I want to export some MATLAB-plots as vector-graphics for presentations. In the most cases, using print-command, for example:
set(0,'defaultAxesTickLabelInterpreter','Latex')
set(0,'defaultTextInterpreter','Latex')
t=linspace(0,6,6000);
s=sin(t);
figure
for spl=1:16
subplot(4,4,spl);
plot(t,s,'k')
end
print('Sinetest','-dpdf');
but as soon as the number of data-points (or the expected file size) turns too big, for example use t=linspace(0,6,7000); the method fails: instead of a scalable vector graphic, an ugly pixel-monster is saved in the .pdf-file. I've tried to use other file-formats, for exampl .emf, .eps, .svg (svg is what I need actually) instead of .pdf, but it's always the same problem. Reducing the number of data points works in this example, but not in general for me.
Is there any option or work around?
The solution is to specify that the painter renderer should be used:
print('Sinetest','-dpdf', '-painters');
If you save to a vector graphics file and if the figure RendererMode
property is set to 'auto', then print automatically attempts to use
the Painters renderer. If you want to ensure that your output format
is a true vector graphics file, then specify the Painters renderer.
Note that this may result in long rendering times as mentioned in the docs:
Sometimes, saving a file with the '-painters' option can cause longer
rendering times [...]
Related
I have Matlab code that produces an array of subplots that looks like this:
When I save this as an EMF file (normally a vector format) and insert in Powerpoint or view with Inkscape, then zoom in closely on the image, it looks pixelated, and clearly made up of a single encapsulated object as opposed to many small graphical objects:
This is very surprising to me, as I have for a long time been exporting Matlab plots as EMF and integrating those into Powerpoint slides, in order to build there more complex graphs that, as vector graphics, would print well at any size. These imported EMFs would also scale well and look smooth regardless of how much I zoomed into them in Powerpoint.
Can anyone guess why it is that on this occasion, this plot is not saved as a vector graphics but is instead (as it seems) rendered as raster? The code that produces this figure (based on the Matlab commands subplot, line, and scatter) is rather long/inelegant, but I can give details or simplify, if required to find a solution. Thanks!
Other similar threads on this site have not helped fix this.
I believe I have encountered this issue before. If it is the same as the issue I was facing, it is to do with the renderer being used to save the plot. Although it should automatically select the painters renderer when exporting to vector files, I have had instances where it used the openGL renderer instead, which results in bitmaps being used. I'm not entirely sure why this happens -- it might be the case that for particularly complicated figures, it reverts to openGL to avoid obnoxiously large or complicated vector files.
If you are using the print command, you can force it to use the painters algorithm as follows:
print('-painters',...)
if you're saving using File>Save As..., I believe setting the renderer for the figure should work:
set(figure_handle,'renderer','painters');
For explanation, per the MATLAB documentation:
-opengl' — OpenGL renderer. Use this renderer when saving bitmap images. OpenGL produces a bitmap image even with vector formats, which might limit the extent to which you can edit the image in other applications.
'-painters' — Painters renderer. Use this renderer when saving vector graphics files. If you save to a vector graphics file and if the figure RendererMode property is set to 'auto', then print automatically attempts to use the Painters renderer. If you want to ensure that your output format is a true vector graphics file, then specify the Painters renderer. For example:
print('-painters','-deps','myVectorFile')
If you do not specify the renderer, then print automatically uses the appropriate renderer to produce the output format requested. However, if you set the Renderer property for the figure, then print uses that renderer when generating output.
EDIT: Another option is to use the Copy Figure command (Edit > Copy Figure) -- this should copy the figure as an EMF file, and should obey the figure's renderer settings.
I am asking for a solution to the blurred image I get when I use copy figure option in Matlab. For example, when I plot 3d figure in matlab I get the following image (It is the result of printscreen!)..
However, when I use the option copy figure I get a blurred image as the following image
.
How can I avoid this as I need to get high resolution image using copy figure option. Thank you in advance for any help you may lend.
By default, the figure is copied as an Enhanced Metafile (a color graphics format) which works for basic plots such as bar plots, line plots, and other 2D plots but may yield undesirable results for more complex plots as in your case. This is because the rendering of the Metafile content is controlled my Microsoft Word and it may render things differently than MATLAB.
If you need a high resolution image, I would recommend using the print command where you can specify the desired resolution (using the -r option). Then you can import the resulting image into Word
print(gcf, 'myfile.png', '-dpng', '-r300')
Alternately, you can use export_fig from the File Exchange which better preserves the appearance
Another option would be to change the format used by Copy Figure to tell it to use a bitmap instead
Or you can call Copy Figure programmatically and specify a different format (either a bitmap or PDF)
print(gcf, '-clipboard', '-dpdf')
I'm very new to Matlab, though I know a few other programming languages, so please forgive me if this is something simple. I have not been able to find any answers to this, either on StackOverflow or elsewhere.
I produce a figure using the following code:
figure(6),imageplot(P); drawnow;
Which looks like this:
I then save this image to my computer using the following commands:
imwrite(P, 'images/plot.png');
And the resulting image is tiny, and missing some of the color information:
If, however, I utilize the save function in the open figure (image #1) and save it manually, I get exactly what I want, which is that exact image stored on my computer.
How would I program that? I assumed that imwrite() would just write the image directly, but apparently I'm doing something wrong. Any advice? Perhaps it has something to do with the imageplot command? I cannot seem to get that to work in imwrite.
Update: Based on the comments below, I have begun using "imresize" with the "nearest" option. This scales the image properly, but the resulting image is still curiously darker (and therefore has less information) than if I hit the "save" button in the figure.
Image saved from figure:
Image using "imresize" with "nearest" option:
The MATLAB imwrite command saves exactly the number of pixels as specified in your image matrix. This is the actual result of your computation; the reason the output is "tiny" is because it is supposed to be. To make it larger, would be to simply scale/zoom it as required.
The save figure option however does something quite different: it rasterizes the the output you obtain in the figure window and gives you the option for saving it as an image. This is evident in the fact that when you do so, you obtain a white background in addition to your result which is really just the grey background you see before you save it; this can be adjusted by resizing the figure window before utilizing the save option.
If you're looking to simply make the output figure larger, I would recommend using something along the lines of the imresize command.
Say, if you want the default size to be twice the size of the real result, simply use:
imresize(P, 2.0);
For more options, try help imresize.
The command you need for the "Save As..." functionality of figures is called "print". I often use
print(gcf, '-dpng', 'some_filename.png')
or
print(gcf, '-depsc', 'some_filename.eps','-r0')
to save a figure as it is shown on screen. The format png offers a small filesize and excellent quality, and it is understood by most image viewers and browsers. The eps format is a vector format, which I use for printig. The '-r0' option specifies "use the same size as given by the screen resolution" for the vector format properties.
I have a 2D color-map plot created with imagesc and want to export it as a .eps file using
print -depsc.
The problem is that the "original" image data is from a rather small matrix (131 x 131). When I view the image in the matlab figure window, I can see all the individual pixels if I zoom a bit closer.
When I export to eps, however, there seems to be some interpolation or anti-aliasing going on, in that neighboring pixels get blurred/blended into each other. I don't get the problem if I export a high-resolution tiff, but that format is not an option (as demanded by a publisher).
How can I obtain an eps that preserves the pixely structure of my image without applying interpolation or anti-aliasing?
The blurring actually depends on the rendering software your viewer application or printer uses. To get good results all the time, make each pixel in your image an 8x8 block of pixels of the same color. The blurring then only affects the pixels at the edge of each block. 8x8 blocks are best as they compress without nasty artifacts using DCT compression (sometimes used in eps files).
Old question, but highly ranked in Google, so here is my answer:
Open the .eps-file with a text editor, search for "Interpolate" and change the following "true" to "false". Repeat that step for all Interpolate-statements.
It might also depend on the viewer you're using, but probably just because some viewers ignore the "Interpolate"s...
Had the same problem using plot2svg in Matlab and exporting from Inkscape to eps.
How do I change the resolution of my MATLAB graphs? The default seems to be 96x96 PPI.
You can save using the print command; here's how:
h1=figure;
your plotting commands here
print(h1,'-djpeg','-r150','filename')
The -r150 argument sets the resolution to 150 DPI. you can set it higher or lower depending on your need. This is assuming you're saving as a JPEG. If not, there are other options such as -dpng for PNG, -dbmp for 24-bit bitmap, etc. more can be found in the help section for print.
That said, if your plot consists only of lines, I would recommend using -depsc which saves it as an EPS file, which is scalable and lossless. You also won't have to define a resolution, so you can simply do
print(h1,'-depsc','filename')
You can convert this EPS file to PDF and retain the same resolution, yet have portability between applications and platforms. I wouldn't recommend saving to PDF directly as MATLAB puts additional white spaces around the plot, wheras the EPS bounding box is tight, and looks neat.
Changing a Figure's Settings: Setting the resolution