I'm using Inkscape 0.92.3 on windows 7 x64. I have a png file that I purchased that is 6666.66x6666.66 pixels, and 10 MB large.

I import it using file->Import and select "Embed" for the image import type, "From file" for the Image DPI, and None (auto) for the Image Rendering Mode (I have also tried selecting blocky to optimize speed).

I scale these down to about 5% of their original size and copy them a couple of time to make a nice pattern for printing. By the time four of them are on the screen inkscape is using almost 3 gigs of ram just to sit there and pasting any more of them causes inkscape to freeze at about 4 gigs of memory usage (I have 8 GB of ram install on this PC)

Is there anything I can do to alleviate these issues? I do not have to have the final file as an SVG if that makes a difference. I just need a good quality image to send to my printer, each image will be at the most 10 inches (about 1000x1000 pixels) The seller has sent the PNG files, some JPEG files and some PSD files (I tried opening the PSD file using an extension in Inkscape, however it looks like the PSD contains no vector information, it's just the rastor file saved as a PSD.

If you want to make it a pattern, use a pattern for it:

Object > Pattern > Object to Pattern.

Or resize the picture before you use it, if the large size isn't necessary (printing this on normal paper with 300dpi would give you a printout of about half a meter per picture (and you even repeat them).

For creating the pattern, you wouldn't necessarily need the images to be embedded. Use the linking option instead, and you'll be able to go further, before you reach the limits of your memory.

Whether you're going to use an Inkscape pattern (Object menu > Pattern > Object to Pattern), or whether you're just going to take a screenshot of the images to create a pattern, or maybe File menu > Export PNG, in the end, the images don't need to be embedded for that.

To use the linking option, you just need to make sure that the images stay where they are at the time when you import them. If you later move them to a new folder, or if you take the SVG file to another computer, then when you open the SVG file, Inkscape won't be able to find them. But as long as they stay where they are when you import them, Inkscape will be able to find them.

And if whatever you send to the printer is a PNG or the pattern made with Inkscape, those original images won't be needed, and it won't matter that the printer doesn't have them. You would only need to embed them if you need them to stay with the file.

Here's a little tutorial which covers all the things which can cause performance issues, and how to avoid them. You might find some other helpful tips here. https://forum.inkscapecommunity.com/ind ... article=35

Thanks for the responses! I'll check out things like the object to pattern and linking instead of embedding. I also made a copy of and reduced the size to about 15% of the original and that also helped tremendously. Is there a difference between object to pattern and just tiling them?

Yes, a pattern is only saved once in the file and then reused. I think it's also going to be faster to render, because it's optimized for repeating contents, but not sure.