Exporting Plots: Saving High-Quality Graphics

🎞️ From Plot to Image

Sharing your plots effectively means more than just exporting an image. Correctly handling dimensions, resolution, and format ensures that your graphics remain sharp, readable, and visually consistent — whether they appear in papers, presentations, or online.

ggsave() does not only handle the name and format of the file (based on the extension, such as .png,.pdf, .svg), but lets you control the aspect ratio and resolution so the output looks crisp wherever it goes.

•  Format  — add a file extension to the name of your plot. Before choosing a specific file format, it helps to know the general distinction between raster and vector graphics:
  • Raster files (like png, jpg, and tif) are made of pixels, so enlarging them too much can make them blurry or blocky.

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    Pick raster for web and on-screen use with appropriate pixel dimensions, e.g. 1200×800 px. Use higher resolution (~300–600 dpi) when preparing files for print sharing via social media or messengers.
    
    
  • Vector files (like pdf and svg) store shapes and lines, so they can be scaled infinitely without losing sharpness.

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    Choose vector for print and post-editing in tools like Adobe Illustrator, Inkscape, or Figma. Avoid vector files when using very large datasets with millions of points (files can get heavy).
  
  
•  Aspect ratio  — control the aspect ratio by setting width and height (using values with "in" or "cm" as units). If you increase the plot size, geometries and theme elements will appear smaller.


•  Resolution (DPI)  — controls the pixel density of raster files. Does not apply to vector files, and is irrelevant for web graphics.