Penpot's 100% Zoom Blurriness: A Pixel-Perfect Deep Dive

Nov 13, 2025 by Admin 57 views

Hey guys, have you ever noticed that when you're working in Penpot and you zoom in to 100%, things don't always look as crisp and sharp as you'd expect? Yeah, it's a real pain when you're trying to get those pixel-perfect designs. Well, this article dives deep into a common bug that causes blurry edges at 100% zoom in Penpot. We'll explore the problem, how to reproduce it, the expected and actual behaviors, and even look at some screenshots to illustrate the issue. Plus, we'll discuss the impact it has on the overall design process.

The Bug: Pixel Inaccuracy at 100% Zoom

Let's get down to brass tacks: the core issue here is that Penpot doesn't always render elements with pixel-perfect accuracy at 100% zoom. This means that when you zoom in to what should be the actual size of your design on the screen, the edges of your shapes and lines can appear blurry instead of sharp. This is particularly noticeable on low DPI displays, where every pixel counts! This is a major bummer when you're meticulously aligning elements to the pixel grid, which is crucial for clean and professional-looking designs. When the edges aren't crisp, it gives off a slightly unprofessional look.

This lack of pixel-perfect rendering can make it tough to judge the final appearance of your design. You might think you have everything aligned perfectly, but then the blurriness at 100% zoom throws everything off. It's like trying to bake a cake with a wonky oven; no matter how careful you are, the results are unpredictable. This inconsistency makes it difficult to trust what you're seeing on your screen, which can be frustrating and time-consuming. You end up spending extra time tweaking and adjusting things, trying to get them to look right. This bug directly impacts the efficiency of your workflow, making it a frustrating experience.

Imagine trying to design a logo or an icon where every single pixel matters. You want those lines to be clean and sharp, but instead, you're fighting against the blurriness. It's like trying to build a house with a hammer that keeps bending the nails. It slows you down and increases the chance of making mistakes. The lack of pixel accuracy at 100% zoom also affects the readability of text and the overall visual impact of your designs. It's a fundamental issue that needs to be addressed for Penpot to be a truly reliable tool for professional designers. This is especially true for those of us who demand precision in our work, and those who work with UI/UX, or any other profession that requires pixel-perfect accuracy.

How to Reproduce the Blurriness

So, how do you see this issue for yourself? It's pretty straightforward, actually.

Draw a Rectangle: Start by creating a simple rectangle in Penpot.
Draw a Line: Add a straight line somewhere on your canvas.
Pixel Alignment: Make sure your rectangle and line are precisely aligned to the pixel grid. This is key! Ensure their edges fall exactly on the pixel boundaries.
Zoom to 100%: Zoom in to 100% view. This should show the actual size of your elements as they will appear on a screen.

At 100% zoom, the edges should appear sharp and clean. But, as you'll see, that's not always the case.

Expected vs. Actual Behavior

Expected Behavior: When you align elements to the pixel grid and zoom to 100%, you should see crisp, sharp edges. No blurriness should be present. Everything should look pixel-perfect, just as you designed it.
Actual Behavior: This is where the bug comes into play. Instead of sharp edges, you often see blurry or fuzzy edges. The blurriness can vary depending on the position of the objects on the canvas, the viewport, or even the display settings. Sometimes, it appears as though anti-aliasing or sub-pixel hinting is being applied, even when it shouldn't be. This gives the whole image a blurred feel on lower-resolution displays.

Screenshots and Visual Evidence

The attached screenshots provide visual proof of the issue. The objects and lines were aligned to the pixel grid at 100% zoom. The blurriness is very inconsistent; it depends on the viewport, the objects themselves, and other factors. This makes it difficult to get a consistent result. The grid itself also appears blurry, which adds to the problem. It is like the program itself is not sure how to render something, or is trying to be too smart and ending up rendering poorly.

The Impact of This Bug

This lack of pixel-perfect rendering has several consequences.

Reduced Design Precision: Designers cannot rely on seeing exactly what the final product will look like. The blurriness at 100% zoom makes it difficult to ensure every element aligns perfectly.
Workflow Inefficiency: Designers need to spend extra time making adjustments to compensate for the blurriness. It wastes precious time and introduces more room for error.
Visual Quality Compromise: Blurry edges and a lack of sharpness detract from the overall visual quality. This undermines the professional look of the design, which is especially important for things like icons, logos, and UI elements. Ultimately, this can be the difference between a great design, and a mediocre one.
Trust Issues: Designers can lose trust in Penpot's rendering capabilities. This makes it harder to use the tool with confidence, which can slow down the design process and increase frustration.

Potential Causes and Solutions

While the exact cause isn't specified in the bug report, some possible reasons include:

Sub-pixel Rendering: Penpot might be applying sub-pixel rendering or anti-aliasing inappropriately, even when elements are perfectly aligned to the pixel grid.
Viewport Transformations: Incorrect calculations in the viewport transformations could lead to blurring.
Display Scaling Issues: Problems with how Penpot handles different display scaling settings on different operating systems.
Software Glitches: General software glitches or bugs in the rendering engine.

Potential Solutions

Precise Pixel Alignment: Ensure all rendering calculations are precise and do not involve sub-pixel calculations. If an object is aligned to a pixel, it should render exactly on that pixel. No gray edges!
Adjust Viewport: Optimize the viewport transformations to ensure correct rendering at different zoom levels.
Display Setting Handling: Thorough testing and optimization across different display settings and operating systems.
Testing and Refinement: Regularly test rendering accuracy to find and fix any issues.

Conclusion

This bug report highlights a significant issue in Penpot: the lack of pixel-perfect rendering at 100% zoom. This causes blurry edges and inconsistencies that affect design precision, workflow efficiency, and overall visual quality. While the exact causes are still uncertain, the impact on designers is clear. Addressing this issue should be a top priority for the Penpot developers, as it directly impacts the usability and effectiveness of the design tool. The solutions, if implemented correctly, will not only improve the overall user experience, but it will also enable designers to produce much more professional-looking designs.