Digital images hold an important place in the publishing industry with many authors today requiring photographs or illustrations to supplement their text. Advancements in technology mean that things have changed dramatically since the first illustrated book were published around the early 1400s using block printing methods (Meggs, p.79). In modern times, most publishers rely on digital images to produce their books so it is essential that they understand the advantages and disadvantages of using digital photography.
Most images today are stored electronically in the JPEG format but what is a JPEG, .jpeg or .jpg image? JPEG stands for the Joint Photographic Experts Group, the committee that founded the file standard. JPEG is a file type that allows the information from an image or a photo to be compressed into a comparatively smaller file (Anon., 2014, p.11) and it is the most widely used standard for digital images. The JPEG format allows publishers to control the picture-quality by tampering with the compression-ratio of the image, which also alters the electronic file size (Anon., 2014, p.11). A higher compression allows for a smaller file, but poorer quality images. Colour quality is an issue with digital printing. Hosea Maeve argues that in the past printed digital images had ‘limited colour matching capacity’ (Maeve, p.32) in that when printed, the colours of the images did not match the appearance of the same image on-screen.
There are many places where publishers may acquire JPEG images, but the most commonly used are freelance or in-house photographers, photo agencies or online image libraries (Steward, 2000). Examples of online image libraries include Veer, Fotolia and Corbis. Publishers are able to select and download photos from image libraries and use them in their publications. Many image libraries offer a choice from thousands of images, so image content should rarely be unattainable. That digital images are so accessible from alternative sources is a benefit to smaller publishers that may not have the resources to store their own images.
Evaluating the quality of images is always important for publishers, particularly to those that publish high-quality books illustrated in colour. Chief consultant of graphic technology at Pira, Marcus Scott-Taggart argues that ‘insufficient resolution is the most easily identified criterion that should encourage you to reject a digitised picture’ (in Steward, 2000). With this in mind, publishers must take caution when obtaining images from external sources in order to ensure optimum quality for their products.
To conclude, there are a number of arguments both for and against using digital photography. Arguably the greatest challenge for digital images is that the complexity of operating equipment or software for digital photography often leads to publishers being discouraged from learning about newer models or systems (Ward, pp.84-85). Digital imaging artist and professional photographer Jeff Schewe’s acknowledgement that ‘occasional hiccups [occur especially] when a new operating system or imaging application is released’ (2013, p.17) advocates that considerable training and practice is indispensable to publishers. What is clear is that publishers will need to constantly consider their options and adapt to the best formats and equipment that is suited for them.
Word Count: 535
Bibliography:
Anon., (2014). The Concise Guide To Digital Photography. Sywell: Igloo Books.
Doctorow, C. (2012). Why the death of DRM would be good news for readers, writers and publishers. The Guardian [online] Available at: <http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2012/may/03/death-of-drm-good-news> [Accessed on 11 October 2014].
Jisc, (2014). Colour Management for Digitisation Projects. Jisc [online] Available at: <http://www.jiscdigitalmedia.ac.uk/infokit/colour-management/modelling-colour> [Accessed on 11 October 2014].
Maeve, H., 2006. Pressing Matters. Publishers Weekly, (Feb. 2006), pp. 31-33.
Meggs, Philip B. (2006). Meggs' History of Graphic Design. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Schewe, J. (2013). The Digital Print: Preparing Images in Lightroom and Photoshop for Printing. New York: Peachpit Press.
Stewart, R. (2000). Downloading and editing digital images. The Bookseller [online] Available at: <http://www.thebookseller.com/feature/downloading-and-editing-digital-images> [Accessed on 11 October 2014].
Ward, G., (1998). Publishing in the Digital Age. London: The Bowerdean Publishing Group.
Most images today are stored electronically in the JPEG format but what is a JPEG, .jpeg or .jpg image? JPEG stands for the Joint Photographic Experts Group, the committee that founded the file standard. JPEG is a file type that allows the information from an image or a photo to be compressed into a comparatively smaller file (Anon., 2014, p.11) and it is the most widely used standard for digital images. The JPEG format allows publishers to control the picture-quality by tampering with the compression-ratio of the image, which also alters the electronic file size (Anon., 2014, p.11). A higher compression allows for a smaller file, but poorer quality images. Colour quality is an issue with digital printing. Hosea Maeve argues that in the past printed digital images had ‘limited colour matching capacity’ (Maeve, p.32) in that when printed, the colours of the images did not match the appearance of the same image on-screen.
There are many places where publishers may acquire JPEG images, but the most commonly used are freelance or in-house photographers, photo agencies or online image libraries (Steward, 2000). Examples of online image libraries include Veer, Fotolia and Corbis. Publishers are able to select and download photos from image libraries and use them in their publications. Many image libraries offer a choice from thousands of images, so image content should rarely be unattainable. That digital images are so accessible from alternative sources is a benefit to smaller publishers that may not have the resources to store their own images.
Evaluating the quality of images is always important for publishers, particularly to those that publish high-quality books illustrated in colour. Chief consultant of graphic technology at Pira, Marcus Scott-Taggart argues that ‘insufficient resolution is the most easily identified criterion that should encourage you to reject a digitised picture’ (in Steward, 2000). With this in mind, publishers must take caution when obtaining images from external sources in order to ensure optimum quality for their products.
To conclude, there are a number of arguments both for and against using digital photography. Arguably the greatest challenge for digital images is that the complexity of operating equipment or software for digital photography often leads to publishers being discouraged from learning about newer models or systems (Ward, pp.84-85). Digital imaging artist and professional photographer Jeff Schewe’s acknowledgement that ‘occasional hiccups [occur especially] when a new operating system or imaging application is released’ (2013, p.17) advocates that considerable training and practice is indispensable to publishers. What is clear is that publishers will need to constantly consider their options and adapt to the best formats and equipment that is suited for them.
Word Count: 535
Bibliography:
Anon., (2014). The Concise Guide To Digital Photography. Sywell: Igloo Books.
Doctorow, C. (2012). Why the death of DRM would be good news for readers, writers and publishers. The Guardian [online] Available at: <http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2012/may/03/death-of-drm-good-news> [Accessed on 11 October 2014].
Jisc, (2014). Colour Management for Digitisation Projects. Jisc [online] Available at: <http://www.jiscdigitalmedia.ac.uk/infokit/colour-management/modelling-colour> [Accessed on 11 October 2014].
Maeve, H., 2006. Pressing Matters. Publishers Weekly, (Feb. 2006), pp. 31-33.
Meggs, Philip B. (2006). Meggs' History of Graphic Design. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Schewe, J. (2013). The Digital Print: Preparing Images in Lightroom and Photoshop for Printing. New York: Peachpit Press.
Stewart, R. (2000). Downloading and editing digital images. The Bookseller [online] Available at: <http://www.thebookseller.com/feature/downloading-and-editing-digital-images> [Accessed on 11 October 2014].
Ward, G., (1998). Publishing in the Digital Age. London: The Bowerdean Publishing Group.