The verdict
The last time we covered vector graphics editors in a Roundup was way back in LXF79, but the winner this time is the same as in 2006. Inkscape does an impressive job in handling most aspects of vector graphics. It offers an uncluttered and intuitive interface, a great tool set for drawing curves, and an almost endless number of eye-catching filters and effects. For years Inkscape has been evolving into a ‘nearly professional’ editing application, capable of both artistic uses and basic DTP tasks. Thanks to UniConvertor, it is able to import many (if not all) commercialgrade AI and CDR format variations – and if you run into trouble, lots of support and topic threads with solutions can easily be found online.
XaraXtreme is not as complete, but it deserves second place thanks to its fast renderer, decent format support (especially for exporting) and good documentation. It’s hard to predict whether someone will ever pick up the software development, but XaraXtreme remains usable, fast and free.
LibreOfficeDraw does its job well enough; it’s just not meant for artistic purposes and offers only a relatively modest set of tools. That said, you’ll find it very capable of producing business graphics, schematics and simple drawings. It’s stable and solid, and has the advantage of being part of the LibreOffice suite, which to a degree compensates for its own limitations.
In fourth place is sK1, a very DTPcentric solution with some handy vector drawing tools, a fast and responsive renderer and the fantastic UniConvertor utility. There is an attempt to develop a successor to sK1 called PrintDesign, but activity seems slow – the last preview was released in October 2013 and that was for Ubuntu 13.04. Surely sK1 deserves closer attention from new users and developers?
Finally, although it’s aimed at artists, Karbon seems to have been left behind by the march of time. It had more supported features in 2006 than it does now, and it currently stands no chance of becoming an AdobeIllustrator killer for the Linux world.
“Inkscape is impressive in most respects, and suitable for both artistic uses and basic DTP.”