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Hairline Stroke Width


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I've been using Affinity Designer to create files for use on a laser cutter and because there is no option for a hairline stroke (or near zero stroke width) I have to take my files into another program to change the stroke width before I can use the files on the laser cutter (The laser cutter views hairline or near zero stroke widths as a cut line). I love Affinity Designer but having to bring my file back and forth between different programs makes it rather frustrating. If you could please add an option for hairline or near zero stroke width (such as .001) it would make the process of designing files for laser cutting a lot less frustrating.

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Regardless, the request for a hairline stroke weight setting is valid. (It's been brought up before in other threads.)

For those not familiar, a hairline stroke weight always renders at the smallest width possible on the output device, be it your monitor or an imagesetter. This is advantageous when drawing paths in detailed illustrations, during which we are constantly zooming in and out. Having stroke weight set to hairline feels more precise and is less distracting because the stroke weight is always drawn the same, regardless of zoom. The extreme zooming capabilities of Affinity as compared to other programs buttresses the point.

It's a great feature, a standard setting in PostScript, and it should be provided in every vector drawing software.

JET

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  • 1 year later...
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It's also another "low hanging fruit" opportunity to surpass Illustrator. Throughout the FreeHand vs Illustrator competitive years, FreeHand users knew what a huge advantage it was to work with hairline strokes in the normal full-color interface. The only way to get hairline editing behavior in Illustrator is to put it in its lame Outline Mode.

JET

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  • 10 months later...

I also use AD with a laser cutter and I have never noticed the stroke width to change anything in how the cutter works. Maybe it's a difference in our cutter software--mine sees a stroke of any visual style as a cut line, and it cuts on the centerline. 

Regardless I support all laser-friendly enhancements!

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Please add hairline. If I set the width to 0.001 pt, the line becomes invisible. I want the line to cut on the laser but I need to be able to see the line on the screen. CorelDraw does this but I don't want to use CorelDraw.

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"Hairline" as a term used in the PostScript context roughly defines as the thinnest possible line that a device is capable to display or print. It's not an absolute value.

Affinity's internal "hairline" appears to be 0.000001 pt.
That's what it looks like at 674163821 % zoom factor:

ade_hairline_zoomed.png.71bf2a53c471b341fc98163fbe653a2a.png

Depending on your intended output device resolution, simply do the math yourself. That will be your "hairline" for that device.

~~~

(As a side note: While the Pan/Hand tool context toolbar field gives me zoom factor "674163821 %", the window bar above displays "674163840.0 %". A bug?)

Edited by loukash

MacBookAir 15": MacOS Ventura > Affinity v1, v2, v2 beta // MacBookPro 15" mid-2012: MacOS El Capitan > Affinity v1 / MacOS Catalina > Affinity v1, v2, v2 beta // iPad 8th: iPadOS 16 > Affinity v2

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I'm probably not using the correct terms. I am not a designer. I am just a guy that does some hobby stuff with a laser cutter. CorelDraw has a drop down labeled as "hairline" that allows me to still see the stroke line on the monitor yet sends the info to the laser cutter with a thin enough line width that the laser knows to cut instead of engrave. In AD if I choose view View Mode Outline, I can see the line on the screen and still have it set to a very thin stroke width that will cut on the laser. If I am in View Mode Vector, I can't see the line. I would like the ability to still see a very thin "hairline" stroke in View Mode Vector. It's not the end of the world and there are work arounds but CorelDraw has the feature and I would like it in AD

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On 6/19/2021 at 4:20 AM, sfriedberg said:

The Affinity suite should support hairline widths.

... another type of line style (Hair Line Style) should be added.

image.png.f1506ae8a46bc82e5070779ab5158cbd.png

Affinity Store (MSI/EXE): Affinity Suite (ADe, APh, APu) 2.4.0.2301
Dell OptiPlex 7060, i5-8500 3.00 GHz, 16 GB, Intel UHD Graphics 630, Dell P2417H 1920 x 1080, Windows 11 Pro, Version 23H2, Build 22631.3155.
Dell Latitude E5570, i5-6440HQ 2.60 GHz, 8 GB, Intel HD Graphics 530, 1920 x 1080, Windows 11 Pro, Version 23H2, Build 22631.3155.
Intel NUC5PGYH, Pentium N3700 2.40 GHz, 8 GB, Intel HD Graphics, EIZO EV2456 1920 x 1200, Windows 10 Pro, Version 21H1, Build 19043.2130.

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Ok, so how thick is hairline? How is it determined? Other programs do have a Hairline preset, but would it be the same, or close to what Affinity may use?

The average Human Hair is between .04mm -.25mm. So something between those parameters? Or maybe use an animal hair, and if so which animal?

Hairline in digital design, art programs is term used to describe the thinnest possible line that can be displayed on screen or that a printer can make. So could that vary from screen to screen, printer to printer?

Affinity Photo 2.4..; Affinity Designer 2.4..; Affinity Publisher 2.4..; Affinity2 Beta versions. Affinity Photo,Designer 1.10.6.1605 Win10 Home Version:21H2, Build: 19044.1766: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-5820K CPU @ 3.30GHz, 3301 Mhz, 6 Core(s), 12 Logical Processor(s);32GB Ram, Nvidia GTX 3070, 3-Internal HDD (1 Crucial MX5000 1TB, 1-Crucial MX5000 500GB, 1-WD 1 TB), 4 External HDD

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2 hours ago, Ron P. said:

Ok, so how thick is hairline? How is it determined? Other programs do have a Hairline preset, but would it be the same, or close to what Affinity may use?

The average Human Hair is between .04mm -.25mm. So something between those parameters? Or maybe use an animal hair, and if so which animal?

Hairline in digital design, art programs is term used to describe the thinnest possible line that can be displayed on screen or that a printer can make. So could that vary from screen to screen, printer to printer?

One screen pixel regardless of zoom level

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1 hour ago, FunnyBunny said:

It is the thinnest line produced on the device it is presented on. Simple as that.

... Therefore, "hairline" must be a specific type of line, and not some absolute value of 0.0000, which then causes display problems.

Affinity Store (MSI/EXE): Affinity Suite (ADe, APh, APu) 2.4.0.2301
Dell OptiPlex 7060, i5-8500 3.00 GHz, 16 GB, Intel UHD Graphics 630, Dell P2417H 1920 x 1080, Windows 11 Pro, Version 23H2, Build 22631.3155.
Dell Latitude E5570, i5-6440HQ 2.60 GHz, 8 GB, Intel HD Graphics 530, 1920 x 1080, Windows 11 Pro, Version 23H2, Build 22631.3155.
Intel NUC5PGYH, Pentium N3700 2.40 GHz, 8 GB, Intel HD Graphics, EIZO EV2456 1920 x 1200, Windows 10 Pro, Version 21H1, Build 19043.2130.

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3 hours ago, Pšenda said:

... Therefore, "hairline" must be a specific type of line, and not some absolute value of 0.0000, which then causes display problems.

Exactly, that and as SureWeb said, no matter of zoom level. So it is a special solution that has to be programmed in special way. It isn't about putting a number.

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Designer uses a hairline for the Outline view mode. No matter the zoom level in outline mode all vectors are the same extremely thin width.

Mac Pro (Late 2013) Mac OS 12.7.4 
Affinity Designer 2.4.0 | Affinity Photo 2.4.0 | Affinity Publisher 2.4.0 | Beta versions as they appear.

I have never mastered color management, period, so I cannot help with that.

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14 hours ago, Ron P. said:

Hairline in digital design, art programs is term used to describe the thinnest possible line that can be displayed on screen or that a printer can make. So could that vary from screen to screen, printer to printer?

Yes, "hairline" is a device-dependent width.  It is the thinnest width a given device is capable of rendering, and therefore will be different for different devices.

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Just a side note here in relation to laser cutting…. Can we please get measuring tool that can measure curved lines, please!

This seams like the most basic of basic tools and yet it’s missing. 
 

Ai’s version is a terrible dialog box that’s hidden deep in a menu system… I’m sure Affinity can do something creative with this… or if not just include curve measurements in the transform panel. 

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  • 1 year later...

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