Illustrator artboard is smaller in dashboard

[brantholland]

I am using an artboard in illustrator that measures 12x12. After I export the artboard to svg and upload it to the glowforge dashboard the image measures 9x9. Does anyone know why?

[kittski]

I’m going to guess it has to do with your settings in illustrator. Different programs each have different settings that are needed to save SVGs correctly so they don’t resize when imported into the GUI, and this is the one for Illustrator. And this is a very common question and if you want more details as to why etc., a quick search should bring it up. If that doesn’t help, let us know and I’m sure an AI user will chime in.

File size changes when uploaded from Illustrator

Yeah for newer versions of Illustrator the correct settings look like this: [image] Just one thing…You don’t actually have a full 12" x 12", you have 19.4" x 10.95" for cutting, and less than that for engraving. (You are limited by how far the head can reach.) But in any case, you’re limited to slightly less than 11 inches tall, not 12 inches. When I design anything in AI, I make sure it will fit on a 19.4" x 10.9" space. I still use a 12" x 20" artboard though, because if you set your art…

Here’s a more comprehensive listing of other programs just in case.

Glowforge Interface - Correctly Save a File as an SVG for the GFUI

For All Programs: If you want to engrave a bitmap (raster) style image and include it inside a vector SVG file, you need to Embed the image in the file if you want it to stay aligned inside the SVG file. Otherwise you will need to re-load the raster file and use the camera to align it visually. (That’s fine, but you will completely lose the benefit of more accurate alignment that you get from the design software.) There are instructions for how to Embed raster images for some of the main 2D…

[beerfaced]

I believe you have to export at 96 DPI to keep the correct measurements.

[yoyodyne2112]

If you use PDF format to transfer your work to the Glowforge UI, all measurements will be maintained and accurate.

[EddieC]

When you upload the file to GF it doesn’t load the artboard it’s self just the artwork. is your artwork 9 x 9 best way to ensure it’s the correct size is to add a 1" square to the Illustrator file and then check it for size in the bet.

[brantholland]

Good point. I made sure the artwork was 12 wide in illustrator. That’s the dimension I am focused on.

[brantholland]

Thank you for this kittski. I’ll give it a deep look later today.

[brantholland]

Hi Kittski,

That’s exactly what it was. The export settings in Illustrator needed tweaking. What I also found is that if I save as to svg instead of export it does not mess with the dimensions. Thank you so much for your help. I am getting close to having a really cool completed design.

B

[tim1724]

There are three ways to make artwork import into the Glowforge interface at the correct size. Any one of these should fix the problem.

1. Export as PDF instead of SVG. A PDF file stores sizes in actual units (inches or centimeters) so it should always import at the correct size.
2. When exporting SVG, make sure it’s set to export at 96 DPI. The Glowforge always assumes that SVG files using pixel dimensions (which is nearly all SVGs) use 96 pixels per inch. If you export your SVG at anything other than 96 DPI then it will be scaled incorrectly when loading it into the Glowforge interface. Illustrator also has a “responsive” checkbox in its export settings that must be unchecked.
3. Use a 20"x12" artboard. The Glowforge software special-cases files with this aspect ratio and ignores its usual assumption of 96 DPI.

[kittski]

Oh nice, glad it was a simple fix! And I can’t wait to see what cool stuff you making.

[brantholland]

Thanks. This will give you an idea of where I am heading. I’m still testing the design with cardstock. I keep learning new things and revising the design and the construction. I can’t wait to have a finished product in wood.

B

[Brandon.B]

Hi @brantholland. That’s a great design you shared! I’m sorry to see you ran into some trouble with your design appearing smaller in the Glowforge app than it did in the artboard prepared in Adobe Illustrator. It looks like you were able to get this resolved from help from our fellow Glowforge owners, so I’ll go ahead and close this thread. Feel free to create a new thread, or write us at support@glowforge.com if you run into any further trouble. Thank you!