I have a number of plots where the x- and y-axes are in centimeter units, and I am already using axis('equal') to ensure proper aspect ratios. I would like to print out those plots so that when I measure distances within my axes, the distances correspond to real-world centimeters. That is, a line that is 3 units (cm) long in the plot should print out to be 3 cm long. (A more complex example would be drawing a ruler in Matplotlib, and then printing it out for use /as/ a ruler.) I found solutions in matlab and mathematica, but not for Matplotlib. Is there a magic formula to achieve this? I believe it will require a special combination/ordering of: figure(figsize=??), axis('equal'), fig.canvas.draw(), fig.savefig('filename',format="??"), possibly some math with fig.bbox parameters, and perhaps one or more dpi-settings. I have tried many combinations but haven't hit on the right one. And maybe there is a way-easier approach ... Continue reading...
