Re: Screen captures and sizing

[Robert Lauriston <robert -at- lauriston -dot- com>]

My rules are:

- resize dialog boxes etc. to minimize the size of the capture

- crop as much as possible; sometimes I even cut white space out of
the middle of oversized dialog boxes

- if resizing is unavoidable, do it by a whole-number ratio (e.g.
reduce a 1024w shot to 512, since each 4-pixel box in the original
will become one pixes in the reduced image)

- save JPEG images at 100% quality

- place in FrameMaker at 75, 150, or 300 dpi (assuming output dpi is a
multiple of 300)

- turn off all image downsampling in Acrobat Distiller job options

On Mon, May 18, 2009 at 9:41 AM, Spectrum Writing <SpectrumWriting -at- q -dot- com> wrote:
> Cross-posted to framers and STC Lone Writers list.
>
>
>
> I know that there are many graphics gurus on this list and I will be the
> first to admit - I am NOT a graphics guru and it is my weakest point. That
> said, I have never had any comments from clients until now about what I do
> for screen captures, and I wanted either confirmation or some additional
> insight on improvements for taking screen captures.
>
>
>
> Here is the current comment from a client: Generally, I would like to keep
> high quality of screen captures.
>
> Would like to suggest using a tool that can downscale the images with a
> smoothing function to keep high quality appearance. (as appear here, this is
> just sub-sampling with no smoothing.)
>
>
>
> The comment that I have from the client is what I have - nothing specific
> about fuzziness, or anything else.
>
>
>
> I use SnagIt as my capture tool. I use the region option and capture either
> the relevant portion that I need or if required, I take a capture of the
> whole screen. I then save the capture as a .png, and use the import file
> function to bring the capture into my Framemaker file. Obviously, the
> default dpi is set to the fictitious Windows 96 dpi. I change the capture to
> 150 dpi and import. If this works for size and clarity, then I am done; if
> not, I right-click on the picture and adjust the dpi until I get the size
> that works for the page layout and what I am trying to show. (After much
> reading on this list, and advice from another colleague, I have learned that
> what I was initially taught at a long ago gig - to set the dpi to 300 and
> then use the manual sizing handles - is NOT the way to go).
>
>
>
> When  I create the PDF, I am manually distilling the file - I don't do a
> "Save as PDF." I use the Adobe printer to print to a postscript file, and
> then distill the postscript file to a PDF. I don't change anything any of
> the settings in Distiller - I use the standard settings option and don't
> change anything.
>
>
>
>
>
> Can any of you graphics gurus give me some insight as to what else I should
> be doing/changing or if I am doing it the right way - and if you want to
> lecture me off list about dpis and stuff, that is fine with me too. I will
> gladly take whatever information I can glean so that I can reply
> professionally to this client. The pictures are not fuzzy in the PDFs - and
> they have been just fine for all other clients before.
>
>
>
> Thanks so much,
>
>
>
>
>
> Tammy Van Boening
>
> Owner/Principal
>
> Spectrum Writing, LLC
>
> www.spectrumwritingllc.com <http://www.spectrumwritingllc.com/>
>
>
>
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ComponentOne Doc-To-Help 2009 is your all-in-one authoring and publishing 
solution. Author in Doc-To-Help's XML-based editor,  Microsoft Word or 
HTML and publish to the Web, Help systems or printed manuals. 
http://www.doctohelp.com

Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control! http://www.helpandmanual.com/

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