Gimp will give you a PDF and you can set it up for 300 ppi **but** Gimp is a RGB bitmap editor ( not CMYK) and text is converted to a bitmap (pixels) What you get is one large 'picture'.
Open your pre-PDF .XCF image, go to Image -> Print Resolution and check that you have the correct dimensions at 300 ppi.
The blurriness could be your editing of the medal and nothing much can be done about that. Another cause is small print. It might look great as a text layer in Gimp but not so good when it is rendered to a bitmap.
Not much you can do. Other printers might have a more relaxed attitude.
Gimp will give you a PDF and you can set it up for 300 ppi **but** Gimp is a RGB bitmap editor ( not CMYK) and text is converted to a bitmap (pixels) What you get is one large 'picture'.
Open your pre-PDF .XCF image, go to Image -> Print Resolution and check that you have the correct dimensions at 300 ppi.
The blurriness could be your editing of the medal and nothing much can be done about that. Another cause is small print. It might look great as a text layer in Gimp but not so good when it is rendered to a bitmap.
Not much you can do. Other printers might have a more relaxed attitude.
Sorry for being such a pest but I just can't seem to get this dpi/ppi data into my thick skull. (age probably has nothing to do with it!)
Is there some site that would help me "get it" better? I think I understand the concepts. Just can't figure out how to put it into practice.
Tried these: http://resources.printhandbook.com/answe...s-card.php & https://www.clickbusinesscards.com/faq/f...ution.html ...
I look at brandy's card resolution which says 100 dpi (print size). Everything I have been reading says 300 dpi minimum.
Should I just make a new graphic with business card size; 2.25 x 3.75 and resolution of 300 dpi? When I do that the width and height changes to .75 x 1.25.
10-19-2022, 07:37 PM (This post was last modified: 10-19-2022, 07:46 PM by rich2005.)
Do not worry about about asking questions, there are some here who really are pests.
Print size and resolution is something many beginners have problems with. In this case it is probably due to the brandy template card.ai which opens in Gimp same as a PDF. The default for a PDF is 100 ppi and it is up to the user to set 300 ppi. I think that is what happened, I mentioned it right at the start of that first video.
Gimp works in pixels and the mathematics is simple: size-in-inches x 300 ppi = size in pixels. So with the bleed margin included, it becomes 2.25" x 3.75" = 675 x 1125 pixels
Whatever you do, do not scale your small image up, It will make it blurry. If you need to start again, then start again.
Until you have that sorted in your mind, you can use the attached Gimp image. card.xcf.gz It is the brandy template + a medal layer Add whatever extra layers are required. A proper background to hide the template, a different medal up-to-you.
When it comes to adding text, do not make it too small, it becomes faint. The next one is rotating the image from Portrait to Landscape, That will introduce some bluring as well. Will Brandy accept the upright image ? Try them.
You can 'enhance' faint text just by duplicating the appropriate text layer.
When complete, save your work as a Gimp .xcf Export the same image as a png. Use the png image to make your PDF.
I don't worry about DPI. They only time it comes into play is when printing. If you want a 300 DPI print that is 10 inches x 10 inches multiply 10 inches by 300 dots per inch. For a 10 inch x 10 inch print at 300 DPI you would need an image that is 10 x 300 (3000 x 3000 pixels or larger).
(10-19-2022, 07:37 PM)rich2005 Wrote: Do not worry about about asking questions, there are some here who really are pests.
Print size and resolution is something many beginners have problems with. In this case it is probably due to the brandy template card.ai which opens in Gimp same as a PDF. The default for a PDF is 100 ppi and it is up to the user to set 300 ppi. I think that is what happened, I mentioned it right at the start of that first video.
Gimp works in pixels and the mathematics is simple: size-in-inches x 300 ppi = size in pixels. So with the bleed margin included, it becomes 2.25" x 3.75" = 675 x 1125 pixels
Whatever you do, do not scale your small image up, It will make it blurry. If you need to start again, then start again.
Until you have that sorted in your mind, you can use the attached Gimp image. card.xcf.gz It is the brandy template + a medal layer Add whatever extra layers are required. A proper background to hide the template, a different medal up-to-you.
When it comes to adding text, do not make it too small, it becomes faint. The next one is rotating the image from Portrait to Landscape, That will introduce some bluring as well. Will Brandy accept the upright image ? Try them.
You can 'enhance' faint text just by duplicating the appropriate text layer.
When complete, save your work as a Gimp .xcf Export the same image as a png. Use the png image to make your PDF.
I downloaded your template and will try again. The first PDF I sent them returned a comment of blurriness. I used my medal image that was 600 x 1500 & 744kb. I would use yours but was not smart enough (yet) to find how to put a drop shadow on it to make it stand out better. The original medal photo was 2400 x 3000 & 42.5mb which I masked off to remove the box it came with.
Attached are 3 screenshots hopefully showing my attempts.
10-20-2022, 08:30 AM (This post was last modified: 10-20-2022, 10:02 AM by rich2005.)
Your screenshots just confirm all the previous comments.
Look at the top of the Gimp Window where it shows the size 225 x 375 pixels. That prints @ 300 ppi quality 0.75" x 1.25" You send that to the printer, the printer scales it up, it becomes blurred, especially that small text.
Did you ever look at that video I posted ? Towards the end I said Do not use the on-screen text editing until you know what you are doing Selecting part of the text to adjust font / size is ok, but I still advise using separate text layers for each part. Makes editing that bit easier.
That selected section with text size 11 is too small and it looks like Chevalier of the is even smaller. I would not go below maybe 20 pix
As an example, different size text, original and rotated. Zoomed in you might see some additional antialiasing which makes the text a little fuzzy and often lighter.
Then the Real World View. What it looks like printed. Sorry this has to be a photo of the monitor to show a 'real inch scale' Go to View menu -> and untick dot-for-dot and set the zoom to 100%
Then it is up to you to decide on sizes.
Edit: I just looked at the Bodoni 72 font that you use. You might want to reconsider that one. Some of the character stokes are very thin. Get lost in small size text.
(10-20-2022, 08:30 AM)rich2005 Wrote: Your screenshots just confirm all the previous comments.
Look at the top of the Gimp Window where it shows the size 225 x 375 pixels. That prints @ 300 ppi quality 0.75" x 1.25" You send that to the printer, the printer scales it up, it becomes blurred, especially that small text.
Did you ever look at that video I posted ? Towards the end I said Do not use the on-screen text editing until you know what you are doing Selecting part of the text to adjust font / size is ok, but I still advise using separate text layers for each part. Makes editing that bit easier.
That selected section with text size 11 is too small and it looks like Chevalier of the is even smaller. I would not go below maybe 20 pix
As an example, different size text, original and rotated. Zoomed in you might see some additional antialiasing which makes the text a little fuzzy and often lighter.
Then the Real World View. What it looks like printed. Sorry this has to be a photo of the monitor to show a 'real inch scale' Go to View menu -> and untick dot-for-dot and set the zoom to 100%
Then it is up to you to decide on sizes.
Edit: I just looked at the Bodoni 72 font that you use. You might want to reconsider that one. Some of the character stokes are very thin. Get lost in small size text.
As they say in Mexico: "Uno Ves Mas" [One More Time]!
I have revised the template and am hopeful, this time, it's a go. I value your input:
10-20-2022, 05:53 PM (This post was last modified: 10-20-2022, 06:00 PM by rich2005.)
As they say in North-East England, "Near enough for pit-work"
Well give it a try. That smallest text might still be a little small. What does it look like with View -> Dot-for-dot off and zoom 100% Does it read OK ? (another look at it and I think it is suitable)
One error in the overall submittal The grey background layer (bg.png copy) should extend over the bleed margins (the blue area) At the moment it is the exact card size. The printer will cut the card to size after printing and that bleed is to allow for any small errors in cutting.
Save as a Gimp .xcf and also export as a png. Use the png image to make the PDF, that will avoid any unwanted information from text layers added to the PDF.
Another way is use an on-line conversion such as https://png2pdf.com/ free and makes good PDF's
10-20-2022, 06:20 PM (This post was last modified: 10-20-2022, 06:22 PM by nova.)
(10-20-2022, 05:53 PM)rich2005 Wrote: As they say in North-East England, "Near enough for pit-work"
Well give it a try. That smallest text might still be a little small. What does it look like with View -> Dot-for-dot off and zoom 100% Does it read OK ? (another look at it and I think it is suitable)
One error in the overall submittal The grey background layer (bg.png copy) should extend over the bleed margins (the blue area) At the moment it is the exact card size. The printer will cut the card to size after printing and that bleed is to allow for any small errors in cutting.
Save as a Gimp .xcf and also export as a png. Use the png image to make the PDF, that will avoid any unwanted information from text layers added to the PDF.
Another way is use an on-line conversion such as https://png2pdf.com/ free and makes good PDF's
As I used to say in NJ: "Close enough for Government work"
Thanks! Your new suggestions (and all the others, btw) have made it possible for bringing my blood pressure back down. :}
I made the changes, looked at the dot-for-dot, even used the magnifying glass and it looks spiffy to my tired old eyes. Just hope the printing company says the same.
Should I delete the template, or, does it matter?
Forgot to ask, is there a command to center everything?
You can delete the template if you want to but it is hidden by the grey layer.
Centering everything can be tricky. Gimp has an alignment tool, but watch your blood pressure.
This shows you how to use it https://logosbynick.com/center-a-layer-in-gimp/ Nick makes some good videos for Gimp
I geneally do it by eye, using the move tool on a layer and a centerline guide. The move tool shows a small center point marker. drag to the center line. It is something that comes with practice.
![[Image: OZPowM.jpg]](https://snipboard.io/OZPowM.jpg)
![[Image: OFhobv.jpg]](https://snipboard.io/OFhobv.jpg)
![[Image: UknbwH.jpg]](https://snipboard.io/UknbwH.jpg)
Selecting part of the text to adjust font / size is ok, but I still advise using separate text layers for each part. Makes editing that bit easier.![[Image: 6kBq7r.jpg]](https://snipboard.io/6kBq7r.jpg)
![[Image: KE5qJc.jpg]](https://snipboard.io/KE5qJc.jpg)