RE: Do I want it?

Subject: RE: Do I want it?
From: "Joe Malin" <jmalin -at- tuvox -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Date: Mon, 9 May 2005 10:31:34 -0700


Dear David,

These are good points. I'm not intimately familiar with every tech
writing environment; my specialty is enterprise-level computer software
for Windows, Java, and the WWW. For that reason, my experience with
vector graphics is limited to conceptual diagrams, flowcharts, and so
forth. These are usually created by graphic artists or tech writers, so
the original tools are close at hand. We are always editing these
graphics, and we're careful to edit them in vector format using the
original tool.

Your rubric about resolution and color for bitmaps is much more
well-considered and well-stated than mine, and I suggest everyone should
follow it.

My original reason for giving these warnings is that I am by training a
software engineer who specialized in computer graphics. I am painfully
aware of the trouble I can make for myself if I'm not careful!

Thanks for your response.

Joe



-----Original Message-----
From: David Neeley [mailto:dbneeley -at- gmail -dot- com]
Sent: Monday, May 09, 2005 10:02 AM
To: Joe Malin
Cc: TECHWR-L
Subject: Re: Do I want it?

Joe,

I take a small bit of exception to several of your "always" statements:

> *Always* edit drawings in a vector format, and if possible edit in the

> tool in which the drawing was originally created.

Using the "original tool" for a vector may be completely unnecessary.
If the vector is opened, displayed, and saved in a tool without changes
in geometry, using the original tool may be superfluous. In such cases,
using the "original tool" could involve purchase of licenses for that
tool; if the file is handled without unintentional alteration by a tool
you happen to have and may be familiar with, there is no reason to
expend the time or funds to purchase another one.

> Create bitmaps in the largest possible resolution, using the largest
> possible number of colors, and then store the bitmap in the largest
> possible file size. Edit bitmaps conservatively, and avoid changing
> their dimensions. If you need to enlarge a bitmap from its original
> size and resolution, consult an expert.

Au contraire. I would submit that it is more sensible to "create bitmaps
in the largest resolution you are likely to use, with the largest color
depth you may be called upon to employ."

The largest *possible* spacial or color resolution is often overkill,
and can greatly slow the manipulation of the images due to massive size
increases. Having a very high-res image is convenient if you may be
called upon to extract a usable portion from it, but technical
illustrations are often done of a given part or assembly that may
already be a non-reducible item. In such case, I would not bother with a
spatial resolution beyond twice the highest output resolution.

David

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