I think that you chose well by having a digital version and a print version. That immediately solves one of the major problems.
I use the rubric "save big and shrink down", that is, make relatively big images and then scale them down. Scaling algorithms do reasonably well at throwing away information. Nothing does well at creating information from nothing. The larger the original image, the more pixels you have for any particular image point. The algorithm can always throw away extra pixels or color levels. Multiple scaling is also a no-no. Scale the image *once*. Scale the document it goes into *once*. Scalings are multiplicative. Alas, not enough formats out there support vector graphics. We're incredibly fortunate that the world has adopted what are essentially vector fonts. On Fri, Mar 25, 2011 at 10:09 AM, Alison Craig <Alison.Craig at ultrasonix.com>wrote: > > I have to admit to being curious about this discussion as image quality has > never been an issue for me (if it matters: FM9, all patched on Windows 7). > > I use only EPS files or, if I need to insert arrows or other highlighted > options on an image, I use a TIF or PNG inside a Visio file which I then > save to PDF. All images are imported by reference. (I *very* seldom scale a > PDF after importing it and if I do, I try to keep it within a few percentage > points of 100%.) > > I create my final PDFs twice from the same book setup with different > joboption files so I get a digital version for viewing and a press quality > one for printing on a professional, 600 dpi, high-speed, colour laser > (with/without links and lower/higher image downsample settings are the major > differences). > > Both of these options result in good, onscreen image quality at reasonable > zoom levels (if you're going to zoom to 600% or 1000%, you get what you > get). > > I have to plead major ignorance in the field of images, so how did I luck > into a reliable method which I devised after a little trial and error? > > Alison > > > -----Original Message----- > From: framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com [mailto: > framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf Of Shlomo Perets > Sent: March 25, 2011 3:04 AM > To: framers at lists.frameusers.com > Subject: Re: DPI Recommendation for Images > > Alan Litchfield wrote: > > >... There is no value that I see in trying to dictate to the reader what > >they will see at any specified zoom. The reader will decide what is > >`good enough' for their viewing pleasure. ... > > > Forcing a specific zoom (related to the DPI value at which the screen > captures are placed in FM) is indeed not practical, especially since > readers can easily switch between view settings of Fit Page, Fit Width etc. > (that result in different zoom levels in different computers/screens). > > However, this variable zoom effectively guarantees that the rendering of > screen captures will be suboptimal, with different levels of distortion > (missing pixels and/or blurred display). This is not a problem when the PDF > is primarily intended for print purposes, but many PDFs are primarily used > on-screen (even when the intended use is print, e.g. to benefit from > interactivity/search). > > No easy solutions, unfortunately. Displaying the screen capture without any > distortion is possible through "off-page" display -- see different examples > at http://www.microtype.com/ImprovePDF29.html . > > [ The same issue applies directly to the display of SWF screen movies > (where FM8/9/10 only support in-document placement; distortion of movie > display in the PDF is practically guaranteed), see comparison of playback > modes at > http://www.microtype.com/showcase/MultimediaAsst/PlaybackModes.pdf > or > http://www.microtype.com/showcase/MultimediaAsst/PlaybackModes-Native.pdf, > Acrobat/Reader 9 or higher ] > > > > Shlomo Perets > > MicroType, http://www.microtype.com > FrameMaker/TCS training & consulting * FM-to-Acrobat TimeSavers/Assistants > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > You are currently subscribed to framers as alison.craig at ultrasonix.com. > > Send list messages to framers at lists.frameusers.com. > > To unsubscribe send a blank email to > framers-unsubscribe at lists.frameusers.com > or visit > http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/alison.craig%40ultrasonix.com > > Send administrative questions to listadmin at frameusers.com. Visit > http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info. > _______________________________________________ > > > You are currently subscribed to framers as jmalin at jmalin.com. > > Send list messages to framers at lists.frameusers.com. > > To unsubscribe send a blank email to > framers-unsubscribe at lists.frameusers.com > or visit > http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/jmalin%40jmalin.com > > Send administrative questions to listadmin at frameusers.com. Visit > http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info. > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://lists.frameusers.com/pipermail/framers/attachments/20110325/c51e289b/attachment.html>
