issue: 1" square svg (non-responsive) 1" square svg (responsive)

And you’ll find lots more searching these forums for things like, “sizing”, “resize”, etc

Good luck!

[dharden333]

I did the design in Inkscape, so do I have to import it into Adobe Illustrator?

[dharden333]

The original design was drawn in Adobe. I don’t know how to use Illustrator, so I will try to find these settings you have listed. Thanks for the assist!

[dklgood]

If you design in Inkscape, set the document as 12 x 20 inches and save as a plain svg. This should insure that the file remains the same size when opened in the Glowforge interface.

[jestelle]

@dharden333

do I have to import it into Adobe Illustrator

Nope! I was just guessing that maybe you were using Illustrator, artwork getting resized smaller can happy easily there.

[jestelle]

@dharden333

The original design was drawn in Adobe. I don’t know how to use Illustrator, so I will try to find these settings you have listed. Thanks for the assist!

Hmmm. No need to learn Illustrator if you’re comfortable with Inkscape.
But maybe this design starting in Adobe caused your problem.

I’m less familiar with Inkscape, but if you have an option to set the DPI when you export, set it to 96 dpi. That may address this problem too.

[ChristyM]

Also, you can’t use the entire 20" bed. It’s like 19.5" max.

[deirdrebeth]

This - no matter the program you use. The bed is 20" wide, but the max width for art is less than that, and will change depending on the speed you select, or the function.

Bring your ideas to life.

[dharden333]

Okay, now that is the only explanation that is making sense, because I’ve tried everything else. I just don’t like wasting space on the wood that I need. But thank you for the input! Very helpful!

[JuliaA]

Thanks for the answers @jestelle and @ChristyM, you are both right! Thank you for clarifying and helping out here. I’m going to close this thread - if you have other questions about printable area, go ahead and write in to us at support@glowforge.com, or open a new thread!