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export Eagle .brd file into image with same size ?

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rngd

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Hi,

Anyone know how I can export the Eagle .brd file into an image file with the same dimensions/size ? I tried the 'export' function in the program, but the image is a different size when I print it with MS Word..

So far I've seen a method using the GIMP program, but its quite complicated. Any simpler solutions ?

Thanks guys.

edit:typo
 
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Why would you print an image using a word processor? That makes no sense. Just print directly from Eagle, as 3v0 said. Otherwise use a graphics program to print it.

Note that exporting to an image and then printing from that will never look as good (using Eagle) as just printing directly, since the image export function produces a rasterized file format (i.e. PNG) which will have the "jaggies". The printing function uses a nice smooth vector format to print, so your diagonal lines and curves won't look all pixellated when you print.


Torben
 
On the beta version there is a PDF button in the print dialog box. Selecting it will produce a PDF file which scales without pixels. It is works well for documentation. I used it to print schematics scaled from a single page to nine pages. Looks great execpt for the tape lines.
 
3v0 said:
On the beta version there is a PDF button in the print dialog box. Selecting it will produce a PDF file which scales without pixels. It is works well for documentation. I used it to print schematics scaled from a single page to nine pages. Looks great execpt for the tape lines.

Yep, it's a nice feature--but it's still in "Print..." and not in "Export...". I can see why they chose the Print dialog for it, but it would be more accurate to put it in Export, since that's what it's doing.

Ah well, I still love and use Eagle and I like the betas. I just wish there was an option to choose "non-early-1990's DOS-style weird editor interface" though. Selecting, grouping, and moving/copying is just bizarre. Usable but annoying.


Torben
 
Guys, the reason I tried to export it as an image file and print with MS Word is because I do not have a laser printer, and I want to save it as an image and bring it to another PC (which does not have Eagle) to print.

I do use the Print function when Im printing from my PC with my bubble jet printer.
 
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rngd said:
Guys, the reason I tried to export it as an image file and print with MS Word is because I do not have a laser printer, and I want to save it as an image and bring it to another PC (which does not have Eagle) to print.

I do use the Print function when Im printing from my PC with my bubble jet printer.

No offense, but that's still no reason to use a word processor for image work. If the target machine has anything (and I mean *anything*) graphical on it, use that. If you're using Windows (you still haven't said) then even just double-clicking on the image file should bring it up in a viewer which should be able to print it, assuming the Windows installation isn't hideously broken.

In your situation, I would suggest downloading the Eagle beta and using its Print to PDF function to generate a PDF file, which is intended for stuff like this. Scaling might take a couple of tries to get right but the image quality will be much better.

If you do use the Eagle beta, just *don't* save your files while using it (or if you must save them, save them to new files), or you won't be able to open them again in the old Eagle.


Good luck,

Torben
 
I always edit my files just before printing using plain simple PAINT.

From Eagle, select File, Export..., Image

From the pop-up window, you need to select the destination of the file, Monochrome, and then the highest resolution your printer can print e.g. 600. I have found the higher you make the resolution, the finer the detail in the *.BMP file. You must remember that this is a GRAPHIC export, and it will export everything that is selected for display. You need to manually change the "display" settings to only show the desired Bottom (or Top) layer, Pads and Vias

Once the file is exported, you need to open it with PAINT, from the menu select "Image" and then "Invert Colors". You can now edit the file as required and print. With all the times I've used this method, I have never had a size mismatch. Just remember!!! *.BMP files are MASSIVE. To transfer the file to another PC, I would ZIP it.

Hope this helps you
 
SPDCHK said:
I always edit my files just before printing using plain simple PAINT.

From Eagle, select File, Export..., Image

From the pop-up window, you need to select the destination of the file, Monochrome, and then the highest resolution your printer can print e.g. 600. I have found the higher you make the resolution, the finer the detail in the *.BMP file. You must remember that this is a GRAPHIC export, and it will export everything that is selected for display. You need to manually change the "display" settings to only show the desired Bottom (or Top) layer, Pads and Vias

Once the file is exported, you need to open it with PAINT, from the menu select "Image" and then "Invert Colors". You can now edit the file as required and print. With all the times I've used this method, I have never had a size mismatch. Just remember!!! *.BMP files are MASSIVE. To transfer the file to another PC, I would ZIP it.

Hope this helps you

Just out of curiosity, why use .bmp instead of PNG or even TIFF?


Torben
 
Torbin,
I used to do the same thing. Export to BMP, ZIP and print from Paint on a computer at work. For some reason, if you export as a BMP the DPI info gets stored in the file and Paint prints the image the intended size. But the GIF, PNG or TIFF formats don't scale properly when you open them with Windoze Paint. Maybe those file formats don't support embedded DPI information or, more likely, Paint doesn't support DPI for these formats because they are not M$ formats.
 
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Torben said:
Just out of curiosity, why use .bmp instead of PNG or even TIFF?
Torben

Honestly, I used the default file format that was offered by PAINT. It's only quite recently that I learned that PNG is 100% the same as BMP yet nearly 99% smaller. That's the problem with us old folk :rolleyes: . We don't look around for new things unless someone else (like yourself) makes us aware that other options exist.
 
kchriste said:
Torbin,
I used to do the same thing. Export to BMP, ZIP and print from Paint on a computer at work. For some reason, if you export as a BMP the DPI info gets stored in the file and Paint prints the image the intended size. But the GIF, PNG or TIFF formats don't scale properly when you open them with Windoze Paint. Maybe those file formats don't support embedded DPI information or, more likely, Paint doesn't support DPI for these formats because they are not M$ formats.

No, they do. PNG and TIFF are both professional image transfer formats, although TIFF is a bit long in the tooth and has so many sub-formats it's hard to say for sure what any given TIFF file will look like inside. PNG handles it no problem. Exporting to PNG and BMP from Eagle (non-beta) and opening the files using the GIMP shows that the DPI information has been saved just fine.

I suspect it's Paint which is to blame. Not sure, never been tempted to use it for anything more than drawing a rectangle.


Torben
 
I figured that would be the case, but I was stuck with MS Paint at work so I couldn't use anything else at the time.
 
Thanks for all the info everyone.

SPDCHK said:
I always edit my files just before printing using plain simple PAINT.

From Eagle, select File, Export..., Image

From the pop-up window, you need to select the destination of the file, Monochrome, and then the highest resolution your printer can print e.g. 600. I have found the higher you make the resolution, the finer the detail in the *.BMP file. You must remember that this is a GRAPHIC export, and it will export everything that is selected for display. You need to manually change the "display" settings to only show the desired Bottom (or Top) layer, Pads and Vias

Once the file is exported, you need to open it with PAINT, from the menu select "Image" and then "Invert Colors". You can now edit the file as required and print. With all the times I've used this method, I have never had a size mismatch. Just remember!!! *.BMP files are MASSIVE. To transfer the file to another PC, I would ZIP it.

Hope this helps you

OK, I did this, like what SPD and kchriste did, but when I print it with Paint the size is larger by about 0.3 cm ? Do you all print directly from Paint without having any size changes ? I set the DPI to 600.
 
Exporting Eagle PCB layouts

Hi all,

micrografx picture publisher can handle all kinds of formats. Export the file from eagle to your desired folder. Open it with picture publisher (I'm still using ver 6.0 with limited filename length (8 characters)) and print it without any change. If it is not to scale you can scale it to any factor and the result will be a true image.

Regards

Hans
 
Boncuk said:
Hi all,

micrografx picture publisher can handle all kinds of formats. Export the file from eagle to your desired folder. Open it with picture publisher (I'm still using ver 6.0 with limited filename length (8 characters)) and print it without any change. If it is not to scale you can scale it to any factor and the result will be a true image.

Regards

Hans

Do you know how print without size change without having to install anything ? Meaning just with the basic programs in Windows.
 
rngd said:
OK, I did this, like what SPD and kchriste did, but when I print it with Paint the size is larger by about 0.3 cm ? Do you all print directly from Paint without having any size changes ? I set the DPI to 600.
I only did this on one computer/printer combination at work. Is your printer's scaling set to 100%? How large is your PCB that is 3mm out? The board I did was 4" x 7" (10.2cm x 17.8cm). I used 600dpi which matched the printer resolution and it turned out OK though it didn't have very fine pitched components on it.
 
rngd said:
Do you know how print without size change without having to install anything ? Meaning just with the basic programs in Windows.

Windows is just an operating system. So why should I use Windows if I want to print fine pitch and 100% accurate images?
 
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