Hi,
I’m trying to create layouts that minimise the paper required to print. I’m not bothered about grainlines or rotation as this isn’t a cutting layout but I want to export at A1 or A0 to print out at a copy shop. I’m happy to play with the paper sized when print A4 but I need the specific size to upload to a copy shop.
Here’s an example:
It obvious that they would fit on 1 sheet but the layout put’s it onto 2- Basically costing me and extra £3 in printing costs.
Anyone able to help?
Thanks D
Dafür habe ich auch noch keine Lösung gefunden. Entweder drucke ich es auf DinA4 aus und klebe es selbst zusammen oder ich lege es mir auf Inskape.
Besides using Inkscape, as @Scholli does, possibly changing (shrinking) the “Gap width” in your “Layout options.” (upper right of the “Create a layout” dialog",) would convince it to behave. Workpiece rotation, just below that, also occasionally makes a difference; sometimes leaves it unaltered.
“Gap width” is the minimum distance between the pieces on the layout. In experimenting with it, it has occasionally had a disproportionately notable effect on the layout.
But, so far, the most reliable way to fit the pieces would be to manually adjust them in Inkscape.
Oh that’s a shame I was hoping I didn’t need to learn another new program. I will try the options you suggest.
It seems like a pointless part of the program if it can’t be made to work sensibly.
Thanks D
Hi @DonnaKing, I’d make the margins 0 and place a checkmark at the Auto Crop Unused Length. I’d also reduce the Gap Width as @Pneumarian said and remove the Rotate and cycle through the Groups rules to see which works the best.
You can also put a check-mark at Ignore Margins.
For the patterns I made recently, I have exported to Inkscape and rearranged the pieces to save space. My son-in-law should have printed them at his office today. Here’s a video (in French, sorry) to help creating a pdf with a pattern. I don’t know if there are sub-titles in english but, I personnaly found it very useful Tuto inkscape : assemblage de feuille A4 pour l'impression d'un patron de couture (info+) - YouTube I didn’t follow exactly what was told but most. I used a A3 tile as a base 
I’ll take a look thanks. Dx
I use WPS or Acrobat… You need to export from detail mode to PDF full page (not Layout) and then in the PDF program just “print” it in Poster mode to another PDF… configure the A4 tile and thats all…
Well… I open the PDF on GIMP and edit the cut marks for a better cutting experience 
Thanks
I was looking for a way of making it work better on Seamly2d as to recreate into another program is time consuming. I’m happy with the A4 layouts it’s just the wasted space in the A0 layouts don’t make sense.
Thanks
Dxx
I just tested this out, & yes you can change the subtitles to other languages!
Here’s how:
Video settings, turn on subtitles
It should show “Auto generated French”, click the arrow next to that and it will pop up a list of all the language options. 
Choose the one that works best for you!
This is a game changer for me, I have been watching other videos without sound, not knowing you could do this until now!
I’m French, so I don’t need sub-titles for this video 
and I’m sufficiently fluent in English when videos are in English too. I was saying this as not everybody can understand French Hope this was helpful to you 
Me too. Creating PDF tiles is super easy in Seamly2D and the cutting and glueing is easier than patterns that I purchased before, but then I have to delete all the empty pages in the PDF file.
It would also be nicer if the paper lines were aligned with the grain lines. Is there a way to do that?
Hello and welcome @missea
No, not at the moment. This is still something that is “in the pipeline”.
Personally, I just select the pages to be printed and skip the blank ones at the time of printing.
Oh My Goodness! Inkscape is amazing. Just downloaded it because I hate the waste!
Printing with the grainlines aligned only makes sense if you’re “plotting” out an actual (cut) marker OR if you were “printing” out a scaled cut layout for instructional purposes. Hmmm. Currently plotting / tile printing a layout is strictly to print the pieces to then be cut out. To restrict the pieces from rotating is only going to waste paper. If the grainlines could be resticted AND you selected a paper width to match a fabric width say 45" or 60" , I don’t think the Seamly2D layout engine is smart / fast enough to maximize the usage. It becomes an issue of vanishing returns when you consider how long it takes to automatically create a maxiized layout.
With that being said… I know from experience that it can be trial and error to pick a layout paper size and get it to tile the least number of pages. I also know from 40+ years experience I could layout the pieces manually faster than the trial and error process takes. That’s why I forsee the layout section being replaced / outdated by a true marker module, where you would pick your fabric width and either place pieces manually or have the app do it automatically.
And you may ask… why a marker module? What if you have a pants pattern, a vest pattern, and a jacket pattern… and want to cut them out of the same fabric & figure out how to maxiize the cut layout? By having a marker module you could load in all 3 patterns, and then create a cut marker - manually or automatically. Or maybe you want to mix and match sizes… which is something I have to do all the time.
It’s not CorelDraw (my usual vecor based program) , but for open source it’s a very capaable program. I actually use it to edit SVG icons for the Seamly apps. Since it’s based on SVG it handles them better than CorelDraw does. However for large projects - like CD & DVD artwork - I have to stick with Corel as Inkscape suffers some of those counter-intutive work flow issues I can’t get past.
Hi, I was also trying to print everything on grain, as I am a trained designer and when done properly it saves both paper and fabric, so I was curious if there were any updates on getting a Marker Module in the works, or if everybody just defaults to a vector based program? I have Illustrator, which will do this just fine, but having a program that does it all without needing to bog down my already decade old computer with more would be amazing. As it is now, I can’t have more than one block in a file without the program continuously closing on me…) Thanks for all the work you guys do, I’ve learned so much in the last few days this program is amazing!
Hello & welcome to the Seamly forum, @ChristopherAlden
The quick answer is yes, the marker module is still in the works and we’re looking at incorporating it into the existing software instead of making it a separate module. This way, it will use less resources on your “aged computer” 
, however, @Douglas has been sorting out some issues that will affect the working of the proposed marker and tidying up code… All things necessary to improve the software and the working experience, in preparation. (You’ll notice that a lot of topics have been on Piece Mode which is directly related.)
I’d like to know exactly what you mean here, at what point does the program close (what you are doing when it happens) and what OS your aged computer uses. I’m thinking that you already have the latest installed, since you’ve only been using the Seamly for a few days, but you can check/download the latest version directly from the software by going to Help > About Seamly2D, click on the button at the bottom left - Check for Updates and install it once it has downloaded.
Please start a new topic when you reply so that we can try to help you.
It could be related to the multiple draft block issue - which I pushed the fix for and am just waiting for someone to approve the changes so we can merge it. I was hoping for Monday’s release, but my hands are tied.
As one trained in engineering, drafting, and pattern making / cutting have 40+ years laying out and cutting garments. A layout for paper and fabric are two different things. Having things on grain does not neccesarily save paper or fabric. In fact it often takes up more area, as by design you’re placing all the pieces without being able to rotate them, and fitting them closer together. The layout engine in Seamly is specifically design as a “print” layout to paper, and is supposed to optimise the layout because it can flip or rotate pieces… but yes I would agree the engine is lacking. Which is why many users simply manually layout pieces in Piece mode and export from there.
One trick you can use, is create a block & pattern piece the size of your paper or fabric, then manually place your pattern pieces within this piece… exclude this piece and export. You’ve basically created a manual marker.
