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» Home » Graphics Putting
the Graphic Pieces Together Graphic images are one of the most important elements in designing a printed or electronic communication. Graphic images can be a logo, a photo or perhaps an illustration. There are several different kinds of files and color formats that you can use. However, each one is right for a specific medium or kind of project. But, before we get into that, let's discuss how images get into a computer in the first place. There are few methods for getting digital images into a computer system. The most common methods are to either create the image with a computer program or to scan (drum or flatbed), or photograph, an image into the system from an outside source. To create an image with software, you can use either a bitmap image-editing program or a vector-drawing program. When an image is scanned or "fed" into a computer, it is automatically a bitmap-image file. What's the difference between bitmap and vector images? Glad you asked.
A bitmap image is made up of pixels, or tiny squares, on a fixed grid. Bitmap images are resolution dependent. The higher the resolution, the more tiny pixels exist on the image's grid and the more detail an image can display. If a bitmap image is enlarged too much or if an image with screen resolution is used in a printed project, you can see the rows of pixels that make up the image. Bitmap images, depending on their color mode, have larger file sizes (kilobytes and megabytes) than a vector image of a similar size. Images can come in a variety of formats. Common image file formats include TIFF, PICT, BMP, WMF, GIF, JPEG and EPS. Each format is best-suited for a particular use. PDF files are not actually image files but they are sometimes grouped together. Images also come in a variety of color modes with corresponding bit depths. Each one of these color modes has a specific use. The RGB (Red, Green, Blue) color mode is intended for use onscreen as these are the same colors used by monitors. The CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black) color mode is intended for professional process-color printing. Images that are in grayscale mode contain shades of gray while bitmap color mode images (not necessarily related to bitmap images) contain areas of either black or white. Duotones, duographs, tritones and quadtones are usually created by combining grayscale images with spot colors to create different effects. Indexed color mode images are ideal for web graphics. These images contain less than 256 colors and, as a result, have smaller file sizes. Before a project can be professionally output to film or printed, it
is best to preflight
the project, which includes graphics. An image may also need to be trapped
but this is best left to a Printer or service bureau. Tip: Want info on Graphic Design classes near you? Visit our guide of top design schools.  Some
Links You May Find Useful
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o
all of the terms in this section seem a little daunting? I wouldn't be
surprised if they did. There's no shortage of acronyms when you talk about
graphics and nothing seems to be more confusing than acronyms. But don't
despair, this article will show you how all the many pieces of the graphics
puzzle fit together.
A
vector image is one that contains vectors, or points, that have been "plotted"
and connected to form objects. Because these objects are formed mathematically
(via 
