Inkscape

Kommentare: Because Inkscape is able to work with many different image formats, it has enabled me to convert raster images to vectors at work, making it possible to print high quality promotional material. Its ability to open and modify PDF and AI (Adobe Illustrator) files is a real plus, as designers will often send their work in those formats. I have encountered a few frustrations while using it, but my overall experience is definitely positive and I would recommend this software any day of the week to any person getting into vector graphics design. Inkscape is a polished piece of software, working as expected on all major platforms (Windows, MacOS and Linux). For some rare corner cases, it even provides a built-in XML editor, allowing you to edit textually any detail of your creation, which can surprisingly be easier to understand by abstracting away the user interface in a readable format. It can be overwhelming to learn how to use all of its features, but there are great resources available on Internet and in the "Help" menu in Inkscape, including a lengthy manual and tutorials ranging from basic to advanced level.

Vorteile: One of the features I like the most about Inkscape, apart from the fact that it is an open source (free) software, is its ability to convert bitmap images to vectors, which can be done in a variety of ways depending on the desired result (brightness cutoff, edge detection, color quantization, etc.). The Bezier tool is also very intuitive to use, even more so than in other applications such as GIMP, which doesn't support paths and SVG as well as Inkscape. Using the Bezier, you can either draw an approximate path to be modified later or add precise curves along the way to minimize the work to be done after the path is created. Some tools, like Spray, Eraser and Gradient, provide some handy shortcuts to create absolutely interesting effects without much effort. For instance, Spray can take another object as a selection, the Eraser automatically redraws the modified paths without the erased part and the Gradient tool can take as an argument the average color in a selection. Most of the commonly used tools are present by default, but you can choose to move or remove many of them. Amongst those tools, there are many snapping behaviors available that can be turned on and off quickly along with many more windows that can pop up or be reduced on demand. It takes some time to get used to the way windows can be rearranged, but it provides greater flexibility down the road.

Nachteile: Inkscape is filled with so many options that the default interface can look like a mess on small resolution screens: hopefully, it is possible to remove less used buttons by customizing the interface. Sometimes, when working with images that render a very high amount of details by applying filters, the software becomes slow and may unexpectedly crash. Unfortunately, it is a hard problem to avoid, the only available choice being to use as few filters as possible until the very end. Without using extensions, it is also hard to position guides according to your needs: you have to do manual calculations to make sure you can properly align guides between them. There are many ways to snap objects together, but it's still tricky to try to center a vertex from one object to the center point between two other points from only a portion of a second object: again, manual calculations need to be involved. On smaller screens of less than 17 inches, many long menus when selecting cover up to the bottom of the screen, making it impossible to read the description for each tool that appears in the bottom part of the main window that stays beneath the menu, leading to forceful experimentation in order to guess what each option does.

Kommentare: Considering it is a free platform, I have actually enjoyed the high quality material I can develop using it. Moreover, its cross-functionality is amazing, I can easily open PDF or AI files to edit and modify.

Vorteile: The software is user-friendly and runs on many platforms. It helps with my ongoing daily routine tasks. The best thing about it is that its absolutely free. You dont have to pay a penny.

Nachteile: It doesnt have a lot of options or functions to offer, very limited. Also, its interface is not very attractive unlike the other platforms.

Kommentare: Right now, Inkscape is indispensable for me and my design career. Even though Inkscape is an open-source and free application, that doesn't mean it's inferior to paid alternatives in any way. Sure, Illustrator has its great set of features, but Inkscape is nowhere lesser. I have not needed to switch to any other alternative. It gets the job done really well! Love it!

Vorteile: It is very easy to use. It has a very friendly interface. It's really feature-packed. It has some out-of-the-box features equivalent to those in Adobe Illustrator but for free! It's open-source and get updated regularly. I love you can even work with PDF files natively. Also, I rely on the "trace bitmap" feature a lot: it's great to reuse royalty-free bitmaps on a quick design or just for inspiration. Inkscape is amazing and free!

Nachteile: I WISH it supported the Adobe Illustrator format (ai) but it's too much to ask as that is a proprietary file format. Also, some fundamental actions are complicated to implement: for example, setting default document properties shouldn't require to save a file in a specific folder or exporting your artwork as a .jpeg file shouldn't require an extension; those actions should be more straight forward.

Kommentare: Inkscape is a great solution for someone working alone or wanting to learn principles of vector graphic creation. I was surprised at how robust it is. That said, I need to be able output artwork and formats that my printers are going to easily be able to work with, without loss of I was surprised at how robust it is. That said, I need to be able to output artwork and formats that my printers are going to easily be able to work with, without loss of fidelity in translation.

Vorteile: Number one, I appreciated that it was available free of charge. For a product that is open source, it has some powerful functionality.

Nachteile: At the end of the day, working in a collaborative varmint or environments, it’s important to be working with similar tools. In my case, working with multiple teams of creatives means It is much easier to collaborate if we’re all using the same tool.

Kommentare: I am a HUGE FAN of this program! Using Inkscape, in conjunction with GIMP, I have created a lot of quality content over the past few years-- all with no investment!

Vorteile: Inkscape is extremely easy to use-- so easy, in fact, that I even train some of my clients on how to use this fantastic software to generate their own social content. The UI is clean, user-friendly, and plays wells with multiple display setups. Rendering is very powerful-- I have created physical & digital billboards, massive banner, and vehicle wraps all with this FREE, open-sourced software.

Nachteile: Performance can be a minor issue on certain machines (runs incredibly well on Linux Mint).
Little to no CMYK support, but if you find the right print shop and select appropriate colors, that can be a non-issue.
Some complicated images can be a little glitchy both in the program and after export, but I can always find a quick workaround with little effort.