(Updated 1/31/13) Resizing Steves Patterns, Just got easier.

[TripleB]

With the latest version of Adobe Reader, you can now easily resize any of Steve's Patterns. In order to do this you will need the latest version of Adobe Reader, you can get it here www.adobe.com/products/reader.html and it's still free. Once updated simply right click on any of Steve's patterns, go to print, and it will bring a print window up with a poster button. It's pretty self explanatory, but I have made a simple tutorial to make it easier. You will be able to increase or decrease sizes till your hearts content. Hope this helps.
Bob

(Update 1/31/13)
Adobe has updated their reader again, it is now ver. XI. But it is no different from the prior version. The link above will take you to the even later version. I have also made a video about this and it also includes how to re-size patterns from books and magazines. Here is the link. www.scroll-saw-forum.com/2013/01/how-to-re-size-patterns_31.html

[dgman]

Excellent Bob, Thanks for the tutorial!

[Keefie]

Thanks Bob, both for the link and the tutorial, both will come in very handy.
Keith.

[golfman]

Thank you for the tip works great

[Scroll42]

Thanks for the info.  Great help.
John

[don in brooklin on]

Thanks for the tip.

I have been testing Polydraw at http://www.scrollmania.com/ to create patterns for bowls and some times you have to scale down your pattern and then enlarge on a copier.

I believe this will make this much easier.  I did a quick test and all the overlaps were there.  Really cool.

I also have a pet peave with the magazines that have a pattern that says enlarge to 125% after scanning in.  It has always been a problem for me. Now, life should be good.

Thanks again

Don

[TripleB]

A quick follow up.

The Adobe Reader X program only works on .pdf files, if your scanner will not allow you to scan and save a file to .pdf, than the above tutorial will not work for scanning patterns from books or magazines. I am working on a solution and will post it here and on my blog www.scroll-saw-forum.com once I have a safe and consistent resolution to the problem.

Bob

PS. If any of you computer Guru's would like to help me with this issue, I would love your input! Post here or email me @ bob.uwt@gmail.com

[marmoh]

Appreciate the information.  I have actually been using it to reduce some of Steve's patterns. Figures I would be opposite of everyone else !!   Like Don, it peeves me to have to figure out how to enlarge a pattern from the books.  Waiting for your solution of scanning and saving to a pdf file as my scanner won't let me do that. Again thanks ... Marion

[don in brooklin on]

I have done some testing on scanned documents.

I scanned a few patterns from a book by JGR and then wanted to have them red so this is what I did.

Scanned at tif  (my scanner will give me pdf, tiff or bmp).

Opened in GIMP and cropped page to get just the pattern.

Opened the saved image in Inkscape.  (document size letter)

Selected object, trace bitmap (in path menu)  I found edge detection worked best.

Get rid of orignal tif.  Change stroke and fill to red.

I originally just printed here but if I want to resize and it will use multiple pages Acrobat makes it possible.

Print to PDF using PrimoPDF print driver.

Open the printed document with Acrobat Reader x and resized.

All without spending a dime on software. 

If I wasn't so cheap I probably could have used Rapidresizer.

Don McFarland

aka el cheapo.

[mainberg]

Thank you! Brought Adobe up to date, and tried out the resizing. Wonderful.
Pat B

[flockshot]

I really do appreciate you going through the trouble to post this.  It's not the 43 cents I spent a Kinkos yesterday to make one at 200% size, it is the $3.00 worth of gas to go there that this will save.