New Product Affinity Designer Slices - a huge timesaver

[brycesteiner]

We've been moving towards Affinity recently with our software because it does not have the limitations that Adobe has. We still use Adobe but not as much.

I wanted to give a shout out about a feature that I have not put to full use before but found it's great for large prints that are going to be done in sections and I want to do it with full control.

Breaking down a large vehicle can be challenging especially when there is trim that needs made separately from the panels like a fire truck that you see here. It still has to be all one large image because I don’t want to duplicate it and crop it many times to fit each panel like would be done in Adobe.

What Affinity Designer allows you to do is something called “slices” and this can work for any format but you can draw a box with a “slice” tool (nothing like the Illustrator node slice tool) and then that becomes an export selection. Each one of these can be different sizes but all part of the same page (artboard). The great thing about it is they can still overlap which is what we need for the bleeds.

Each slice can then be named and you can choose multiple formats such as for eps, pdf for print, png web, anything. Then when you click export it will ask where to save then it names all the files separately so they are not the same as the file name.

I was concerned that it was going to rasterize the huge image but being that I can design it at full size (unlike Indesign or Illustrator), it's not a problem even if it is rasterized. But to my surprise all the of the exported slices where vector too.

This is a huge time saver in my opinion.

 

[bannertime]

Not to nitpick, but you can do this in Illustrator. You can have overlapping artboards, naming and export settings.

 

[brycesteiner]

I am using artboards but the feature I'm talking about is slices. I use illustrator too and it's not the same in any way that I know of. Though, I did see Adobe were copying some of the export features from Affinity in the latest Illustrator that was just released.

 

[GAC05]

You can also do that in Corel Draw ( I'm still on the 2010 ver.) with overlapping Powerclips.
Been thinking of getting something to replace Draw and will have to take a look at Affinity.
Good info - thanks.

 

[rydods]

$40 with no subscription? I'll have to try it out and see how it works. Paying way more than that a month with adobe.

 

[ProColorGraphics]

I bought all 3 as they had, still might have it going on, 20% off. I have found a few things in Illy that it doesn't do, but I personally think it is a lot faster at some various tasks!! With any software change, it feels odd compared to what you are used too, but I guess Illustrator felt weird too when I first started using it.

One is that I use a plugin/script to add the registration marks for my Summa F and I can't find where I can do that.

 

[shoresigns]

Not to nitpick, but you can do this in Illustrator. You can have overlapping artboards, naming and export settings.

I am using artboards but the feature I'm talking about is slices. I use illustrator too and it's not the same in any way that I know of. Though, I did see Adobe were copying some of the export features from Affinity in the latest Illustrator that was just released.

bannertime is correct. Artboards in Illustrator are basically the equivalent here. You can draw a bunch of artboards over different parts of your artwork, and then export to whatever format you like, and each artboard will become a separate page (PDF) or a separate file (JPEG, TIFF, SVG, PNG, etc.)

You can also use any of Illustrator's step and repeat tools to create any pattern of rectangles, lined up or overlapping however you want, then convert them all to artboards.

 

[brycesteiner]

bannertime is correct. Artboards in Illustrator are basically the equivalent here. You can draw a bunch of artboards over different parts of your artwork, and then export to whatever format you like, and each artboard will become a separate page (PDF) or a separate file (JPEG, TIFF, SVG, PNG, etc.)

You can also use any of Illustrator's step and repeat tools to create any pattern of rectangles, lined up or overlapping however you want, then convert them all to artboards.

Not quite. How much have you used Affinity Designer? How much have you used Illustrator? They are two distinct features with some similarities.
I can understand why you might think that if you have not used Affinity Designer. Illustartor has the Save for Screens function but you still have to have multiple pasteboards to do that and then you lose some of the control. The Slices function in Affinity is not only a lot faster but is more customizable and you can still have all the artboards. Affinity itself is ridiculously faster in about any operation.
There are certainly features that are much better in Illustrator such as the warp mesh. There are also features that are much better in Designer such as fill options. Either one can work depending on what you want and what works for you.

 

[WildWestDesigns]

The Slices function in Affinity is not only a lot faster but is more customizable and you can still have all the artboards.

As a whole, Affinity Designer should be faster as it's a leaner codebase (which should also extend to it's toolsets as well).

Programs like Ai and DRAW with 30 yrs of bloat in them, really need a re-write. Problem with that is any version that isn't up to snuff on what people expect and what was in the previous version, people will get up in arms. So it's a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation (only have to look at the thread here about Corel 2019 for Mac to see that).

Another disadvantage of that for older software is that it will more then likely break legacy support/use. That's also a biggie for some (at least one user from the previously mentioned thread as well) and in some ways not good for security of the system either (reason why one certain OS, in my mind, has quite a few problems as well as it shares this trait with the older software).

Now, the advantage that "younger" software has, is that they can see what end users want right now and code directly for that in a more efficient manner, hopefully, in the process preventing that bloat due to the inefficient "tacked on" code of the past 30 yrs as those older programs went through the process of getting to what end users wanted/needed over decades.

 

[Johnny Best]

I am just worried Adobe will buy Affinity and it will be gone as others like Aldus Pagemaker in the past.
Adobe was a great program when it first started like a new young bride. Now it has turned into an oversized obnoxious wife that has her hand in my pocket holding my credit card telling me how much I need her and she will change to please me. Affinity is my mistress now.

 

[WildWestDesigns]

I am just worried Adobe will buy Affinity and it will be gone as others like Aldus Pagemaker in the past.

That is very possible and given that it appears Adobe is "innovating" through acquisitions (Substance Painter (I'm still upset over that one, bye bye Linux support)), I would say highly likely. Especially the more viable of a "threat" that it is to the market share.

This is one reason why I try to use Open Source alternatives as much as I can as that development model has it's pros that outweigh it's cons, at least in my mind (Substance Painter was not one of those, now I'm using Armor Paint, not free (unless you want to compile from source like Ardour or RHEL etc), but is open source) as the odds of this happening are far less likely. Now, not all are created equal and sometimes one most go to a closed source program, but that is the risk with any closed source program.

Not saying that the program isn't good or shouldn't be used if it's closed source, just that that is the risk.

 

[shoresigns]

Not quite. How much have you used Affinity Designer? How much have you used Illustrator? They are two distinct features with some similarities.
I can understand why you might think that if you have not used Affinity Designer. Illustartor has the Save for Screens function but you still have to have multiple pasteboards to do that and then you lose some of the control. The Slices function in Affinity is not only a lot faster but is more customizable and you can still have all the artboards. Affinity itself is ridiculously faster in about any operation.
There are certainly features that are much better in Illustrator such as the warp mesh. There are also features that are much better in Designer such as fill options. Either one can work depending on what you want and what works for you.

You're right, I haven't used Affinity, and I'm sure it has some advantages over Illustrator.

However, going back to your original example of printed panels on a fire truck, I don't see how slices in Affinity could have any significant advantage over artboards in Illustrator. If all your slices/artboards are destined for the same printer, it would be essentially the same workflow in either app: you set up your slices/artboards and then you export to PDF.

 

[brycesteiner]

You're right, I haven't used Affinity, and I'm sure it has some advantages over Illustrator.

However, going back to your original example of printed panels on a fire truck, I don't see how slices in Affinity could have any significant advantage over artboards in Illustrator. If all your slices/artboards are destined for the same printer, it would be essentially the same workflow in either app: you set up your slices/artboards and then you export to PDF.

For many people it will not make a difference. But the advantages are clearly there. Simply you can export the same art simultaneously without going through dialog boxes each time. Choosing different formats for each one without going back to the export window. How about multiples sizes at the same time?
Having live export while your are editing the file - say for animation or live proofing or while another person is working in another program.

The panel can be populated with one or more slices. Each slice possesses a single export setup, within which multiple export formats (detailing file format and scaling options) may be stored. In turn, each export format can have multiple export sizes. This allows different graphics formats, of different sizes, to be exported from each slice simultaneously.

 

[shoresigns]

For many people it will not make a difference. But the advantages are clearly there. Simply you can export the same art simultaneously without going through dialog boxes each time. Choosing different formats for each one without going back to the export window. How about multiples sizes at the same time?
Having live export while your are editing the file - say for animation or live proofing or while another person is working in another program.
View attachment 141472
The panel can be populated with one or more slices. Each slice possesses a single export setup, within which multiple export formats (detailing file format and scaling options) may be stored. In turn, each export format can have multiple export sizes. This allows different graphics formats, of different sizes, to be exported from each slice simultaneously.

I don't know why you would want to export multiple sizes of PNG files for a fire truck wrap, but you do you. That screenshot looks very similar to Illustrator's Asset Export window, though. It has most of the same functions.

 

[Andy D]

I am just worried Adobe will buy Affinity and it will be gone as others like Aldus Pagemaker in the past.
Adobe was a great program when it first started like a new young bride. Now it has turned into an oversized obnoxious wife that has her hand in my pocket holding my credit card telling me how much I need her and she will change to please me. Affinity is my mistress now.

Correct me if I'm wrong, I heard that Affinity was produced by Apple, and they created the program set due to a rift between them and Adobe... again just what I heard,
but if that's true, I don't see Adobe being able to buy them out.

 

[WildWestDesigns]

Correct me if I'm wrong, I heard that Affinity was produced by Apple

Produced by Serif. They started off with Windows platform desktop publishing. Talking back in the Win 2.0 days.