As part of Task 1, I have been assigned to do some research about some technical aspects which we come across quite frequently.
01. Resolution - How it differs between screen and print
Screen Resolution determines the number of pixels that are contained within the standard aspect ratio of 16:9. Therefore, given that we are maintaining this aspect ratio/scale, the more the resolution is, the more pixels are on the picture and the more clear and high quality it is. These resolutions are increasingly growing over time and in fact, we have been moving from HD (1920x10) to 4K (4096x2160). Now we are also looking and moving into larger resolutions that in the past we never dreamed of.
This video gives an idea of the difference between resolutions. Keep in mind, however, that this is not accurate in terms of picture quality, since resolution depends on the monitor that you are using to watch it on as well, amongst other factors that I am not able to go into during this blog post.
Print resolution is quite similar to the above-mentioned because it is the level of detail on a printed image. Obviously, higher resolution means more detail and more sharpness on the printed artwork. The unit that is used to calculate print resolution is Dots Per Inch. Therefore, the recommendation is always to capture photos/or do your artwork on the highest resolution possible, and then you can scale down accordingly. The rule, however, is to never scale up, since scaling up an image destroys resolution. Moving on to numbers, the recommended resolution that many designers work on is 300DPI, since 354 DPI is the maximum that many offset printing machines handle and anything more than that only increases the file size, without any significant changes to the image.
To demonstrate better this difference between print resolutions, I have included these two identical images with different resolutions. The clearest one is taken at 300DPI and the other at just 75DPI. Slide through to see the difference!
Source: Chilli Printing (2017)
02. DPI and PPI
I have already gone through the DPI (Dots Per Inch), and the example that I just gave abode demonstrated the difference between different DPI numbers. To explain it in brief, DPI is the number of printed dots you have in every square inch.
Now, PPI is quite similar, since it is the number of pixels in a square inch on a monitor. So, as one can imagine the abbreviation PPI is simply Pixels Per Inch. In principle, PPI is quite similar to DPI, the difference being that one (PPI) is for screen and digital artwork and the other (DPI) applies to printed material.
Although these two technical aspects are not the same and they are not directly linked, having a higher PPI does contribute to having a higher DPI, and this is where there can be frequent confusion.
03. Compression
Undoubtedly, good quality images and video consume lots of space on our drives, and space is an issue for lots of people. This is where compression comes in. This term describes the process of encoding/converting a file in such a way that it takes much less space, by grouping together certain parts of the image or removing parts that do not affect that significantly the rest.
04. File formats - Image and Video
File formats are the way that one needs to save his/her work. It depends on various factors such as if it is a photo or video, the quality required if it is the exported artwork of project file and more. The file format is that extension starting with a full stop (.) and 3-6 letters mostly.
Some common formats used in video include (and not limited to) - .mp4, .mxf, .mov, .flv
Some common formats used in images include (and not limited to) - .jpg, .png, .raw and .craw
05. Colour Modes
The colour mode is what determines the combination of colours based on the number of channels in a colour model. The choice of colour model depends on the purpose. For instance, CMYK is to be used for printing of brochures, whereas RGB is recommended for images on a website, to reduce the file size without compromising the image quality. These are 3 of the colour modes.
RGB (1) - Stands for Red, Green and Blue. A colour is formed by a number which assigned to these 3 colours. When the 3 numbers total to 255, you will get pure white and 0 gets pure black.
CMYK (2) - Stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black. Each pixel is assigned a percentage of each of these four highlight colours.
Grayscale mode (4) - Works with numerous shades of gray within the same image. Each pixel has a brightness value ranging from 0 (complete black) to 255 (white). In the cases of 16 and 32 bit images, values go up even more.
06. Vector and Raster
Raster images work with pixels, these small dots with colour which when combined make up this image. Digital cameras take raster images. On the other hand, Vector images consist of paths with a mathematical formula to dictate how it will show in different scales.
The main difference between these two is that raster images cannot be scaled up, because if you do so, these will loose their resolution and become pixilated. On the other hand, in the case of vector graphics scaling upwards is possible maintaining the same crisp quality, since it works with these mathematical formulas, known as vectors (hence the name).
07. File management
File management is the organisation of files in different folders and categorising them. Also, there are various ways such as zipping to compress these files so they can take much less storage on the drives. Images and videos are amongst the largest types of files that one can have. It is imperative for any kind of videographer and photographer to make sure that files are sorted properly.
References:
Adobe, 2021. Understanding Photoshop color modes [WWW Document]. URL https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/color-modes.html (accessed 11.18.21).
Adobe, n.d. A beginner’s guide to video resolution | Adobe [WWW Document]. URL https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/video/discover/video-resolution.html (accessed 11.18.21).
Brandon, 2012. Web resolution vs. Print resolution: Understanding the difference and how it affects you [WWW Document]. expresscopy.com Blog. URL https://www.expresscopy.com/blog/web-resolution-vs-print-resolution-understanding-the-difference-and-how-it-affects-you/2012/ (accessed 11.18.21).
Chilli Printing, 2017. Print Resolution: What Is It And Why Is It So Important? Chilliprinting Blog. URL https://www.chilliprinting.com/Online-Printing-Blog/print-resolution/ (accessed 11.18.21).
Gupta, H., 2017. Using AI to Super Compress Images. HackerNoon.com. URL https://medium.com/hackernoon/using-ai-to-super-compress-images-5a948cf09489 (accessed 11.18.21).
Pomerleau, C., 2019. PPI vs. DPI: what’s the difference? [WWW Document]. 99designs. URL https://99designs.com/blog/tips/ppi-vs-dpi-whats-the-difference/ (accessed 11.18.21).
PsPrint, n.d. What’s the Difference Between Raster and Vector? - Resources [WWW Document]. PsPrint. URL https://www.psprint.com/resources/difference-between-raster-vector/ (accessed 11.18.21).
Salch, M., 2019. Which Graphic File Format is Best: Vector and Raster Images [WWW Document]. Tell Your Tale Marketing & Design. URL https://tellyourtale.com/graphic-design/which-graphic-file-format-is-best-vector-and-raster-images/ (accessed 11.18.21).
Scottie’s Tech.info, 2017. PPI, DPI, and why that image doesn’t look right when you print it. Scottie’s Tech.Info. URL https://scottiestech.info/2017/01/30/ppi-dpi-and-why-that-image-doesnt-look-right-when-you-print-it/ (accessed 11.18.21).
Sony Support, 2019. What is the difference between Dots Per Inch (DPI) and Pixels Per Inch (PPI)? | Sony USA [WWW Document]. URL https://www.sony.com/electronics/support/articles/00027623 (accessed 11.18.21).
Vector vs Raster Files [WWW Document], 2018. . Graphic Design Services. URL http://www.seekacreative.co.nz/1/post/2018/10/vector-vs-raster-files.html (accessed 11.18.21).
Wakefield, A.T., 2016. Print Resolution [WWW Document]. Banner Printing Android Blog. URL https://bannerprintingandroid.co.uk/blog/print-resolution (accessed 11.18.21).
Ward, S., 2020. Get Your Electronic Files Organized With These 10 Tips [WWW Document]. The Balance Small Business. URL https://www.thebalancesmb.com/computer-file-management-tips-2948083 (accessed 11.18.21).
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