Posts by ldina

  • Affinity Layout does not support OpenDocument Format (ODF)

    I wouldn't hold my breath. OTF ODF support is probably extremely low on Affinity's priority list (if it's even on the list at all).

    Many apps (e.g., Word, Libre Office, etc) that support OTF ODF will probably allow you or your customer to Save As or Export text documents to other commonly supported file formats, such as rich text format, plain text, and perhaps a few others. That's probably the best approach until/if OTF is supported by Affinity.

    (Edited above post to strikeout OTF, which was a typo, and insert ODF. )

  • Image Trace Issue - Feature Limitation or Bug?

    In my opinion, Affinity's Image Trace is half-baked and not very flexible. It works pretty well with some images, (if you don't mind generating thousands of vector shapes), but very poorly on others. There is very limited control over parameters. They probably need different "modes" or models for different tracing functions, e.g., engineering line drawings, simple logo outlines, photos, a feature that stacks or puts pieces together like a puzzle, the ability to limit the number of colors, brightness levels, etc. Those two sliders are simple, but inadequate for most tracing needs. Maybe this is just their first iteration and they plan to add other capabilities gradually, but it's a weak attempt as currently implemented. Affinity's vector trace is miles behind many other programs that have been out many years. Seems to me they just wanted to add "Image/vector trace" to their marketing list so they can say they have it. I hope their initial attempt is just phase one and that they add capabilities and flexibility going forward.

    That said, it does work fairly well on some images. Just my opinion after playing around with it a fair amount.

  • RADIAL GRID

    I don't thing radial grids are supported in Affinity, and Ask Ritson seems to corroborate that view. You may have to create your own "grid" or template based on what you need on a separate layer, but it's not automatic.

  • making faded edges?

    The following is simple and works okay. The drawback is that it tends to "round off" the corners where the glow effect 'doubles up', which you may not want. You can play with the various sliders and layer blend modes and see if you get the effect you want or not.

    Target your pixel layer. Add a Layer FX (FX icon at the bottom of the Layers panel). Select "Inner Glow" and adjust the sliders, color of the 'glow' and blend mode to suit. You can see the 'rounding' at the corners in the screenshot below.


    Another option is to create a rectangular selection with the rectangle marquee tool. Feather the selection. Invert the selection (Shift-Cmd-I), then apply a Gaussian Blur. Again, some rounding will occur at the corners.

  • Delay when Exporting

    I'm curious if anybody else is seeing this...

    Lately, when exporting an AF file to JPEG, there is a delay of about 2 seconds before the Save Location Window pops up to select the folder I want to save into. At least for me, this is a new phenomenon. I'm using a MacBook Pro, M4 48GB, Tahoe 26.1 Maybe it's Affinity or perhaps Tahoe?

    Thanks.

  • Open an untagged CMYK TIFF file without assigning a working profile

    Spaltentrennlinie Assigning a profile never changes the underlying numbers…just their appearance, since the assigned profile is used to “interpret” what those numbers are in LAB terms. Lab, or a variant, is used as the universal ‘translator’ in the background.

    The differences between the color picker and the info panel readouts is a long-standing one, and at the moment I forget what causes that. Rounding may play a part.

    Adobe and Affinity use different color engines, and also, rounding comes into play, so colors may not always be identical between the two. It’s been a while since I used Photoshop, but as I recall, files are always color managed, even if the user chooses to save the file untagged (i.e., mystery meat!).

  • Open an untagged CMYK TIFF file without assigning a working profile

    Quote from Greg

    Either you keep the file in CMYK when it is intended solely for print, or you assign an RGB profile such as sRGB IEC 61966-2.1. sRGB covers a noticeably wider colour gamut than CMYK, which provides greater latitude for further processing and helps preserve tonal detail that would otherwise be lost.

    Yes, the "overall color gamut" is larger, but there are MANY CMYK colors that will get clipped when using sRGB. Even Adobe RGB clips some cyans and other colors. For print work, Adobe RGB or DCI-P3 are often a better choice for colorful originals since they clip fewer CMYK reproducible colors. Less colorful images do fine with sRGB since they are usually within most decent CMYK gamuts.

    RGB and CMYK color spaces usually overlap, have different shapes and aren't concentric. Just wanted to clarify that.

  • Fun facts within the Affinity app

    Quote from loukash

    … and replace *** with the name of your favorite artist, actor, musician, polititian, cartoon character…

    OMG!!!....that's hilarious. I just asked Popeye the Sailor to explain how a Curves Adjustment works!! Too damn funny! Thanks for the laugh. I'll never ask again without invoking some character. I wonder how Foghorn Leghorn will work? (I've gotta try it!! :D)

  • Affinity Studio in Professional Print Workflows

    Quote from loukash

    This can become very complex

    That's for sure!

    I've done a lot of B&W and toned monochrome printing on inkjets over the years, some with RIPs, some just using the OEM printer driver (and custom built printer profiles). With an accurate printer profile for your printer/paper/ink combination, you can get great B&W or monochrome prints from an RGB file. Inkjet "blacks" are often not dead neutral, (typically a bit brownish black), so it's common for other ink colors to be introduced to neutralize your blacks. Some ink colors, especially yellows, tend to result in metamerism (colors shifting under different light sources) or can emit a metallic sheen on some papers. Ideally, your printer will have multiple blacks...i.e., black, dark gray, light gray, light light gray, etc, for good coverage and tonal gradation through out the tonal scale. Covering the entire tonal range with a single black ink and no additional grays will result is graininess and loss of some detail in the light end of the tonal scale. That is one approach.

    Many inkjets (moderate to higher end) have dedicated B&W or Monochrome 'print modes" designed specifically by printer OEMs for use with their OEM ink sets and papers. Typically, you will print an sRGB image using these special modes, which results in a B&W or monochrome print (settings vary by printer). Again, these usually use multiple black inks, and since the OEM has tweaked the settings, the results are often very good (at least on the OEM's papers).

    A third inkjet option is to use dedicated monochrome ink sets instead of the standard CMYK++ ink set suppled by the OEM. These are usually 3rd party ink sets and require a lot of extra work, profiling, testing, applications, etc, but the results can be impressive once things are dialed in. That's a lot of work for most people and usually isn't worth it unless doing a lot of higher end monochrome work.

    Even if you use a Grayscale color mode, the output of your inkjet print is at the mercy of the printer profile's accuracy.

    Jobs destined for a Press is another long discussion, which gets more complicated and has a lot of variables.

    Since most people don't build their own custom inkjet printer profiles, you can try to find ICC profiles online from your paper manufacturer. Quality paper suppliers provide custom profiles for their papers and popular printers. They are often very good and yield good results. They want people to buy their papers, so they want your prints to look good, and without an accurate profile, color shifts will be noticeable, especially with monochrome prints.

    Hope this helps.

  • Affinity Studio in Professional Print Workflows

    MikeOT Many people have successfully used Publisher (now part of the integrated v3) to submit suitable PDFs for Press. While it can certainly be done, it takes extra knowledge and care, sometimes a little rework, and access to a good PDF analysis tool is highly recommended (Acrobat Pro, Callas PDF Toolbox, etc). If you have full control over all content, placed imagery, design (especially placed PDF files). etc, it can be done successfully.

    For a production workflow, I'd be more cautious about using Affinity, since things tend to be faster paced and you are likely to be supplied with various flavors of PDF and PDF/X, vector art, CMYK and RGB images, different color spaces, content in PSD and AI file formats, etc. Affinity uses PDF-LIB to generate final PDFs, plus Affinity has some very restrictive 'hierarchy rules' for exporting to PDF, does not support PDF v1.3 (PDF/X-1a:2001), all of which can result in surprises. Affinity always uses an RGB Transparency Blending Space since CMYK Transparency Blend Space is not available at the present time. Affinity does not have a "Preserve Black" (K-only) capability, so it is all too easy to end up with 4/C black and line art when doing conversions. And rasterization of vector work can happen unexpectedly for a number or reasons. For these, and other reasons, a good PDF analysis tool is essential to check the final PDF for conformance and fixes.

    With adequate knowledge, some possible rework, etc, Publisher can be made to work for Press. Personally, I've chosen not to use it for Press work for the above reasons, though I'm sure I could make it work, since I usually have total control over all content, no time pressure, and a working copy of Acrobat Pro (CS6) for analysis and fix-ups. For a faster-paced production workflow, I'd be a bit more cautious, especially if I had to collaborate with other designers using InDesign.

    Hopefully, those who do use Affinity for Press work will weigh in. They may well disagree with my assessment and be able to provide better guidance and assurances on the viability of Affinity for Press, depending on your workflow and needs.

  • New Features in Affinity Studio

    Paul, I just tried the Glitch filter on a simple trapezoid shape and the vector shape remains vector, even though the effect of the Glitch Filter (I used Blast below) is clearly visible. In this example, the trapezoid shape shows up as a vector curve layer because I converted the trapezoid to Curves first. It also works the same on a Trapezoid Shape layer (ie, not converted to curves). Seems to retain the vector underneath. I was even able to select the vector layer after adding the Glitch filter, and adjust the nodes to the vector layer without a problem. Works nicely.