Failure to convert .svg to readable .eps in Inkscape

Question

I am trying to produce a design which can be used to make a stencil of teardrop and heart shapes of various sizes.

The basic design is created by an equation in "Graphmatica" and inserted as a .bmp in paint.net where the lines not needed are removed and the shape selected with the smallest rectangle possible.

This is then copied and pasted into a page in Inkscape, with multiple copies scaled and placed to fill the page. It saves as .svg without problems and opens when the program is restarted.

However, I need a .eps file for the machine to cut the stencil, and when I use save as and the .eps option available the file produced "failed to load" when reopened.

I have little graphics experience and less of vector graphics. Any clues appreciated.

Answer 1

When you say that you need an .eps file for a cutting machine, does it mean you need the graphics to be in vector format? Because, after you put them into Paint.Net, they are not vectors, just simple bitmaps, and they won't turn into vectors even when placed in an .svg, .eps, or .pdf file.

So, I believe, the first problem to solve is: how to save the graphics from that Graphmatica program as vector graphics (.svg or .pdf), instead of bitmaps. Can Graphmatica do this? If it doesn't have such a feature, you could try using a virtual PDF printer (e.g. the free one from http://pdfforge.org ), which will create a .pdf file. But it's not clear if the graphics will actually be vectors or still just bitmaps (it depends on Graphmatica).

If all fails, you might have to redraw/trace the bitmap graphics using Inkscape (or Illustrator or CorelDraw) to create the vector graphics...

PS: I now see that the OS X version of Graphmatica can copy graphics as vectors (in PDF format) to the pasteboard (click the Copy Graphs button) – the graphics can then be pasted into Illustrator and be edited without problems.

Answer 2

Have you tried making a PDF first of the SVG and then converting that PDF into an EPS? A bit of a hack, but that might work for you.