Image Objects
Inserting Image Objects
 Select Tool|Image
An Image object is used to insert an image into your design. The object stores the actual image inside your design file. Because of this your design file can become very large if large images are added.
To insert an image object perform the following steps:
- Select the Tool|Image.
- Click in the design area at the position where you want to insert the Image.
- See Picking a Image
When inserting a Image object you should pay close attention to the following to help improve the quality of your printout:
1. Choose image objects with the resolution of the printer in mind.
When displayed on the screen, intricate graphics may appear distorted because the screen's resolution is far less than the printer's resolution. In general, a graphic that is displayed and printed, pixel for pixel, will appear much smaller on the printer. This means that the graphic must be "stretched" to print with the same dimensions as displayed on the screen. What really matters is how the graphic looks on paper! For the best print quality, it's best to use graphics that are much larger than the desired size and scale them to the size you desire. This way the graphic will contain enough information to print at the higher printer resolution without having to be stretched.
For example, if the printer has a resolution of 300 by 300 dpi (as most laser printers do) then a 300 by 300 pixel graphic will print 1 inch by 1 inch at 100% scale. On the screen the same graphic may be larger than the entire design at 100% scale. This program uses a virtual resolution of 100 by 100 dpi screen resolution to provide WYSIWYG formatting, which means that the graphic will require 3 inches by 3 inches. With this in mind, scaling the graphic to occupy 100 by 100 pixels on the screen (1 inch by 1 inch virtual, 33 1/3 % scale) will cause the graphic to be printed at exactly 300 by 300 dpi, utilizing 100% of the printer's resolution capabilities and provide the ultimate print quality! Now this may seem complicated but really it is not. Just try to use graphics that are about the same size when printed 100% scale as the size on the screen you desire.
2. Try to keep the aspect ratio (height / width) of the scaled object the same as the aspect ratio of the unscaled object.
If the graphic contains lines on angles, changing the aspect ratio could cause the lines to appear jagged. It's always best to maintain the aspect ratio of any graphic object when sizing the object. (Size the graphic by dragging a corner to change the height and width of a graphic together and maintain the aspect ratio.)
Image Properties
The Image tab displays properties specific to graphic objects.
Because graphic objects can be scaled in the design area, it is sometimes hard to tell what the actual size of the graphic is in relation to what you see on the screen. That is, the actual properties can be very different than the displayed properties of the graphic. The graphic properties described below show the actual properties of the graphic.
Actual Size
- The actual width and height of the graphic in pixels.
Graphic Type
- The type of graphic (BMP, WMF, EMF).
Size
- The size of the graphic in bytes.
Color Depth
- The color depth of the graphic.
Transparent checkbox
-Check this checkbox if you want your graphic to display transparently. The transparent color is the color of the bottom left pixel in the image. Any pixel that has the transparent color will display whatever is "under" it in your design.
Load... Button
Click this button to change the picture associated with the image object.
Save... Button
Click this button to export the picture associated with the image object.
Clear... Button
Click this button to release the picture associated with the image object.
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