RE: Printed screen art in Frame 6 book
1) Why not use SnagIT to convert the graphics to greyscale at the time of
capture?
Primarily because I could automate the process in PhotoShop ("PS"). I did a group of conversions in PS, and the procedure indicates, so I had them set up as a set of macros. Plus I trust PS for conversion. (SnagIt, OTOH, is a terrific creator of *smooth* thumbnails for Web display of jpg photo galleries -- just a note.)
2) Why not use SnagIT to resample the capture to 150dpi at the time of
capture?
Dov has answered this one many times on the Framers lists, and I included his comments appended to the bottom of my original message. There's also a post from him on yesterday's Framers. The bottom line -- Turning Interpolation On when saving as EPS sets a flag in the EPS file that triggers max interpolation by Acrobat and PostScript printers optimized for the output device at hand. He recommends no resampling/interpolation earlier in the process.
Note that the resizing I did w/in PS had interpolation off. I could probably have ignored that step and resized in Frame with the full-size EPS. I don't think the results were degraded by the procedure I used, however.
3) Why bother going to EPS bitmap when a GIF would have done, or the TIFF
for that matter.
EPS has two benefits -- for color images it encapsulates the color model and keeps the Windows GDI from turning it back into RGB; and it's the only way to set that PostScript "interpolate at print time" flag that maxes your output resolution for the output device. Dov (I'm certain correctly) strongly recommends that this is the only place interpolation should happen if you want the best, cleanest results.
Resizing/downsampling/interpolation of any other file type creates less optimal results when compared to this method. Note, though, that you have to be going to Acrobat or a PostScript printer for this flag to have an effect.
FWIW, I accomplish the same thing using only SnagIT32 and outputting BMP or
GIF. I have found no need to involve a bitmap editor in the process. I
understand why, if you choose to EPS (that's a verb <vbg>) your bitmaps, you
have to follow Dov's sound advice about interpolation. However, I fail to
understand what the EPS process does that TIFF, BMP, or GIF cannot yield
(and the previews don't look like crud).
Yep, the previews look like crud, and if it matters that the Frame file is optimal, that's an issue. For me, and for many of us, PDF is the distribution medium, both for reviews (in an in-house environment) and for publication. Note that I went PDF-to-plate.
I guess your circumstances will determine what you trade off against what.
BTW, I'm on digest for this list. To make sure replies really reach me, copy me at thomasn -at- twelfthnight -dot- com -dot-
Cheers,
Tom Neuburger
www.twelfthnight.com
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