Convert SVG to PDF on several sheets

Question

I have a SVG file created in Inkscape. I want to print it on multiple sheets to finally form a big poster. I need these multiple sheets converted to a PDF so I can print it from any operating system.

The file I'm working with:

• SVG has a size of 840 mm x 297 mm. (width x height)
• Generate a PDF with two A3 sheets (420 mm x 297 mm).

You can download the file if you want to try out your solution yourself.

I'm open to almost any solution, be it Inkscape extensions/scripts or command-line tools. I just don't want to mess around manually each time I have to re-do the conversion.

Things I've tried and didn't work:

• inkscape-pages adds support for multiple pages to Inkscape, but no support to separate a given file to the pages.

Tools which will only work with raster image format (like PNG or JPG) are a no-go:

• Gwenview
• PosteRazor from the accepted answer of the question: Printing a poster (over several sheets of paper)

Tools I have heard that might work but where I'm unsure if they will and how to approach them:

• Scribus

Update: Added download link.

Answer 1

Have you tried the pdfposter package? From the project's website: "Pdfposter can be used to create a large poster by building it from multiple pages and/or printing it on large media. It expects as input a PDF file, normally printing on a single page. The output is again a PDF file, maybe containing multiple pages together building the poster. The input page will be scaled to obtain the desired size."

I tried a quick example from the man page: pdfposter -mA3 -pA0 askUbuntu.pdf printer-pages.pdf with your sample file (which I converted to PDF in Inkscape), and it seems to work : 6 A3 pages that need to be set in a 2×3 grid.

Answer 2

You can save as the image as pdf from inkscape directly using the highest resolution (dpi), say 600, of the printer you plan to use for printing.

Afterwards, you can use imagemagick (command convert) to crop the upper and lower parts of the image independently into two different pdf files. For instance (typed on a terminal):

convert askUbuntu.pdf -crop 100%x50% +repage askUbuntuSplit.pdf

You can then split it into individual pdf files using:

pdftk filename.pdf burst

I presume imagemagick and pdftk are already installed.

Answer 3

as I couldn't get your file (broken link) I managed with a PDF I had on my computer. Anyway, this is how I proceeded:

• Launch Scribus (1.4.3 on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS)
• create new A3 2 pages document with options "Double Page" and "Starting on left page" selected (maybe not the right translation as I'm working on a French Scribus version).
• create an image frame over the two pages
• import PDF
• set image size fit to frame
• export as PDF
• print it

The result is in the archive you can download here: http://www.filedropper.com/2a3tar_1 (1.4 Mo)

The problem that can occur is related to technical margins desktop printers usually have.

In this case, you could make 2 images frames that overlap like in the 2A3bis.sla file provided.

Answer 4

SVG is an XML, you can use this python script to generate slices. Actually, it does not slice it, but uses same copy of input file with different values of viewBox to show only target area.

svg_slice.py

#!/usr/bin/env python

import sys, os.path
import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET

fin=sys.argv[-1]
hsplit=int(sys.argv[1])
vsplit=int(sys.argv[2])

tree = ET.parse(fin)
root = tree.getroot()

hstep=float(root.attrib['width'])/hsplit
vstep=float(root.attrib['height'])/vsplit

root.attrib['width']=str(hstep)
root.attrib['height']=str(vstep)

for i in range(hsplit):
    for j in range(vsplit):
        root.attrib['viewBox']='%.4f %.4f %.4f %.4f' % (i*hstep, j*vstep, hstep, vstep)
        tree.write('cell_%i-%i_%s' % (i,j,os.path.basename(fin)))

1. Generate slices

   python svg_slice.py 2 1 askUbuntu.svg
   

   ie: 2x1 grid

2. Then use Inkscape to export PDF for each slice/cell

   for i in $(ls cell_*); do inkscape $i --export-pdf=$i.pdf; done;
   

ls cell_*

cell_0-0_askUbuntu.svg      cell_1-0_askUbuntu.svg
cell_0-0_askUbuntu.svg.pdf  cell_1-0_askUbuntu.svg.pdf