Measurement · 12 tools

Measurement and units

Dimensions, path length, area and perimeter of a cutting file, scale and unit conversions, and the DPI arithmetic that keeps pixels and millimetres honest.

Most cutting failures that are blamed on the machine are measurement errors that happened in the file: a design exported at 72 DPI and read at 96, a sign quoted from a bounding box that included a hidden object, a path length guessed from the size when the cut time depends on it. Measuring the file is the cheapest check in the workflow and the one most often skipped.

These tools report what a file actually contains: its width and height in millimetres after the units are resolved, its total cut length, the area and perimeter of its shapes for material and edge-banding estimates, and the scale factor between what was drawn and what should be cut. The converters handle the arithmetic between pixels, millimetres, inches and DPI.

Try it here

SVG Dimensions Checker

Open the full tool

Real-world width and height of an SVG.

How a measurement job runs

Check dimensions

SVG Dimensions Checker and DXF Dimensions Checker report the real size and how it was determined (viewBox, width attribute, $INSUNITS or a 96 DPI assumption).

Measure the cut

Path Length Calculator sums every path; Perimeter Calculator and Area Calculator report each shape. Cut time and material come from these numbers.

Scale correctly

Scale Calculator gives the factor from a known dimension to a target; Design Scale Tool applies it and reports the new minimum feature size.

Convert units

Unit Converter, Inch to MM, Pixel to MM and MM to Pixel Converter, and DPI Calculator settle the numbers for files that arrive in the wrong system.

All measurement tools

12 tools · Dimensions, path length, area, scale and unit conversion.

SVG Dimensions CheckerReal-world width and height of an SVG.DXF Dimensions CheckerReal-world width and height of a DXF.Path Length CalculatorTotal cut length of every path.Area CalculatorFilled area of a design.Perimeter CalculatorPerimeter of all shapes.Scale CalculatorScale factors between two sizes.Unit Convertermm, cm, inches, feet, points and pixels.DPI CalculatorPixels, DPI and physical size.Pixel to MM ConverterPixels to millimetres at a DPI.MM to Pixel ConverterMillimetres to pixels at a DPI.Inch to MM ConverterInches and millimetres both ways.Design Scale ToolScale a design to a target size.

On the machine

72 versus 96 DPI

Illustrator, older PDF tools and some CAD exports treat SVG user units as 72 per inch; browsers, Inkscape and this site use 96. A 1000-unit file is 352.8 mm in one and 264.6 mm in the other. The checker reports which assumption it made.

Cut length and time

Cut time is length divided by speed plus rapid moves. A 600 mm wall quote in a script face can carry 5 m of cut path; the length calculator gives the number that the time and cost tools use.

Area for material

Material is charged by sheet or by the bounding rectangle, not by the shape area; use the area figure for adhesive, paint and edge-banding estimates, and the nesting tools for sheet count.

Print resolution

300 DPI at finished size for print-and-cut; 150 DPI for large banners viewed from a distance. DPI Calculator gives the pixel dimensions needed for a given print size.

What usually goes wrong

Trusting the size in the file name. Measure.
Scaling by eye in the design program. Use a known dimension and the scale factor.
Quoting cut time from the bounding box.
Confusing image DPI metadata with pixel count; only the pixel count and the printed size matter.
Measuring a file that still has hidden or off-canvas objects; the bounding box includes them.

Common questions

Why does my design show a different size here than in Illustrator?

Illustrator exports SVG at 72 DPI unless told otherwise; set Responsive off and the size in millimetres in the export dialog, or correct it with the resizer here.

How do I convert a pixel photo size to a sticker size?

Pixel to MM Converter with the DPI you will print at: 1200 pixels at 300 DPI is 101.6 mm. Check the result against the sticker size you want, and the DPI Calculator tells you the maximum size that stays sharp.

Can I measure a single path in a file?

Vector Measurement Tool in the vector group reports each path's length and bounding box; the calculators here report totals.

Is the area figure the material used?

No; material used is the nested sheet area. Area is for coverage estimates, weights and paint.