Imaging or Graphics
The fierce competition among software companies to develop Graphics Applications has placed a lot of confusion on customers. Many hardware manufactures have attempted to write their own software codes for their scanners and cameras. Companies were unwilling to face the complexities involved. The free market finally won out and industry wide standards emerged. Consumers who were not knowledgeable with the compatibility problems across platforms and operating systems were many times left with products they not satisfied with. Problems associated with compatibility between hardware and software still exist.
As you may imagine there was a lot of corporate jockeying to gain control of imaging software when it became apparent that Digital Scanners and Cameras were big selling items. Microsoft was not one of the first companies to develop good Graphics software. They are rapidly catching up with their "PhotoDraw" Software and it can be purchased separately or bundled as part of their "Office Suite". Due to their late start into this area their software is not straight forward with meaningful terminology. The early corporations had the copyrights to terms and names which make sense and are readily understandable. Microsoft tried teaming with second party software companies and also attempted the purchase of some of the more successful ones. There is an ongoing dispute between Microsoft and Eastman Kodak.
Beginning with Windows 95 OSR2, Microsoft included with the operating system installation a set of ActiveX controls referred to collectively as "Imaging for Windows" consisting of image scanning, viewing/editing, thumbnail and administration controls, originally developed by Wang, then acquired by Kodak. This software was in my opinion a sad attempt by Microsoft to catch up. Microsoft rapidly improved the capabilities of their "Paint" software.
The recommendation to PC operators is to purchase and use applications and hardware which can function independently of each other. This can readily be accomplished by purchasing software and equipment which accommodates standard file types. One must also know the difference between "Graphics" and "Imaging". There is a lot of overlap and good programs can handle both drawing capability (graphics) and photographic capability (imaging). Notice the name Microsoft gave to their product, "PhotoDraw". Indicating that it is capable of both. In general Graphics Programs will provide for wider usage than Imaging Software. Imaging software tends to favor photographic applications only.
(Reference. The following information was obtained in part from Microsoft’s Web Site on learning to use their Photo Draw graphics software. The information is to be used for instructional purposes only.)
BMP, GIF, JPEG, MIX, PNG, and TIFF are raster image formats. A raster image is also known as a bitmap and is created from rows of small dots called pixels ("picture elements") or "bits." Because a raster format uses a fixed method of specifying an image, the image cannot always be immediately rescaled without losing definition.
The Microsoft Windows® BMP format (.bmp file extension) can display millions of colors. Because it is supported by several programs, it is an extremely practical file format to use when you are providing an image to someone who may not have the program in which you created the image.
The GIF format (.gif file extension) is one of the two most common file formats for images on the World Wide Web, since it is supported by almost all Web browsers. Because this format can only display a maximum of 256 colors, it is best used for black-and-white line drawings, color clip art, and pictures with large blocks of solid colors. The GIF89a format also supports both transparency and animation.
The JPEG format (.jpg or .jpeg file extension) is the other most common file format for images on the Web. It is not limited to 256 colors, so you can use it to display high-quality photographs, or pictures containing millions of colors. Because it is designed as an image storage format, it can efficiently compress large, high-quality photos into very compact files, so it is very useful when you want to send a large image via e-mail. However, the more you reduce your image's file size (or modify and re-save the image), the more image information is discarded - and quality is decreased. Moreover, this format does not support transparency or animation.
The MIX format (.mix file extension) is the Microsoft PhotoDraw™ native file format and can display millions of colors. It maintains all the objects in the image separately, allowing you to edit the individual objects when you reopen the file. (Other file formats "flatten" all the objects into a single object.) Currently, it is only supported by PhotoDraw, but you can save to other file formats, including all of those listed in this article.
The PNG format (.png file extension) can display millions of colors. Because it is such a new format, however, fewer browsers currently support it (although it is quickly gaining support). Images saved in this format will not degrade in quality, even if the file is compressed. It supports transparency, but it does not support animation, since it cannot contain multiple images.
The TIFF format (.tif or .tiff file extension) produces very high quality images and is therefore used in publishing quite often. It can display millions of colors (although grayscale images are limited to 256 colors or shades), and typically results in larger image files than the GIF or JPEG formats. If you plan to edit an image in a program other than the one in which you created it, saving it in this format is helpful, since it is widely recognized by various programs.
The following table shows the best graphics format to use for various actions.
|
Action |
BMP |
GIF |
JPEG |
MIX |
PNG |
TIFF |
|
Post an image on a Web page |
X |
X |
||||
|
Export easily to other computer imaging programs |
X |
X |
||||
|
Compress a large image to create a small file to send in e-mail |
X |
|||||
|
Use transparent areas in images |
X |
X |
||||
|
Create animation files |
X |
|||||
|
Decompress images without loss of quality |
X |
X |
||||
|
Create highest quality images (for publishing, etc.) |
X |
|||||
|
Edit individual objects in an image |
X |
|||||
|
Display millions of colors in an image |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
|
Retain image quality through numerous saves |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Reference. This information was obtained from Microsoft’s Web Site on learning to use their Photo Draw graphics software. The information is to be used for instructional purposes only.
Using JPEG File Format
Use .jpg files for:
Use .gif files for:
Exercise 2 - A Collage with Annotation
One of the most common uses for graphics software is to process and manage photographs. People love memories. To illustrate that software primarily intended for drawing (i.e. graphics) can also be used for working with Photographs. This exercise is to gain additional experience with "Paint". Click on the link below to go to this exercise.
Exercise 3 - A Collage with Borders
In this exercise we will clone two children into four. Several photos were taken of two children on playground equipment. The camera was located on a tri-pod such that the background is identical in each photo. Using the selection tool, copy, and paste interesting effects can result. Can you think of some good ideas for this technique?
Note: For class members desiring extra experience view the folder named "kids" on this CD. There are sufficient photographs there to create a collage of 14 children. See the file titled "toomany.jpg".
Greeting Cards with Paint & Word
This is an optional project for class members who wish additional practice and ideas for using the simple applications which come with the Windows Operating System. You may use any Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) application for your graphics and or other content. Paint can be used to merely present the material for printing in a single pass operation. An alternative method is to set manual margins and construct a card using 4 passes through your printer. Experiment and learn.
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