Export

Written By Philipp Brockerhoff

Last updated About 1 hour ago

The Export dialog is used to generate an image of your map for sharing, printing, or use in other applications.

Maps can be exported at different resolutions and file formats depending on the intended use. The export resolution is independent of the current Editing Resolution, allowing you to edit at one resolution while exporting at another.

Open the Export dialog by using one of the following methods:

Click Export in the top panel.
Select Export as Image from the main menu.
Press Ctrl + P.

Export Size

Inkarnate provides two methods for determining the export size.

Standard (Pixel Size)

Exports the map using a fixed image resolution. Choose one of the predefined sizes: 1K, 2K, 4K, 6K, 8K, 16K, Custom (up to 16K)

Larger resolutions produce more detailed images but require more processing time and memory.

Paid Feature

The 4k+ export resolutions are available with a paid subscription.

16k export is available in the Studio tier.

VTT (Grid)

Available when the map contains a square Grid Layer. Instead of specifying the image size directly, the export size is calculated from the Grid dimensions and Pixels per grid cell setting.

This mode makes it easy to create maps for Virtual Tabletop applications. Common values include:

80 px per tile for Roll20
100 px per tile for Foundry VTT

Paid Feature

The VTT (Grid) Export mode is available with a paid subscription.

File Formats

Inkarnate supports three export formats.

JPEG

JPEG uses lossy compression to reduce file size. The Quality setting controls how much image information is preserved during compression. Higher values retain more detail but produce larger files.

For most maps, a quality value between 80 and 90 offers an excellent balance between visual quality and file size.

Compression Examples

Compression 100 - (10.9 MB)

No compression, but greatly increased file size

Compression 97 - (3.7 MB) (Default)

Compression 80 - (1.4 MB)

Compression 50 - (646 KB)

Compression 25 - (377 KB)

Strong compression artifacts at the green and blue water

PNG

PNG uses lossless compression, preserving every pixel of the exported image. Unlike JPEG and WebP, PNG does not discard image information and therefore does not offer a quality setting.

WebP

WebP also uses lossy compression but generally achieves similar visual quality with smaller file sizes than JPEG. Like JPEG, higher quality values preserve more detail at the cost of larger files.

A quality setting between 80 and 90 is recommended for most exports.

Tips

The selected export resolution is independent of the current Editing Resolution. See Understanding Resolution for more information.
Lower the Editing Resolution if the editor becomes slow while continuing to export at a higher resolution.
Export as PNG when you want the highest image quality or need transparency.
Use WebP to reduce file size while maintaining excellent image quality.
Use JPEG for quick sharing when file size is more important than perfect quality.
For Virtual Tabletops, use VTT export mode to generate maps at the correct grid resolution.