Figure 3-11.—Canon 500 color copier with the EFI Fiery
controller.
Thermal-wax printers are designed to produce
clean, bright colors; however, they have a limited range
of colors because these printers are only capable of
producing colors that are one-bit per color deep. These
printers are relatively inexpensive and can produce
large prints quickly.
EDITING DIGITAL IMAGES
To edit digital images, you must rely heavily on
computer software.
The software allows you to
manipulate the image.
You can crop, retouch, and
change colors of the entire image or any section of the
image. With the powerful software packages available,
you can change the original image into something
completely different by merging one digital image with
another. The scope of the aesthetic and creative aspects
of the final digital image is limitless.
Editing digital images involves using
graphic-interface software. This type of software is
much easier to learn than text-based software. There
are two essential elements of graphic-interface
software: MOUSE and a BIT-MAPPED DISPLAY.
The mouse is a small hand-held device that must be
connected by a cable to a computer. When you
manipulate the mouse on a desktop, it causes the cursor
to move on the screen of the computer monitor. This
method allows you to move files, run programs, draw
lines, and execute commands. You can accomplish this
by moving the mouse to the appropriate location and
"clicking" a button. A bit-mapped display is composed
of tiny dots that am turned on or off individually; this
allows the computer to show graphic images in addition
to text.
Bit-mapped displays are used in Apple
application software and Microsoft "Windows"
programs.
Graphical interfaces are easy to use because they
provide a “point and click” approach to operating
software. Files and software functions are displayed as
small graphical icons (fig. 3-12). For example, an icon
bearing the image of a folder may represent a file; or an
icon bearing the image of a magnifying glass may allow
you to zoom in on a portion of the screen. Graphical
interfaces also use WINDOWS. A window can be
compared to an open drawer (folder) of a file cabinet
(hard drive). Windows are displayed as frames on the
screen. These display different "files" in the "folder."
Two software packages used in Navy imaging
facilities for electronic imaging are Adobe Photoshop
and Aldus PhotoStyler. These software packages are
not just photographic editing and enhancement tools but
complete illustration programs. These two programs
operate in the same manner. With "hands on"
experience, you will soon become proficient.
Photoshop is available for both Macintosh and
PC/windows platforms. PhotoStyler is designed for use
in the PC windows environment only. Figure 3-13
shows some of the tools available in these two computer
programs. As you can see, these two imaging software
packages are very similar.
Although there are several software packages
available for editing electronic images, they are all
similar. These similarities are as follows: paint tools,
selection tools, filters, and color correction.
PAINT TOOLS
Paint tools allow you to retouch or add selected
colors to an image.
The tools typically include a
paintbrush that allows you to draw in a color or pattern,
a paint bucket that allows you to pour a color or pattern
into a selected section of an image, and a spray paint
tool that provides you with an airbrush effect. These
image-editing programs allow you to perform color
correction and to change contrast and density of the
image. Other common tools may include a pencil for
adding or deleting pixels, a teardrop for softening edges,
and a finger paint or smudging tool for smudging colors.
An interesting option in most image-editing
programs is the cloning tool. To use the cloning tool,
you first select the icon; then you must click the mouse
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