Since Inkscape doesn't support CMYK or spot colours, I need to run my documents through Scribus before sending them to the printers. (If there's a better way, I'd love to know.) But I'm encountering problems when trying to open files containing blur effects.

If I open the original Inkscape SVG or a "Plain SVG" export in Scribus, I get a dialog saying "SVG file contains some unsupported features" and the blur does not appear. If I export to PS or EPS, the blur shows but the positioning and document size is slightly out, because the postscript positioning is always rounded to the nearest whole point size. If I use PDF, the size is right and the blur shows up in Evince but not in Scribus.

So what format should I use to get my drawings from Inkscape into Scribus when they contain blur effects?

I'm using Inkscape 1:0.48+devel+11135+31~oneiric1 from the PPA, Scribus 1.4.0.dfsg-1, under Ubuntu 11.10.

There's not much I can say that would be helpful. But I want to make you aware of this extension, which allows exporting Inkscape files to PDF using the CMYK color print model. I don't know what you mean about "spot colors" so perhaps this won't be a solution. But you seem very technically knowledgeable and creative, so maybe you can use it somehow. viewtopic.php?f=11&t=5943

When you go through PDF does the blur show up in Scribus output? There are settings to simplify what is displayed in the image boxes to save computing time, so sometimes WYSINWYG... Just because it isn't on the screen doen't always mean that it won't appear in the output.

EDIT: I'm not sure that Scribus actually supports Blur in vector imports at all. I did a quick test and you're absolutely right - the PDF containing a blurred object looks right in a PDF viewer but the blur is not there in Scribus (though I'm still using Scribus 1.3.3.12) and not there in the scribus output. Best to ask on the Scribus forum (below). It's a poor second choice, but for print I output PNG from Inkscape at the right resolution and use GIMP to convert to uncompressed (or LZW lossless) TIFF. I know, I know .....

you can also find help at http://forums.scribus.net/index.php

EDIT: Brynn .... spot colours are another way of defining single colours. It is usually used where there are a limited number of colours in a graphic artwork, but are also widely used to define colours in other areas of design. We used them to define the paintwork for consumer products. In the old days we used to pick the colour we wanted from a Pantone or RAL cards clipped together in a swatch. No doubt nowadays there are more modern ways of picking the colour, but the principle is the same: Pantone (or whoever) sort out the colour standard and sell expensive picking charts to printers and designers. You pick the colour you want (including gloss levels etc) and write down the unique colour code. You pass the code to the printer (or painter, or molder or whoever) along with a mask showing where exactly the colour appears on the design. The printer can then use the code to work from the colour standard produced by Pantone (or RAL rtc. etc.) to make an exact match of the colour and apply it to the area indicated by the mask.

It's a really good system for logos, product casings, letter heads, screen printed labelling on keypads etc. You can put a simple code on a technical drawing to define a colour- if you think about it - how else could you define the colour of a product?

brynn wrote:There's not much I can say that would be helpful. But I want to make you aware of this extension, which allows exporting Inkscape files to PDF using the CMYK color print model.

Interesting. But that completely rasterises the output, so it's less than ideal. I'll see what else I can get first. Thanks anyway.

fizzcat wrote:EDIT: I'm not sure that Scribus actually supports Blur in vector imports at all. I did a quick test and you're absolutely right - the PDF containing a blurred object looks right in a PDF viewer but the blur is not there in Scribus (though I'm still using Scribus 1.3.3.12) and not there in the scribus output. Best to ask on the Scribus forum (below). It's a poor second choice, but for print I output PNG from Inkscape at the right resolution and use GIMP to convert to uncompressed (or LZW lossless) TIFF. I know, I know .....

Yeah, I checked this too, and it drops the blur. I'll ask on a Scribus board then.

EDIT: Brynn .... spot colours are another way of defining single colours. It is usually used where there are a limited number of colours in a graphic artwork, but are also widely used to define colours in other areas of design.

They really come into their own when you're dealing with fluorescent or metallic paint, or embossed output. But I just use them because they colour is more reliable across different kinds of output material (paper, vinyl, cloth, etc).

detly wrote:They really come into their own when you're dealing with fluorescent or metallic paint, or embossed output. But I just use them because they colour is more reliable across different kinds of output material (paper, vinyl, cloth, etc).

Hmmm. It shouldn't be so, but of course you are right. A significant factor is the shift in responsibility for getting the colour match. You use a spot colour and the printer has the responsibility for getting the colour right.

fizzcat wrote:

detly wrote:They really come into their own when you're dealing with fluorescent or metallic paint, or embossed output. But I just use them because they colour is more reliable across different kinds of output material (paper, vinyl, cloth, etc).

Hmmm. It shouldn't be so, but of course you are right. A significant factor is the shift in responsibility for getting the colour match. You use a spot colour and the printer has the responsibility for getting the colour right.

Well... maybe. After all, CMYK is really a low level detail, and describes the mixing of ink that comes out of the printer. Spot colors are abstractions — designated areas of a certain appearance. So there is a shift in responsibility, but I don't know that it "shouldn't be so."

Besides, I think companies like Pantone do most of the work in matching colors to materials. Anyway, this is digressing!