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I make labels for my beer bottles in Inkscape. With each new batch of beer I need to change the label. When I am done I want to print 8 labels on each page.

Right now I export the SVG as PDF and use a small LaTeX document to place the 8 graphics on the page. It works, but is a little clunky.

Is there a better way for easy arranging the lables without having to update all eight labels for the next batch?

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You can do this in Inkscape using Clones.

Select your grouped artwork (a single label), and use Edit → Clone → Create Tiled Clones...

Clone dialog

In your case, you probably want 4 rows and two columns to produce this sort of layout:

Cloned Label

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  • Looks like I cannot ungroup my the objects making up the label after cloning. So I'll have to save the file with just one label, update the beer style and such, and then clone, and make sure I don't overwrite the one label file. Is there a way around this? I'd like to not clone again because I need to manually arrange the lables to maximimze how much I can cram on one page. (They go around the bottle's necks and are curved, hence I can put them closer together than what Inkscape does by default.)
    – Robert
    Commented Aug 14, 2013 at 1:36
  • @Robert the original should be underneath the top left clone. Delete that one, then you can ungroup and manipulate the original artwork that is hiding underneath it. You will need to delete the remaining clones and re-clone the original for any changes you make
    – JohnB
    Commented Aug 14, 2013 at 2:59
  • This doesn't work so well if your design is not the exact same size as the labels you are trying to print on. (ie pre-cut mailing labels).
    – Alistair Buxton
    Commented Mar 18, 2017 at 14:49
  • @AlistairBuxton what's stopping you from making your design the correct size?
    – JohnB
    Commented Mar 20, 2017 at 17:27
  • Nothing, it's just an unusual workflow compared with every other drawing package. It means I have to include a transparent rect to force the bounding box to be the right size.
    – Alistair Buxton
    Commented Mar 21, 2017 at 14:03

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