Hi there,

I have a picture at like 41kb that I had cropped from a previous photograph. However, I want to make it into a bigger size but obviously without losing all the quality. I know you have to lose some to pixellation but hows the best way to go about this?
Thanks, Tim

Hi tim,

Welcome to InkscapeForum!

Because Inkscape is a vector graphics editor, images created with it can be scaled (made bigger or smaller) without any loss of quality or pixelation. But your photo is probably in a raster format. That's why enlarging it with the same editor from which you probably (I'm guessing) cropped it, would cause pixelation (blurriness).

It might be possible, with Inkscape, to convert it to SVG (a vector format) and be able to scale it without loss. But it depends on the photo. If it's like a portrait or a landscape, or otherwise contains a lot of detail, you might not be satisfied with the conversion, because a lot of the detail will be lost. But if it's a fairly simple image, it might work. Here's how to try it.

Open Inkscape and use File menu > Import, to bring your photo into Inkscape. Then open Path menu > Trace Bitmap. Here's the chapter on using that tool from the manual: http://tavmjong.free.fr/INKSCAPE/MANUAL/html/Trace.html Note that the Preview Update button (short bar) doesn't work for the Brightness Cutoff option, so you have to actually do the trace (click OK) and then Undo, instead of using the Update button.

Typically you have to do a lot of experimenting with Trace Bitmap, before you find the right combination of options. Or I should say that's my experience anyway. The more I use it, the less experimenting I do, so perhaps it's a matter of experience. Anyway, after you've done the trace, you can scale to your heart's content, and not lose any further quality (use the Selection tool )

You may have further questions, after you get started, and if so, please feel free to reply