Digital Outputs

Going Against the Let's-Go-3D Hype

2005-03-09T07:49:00.000-08:00

Everybody's doing it.

Designers and artists are all creating images and objects in 3D in all shapes and sizes. Nevertheless, despite its popularity, 3ds max 6 has provided the means to unfold geometrical objects and match what you would see in the "Unwrap UVW" edit window. Unlike its predecessor, 3ds max 6 gives you access to the "channel info" tool that allows you to copy the mapping channel info to the mesh channel.

This is something, people have been making a comment about, these tips and techniques help if you work with 3ds max imaging.

Here's how you can do it. (Below are tips and techniques provided in http://www.discreet.com/.)
Step 1: Open or reset 3ds max 6.
Step 2: Create a sphere or any other simple geometrical object. Just remember that certain geometry does not provide the best results. An example of this is the Torus Knot which folds back on itself. You could edit the object manually in the "Unwrap UVW" edit window.
Step 3: Apply an Unwrap UVW modifier.
Step 4: From the Parameters rollout, select the Edit button.
Step 5: Go to Mapping Menu > Unfold Mapping.
Step 6: Select "Walk to closest face".
Step 7: Uncheck "normalize clusters" and then click OK. You may need to click "Zoom Extents" so you could view the results. Please take note that you need to uncheck so that the final result may be scaled correctly.
To edit Unwrap UVW-
Step 8: Go to the Utilities panel.
Step 9: Click on More.
Step 10: Select Channel info and then OK.
Step 11: Locate the Channel Info button located below in the Parameters rollout. Then click it to open the Map Channel Info window.
Map Channel Info-
Step 12: From the ID column, select the ID "1:map" row.
Step 13: Click Copy.
Step 14: Select the ID column, select the "mesh" row, then click on Paste.
Step15: Confirm the default Channel Name "-none-".
Step 16: Close the "Map Channel Info" dialog.
Step 17: Again, select "Zoom Extents All" to view the final result.

The final outcome would look like an unfolded version of the 3D sphere.

Digital Printing Company is your premier source for high impact digital printing solutions from prepress scanning and graphics design to customizing your documents using Variable Data Imaging technology.

Best Photos of 2004

2005-01-18T09:54:00.000-08:00

I just want to ask, where did you get your photos and who give the criteria for the best photos. And what are there any categories for best photos? What are other “best” you have for this year? Anyway, with regards to the pictures that are considered “best photos of 2004,” I just want comment on some pictures.

I am not an expert in photography but I know I have an eye for good photos. I have considered some photos good which can be included in your Best Photo category; however, I find other photos meaningless. Whether it shows an event or personality, I think photos should communicate its meaning.

Like graphics, photos should give meaning to something and address a message to the viewers. This message should generate response or reaction to the viewers.

I see some of your pictures amusing while some disturbing. Some move me while others give me meaningless thoughts. Those who communicate well, whether positively or negatively should be, in my opinion, be given the recognition of becoming the Best Photos of 2004.

Nonetheless, I would like to give recognition to those who choose the photos. You have done the amazing job of selecting from, I suppose, thousands of photos people gave you or you have taken yourselves.

Digital Photo Printing makes photo printing look more distinct and brighter

Designing Digital Pieces for Digital Presses

2005-01-18T09:47:00.000-08:00

Designers value the litheness of digital presses that let them print shorter four-color runs. But choices of paper and preparation of files require special care. This is why designers are taking advantage of the versatility of digital printing more than ever. The ability to print four-color on shorter print runs gives them a imaginative freedom their budget might not have allowed on offset presses. As more digital papers enter the market and more print options become accessible, there are more things to consider.

You can choose any paper that the digital printing company guarantees will work with their digital press for the type of job you want to print. Each digital press manufacturer evaluates and recommends paper selections (coated and uncoated) for their line of equipment. Some printing companies experiment and are willing to guarantee work done on papers they recommend, in addition to the papers the vendors recommend.

One of the most significant tips for designing an efficient, artistic, high-quality, and cost-efficient variable data piece is to bring all parties involved in the project together from the start. You have to discuss first what components of the piece are variable -- is it text, graphics, images, or all three. Also, the number, size, and location of the variable data fields should be clarified. These measures will aid define the production resources required and the type of digital color press and variable data system that can be used.

A point to remember when designing for variable data printing is to resist the temptation to over personalize and over design. Do not show off. Each element should have an unyielding purpose underneath the marketing strategy behind the piece. Well designed variable data projects are transparent to the receiver. The goal is not to impress the receiver of the marketing piece with what the technology can do; rather, it is to get the recipient to act and buy something.

Most digital presses convert Pantone colors to their CMYK equivalents and print them that way. Some will allow you to specify the conversion formula yourself or tolerate the press operator to do so. Since Pantone-to-CMYK conversion is also a technique used for offset printing, you may have no problem with the print quality of a converted color.

The print resolution of digital presses is improving constantly, so you might be more anxious about how well people can read, the type rather than how well the press can image it. Type sizes of 10 and 12 point, the usual size of body text, will be fine. Avoid using type smaller than four points. What resolution to use, in the capture or scan of a photographic image, is one of the most bewildering specifications in the graphic arts because scanning equipment and imaging equipment have evolved over the years? Some printers and graphic artists are still using standards that were applicable years ago with older equipment, but are now passé.

Combining offset with short run digital printing sounds like an exact science, and in fact, each application needs to be run like an experiment. Sound scientific procedure calls for controlling all of the variables, and in this print application, it's fundamental for consistent success. If you're doing strictly black-and-white variable information, and already have offset equipment available, then combining digital printing with lithography makes a lot of sense.

The ABC's of Photography

2005-01-04T13:00:00.000-08:00

Every photographer develops their own style over time and adapts the basics to suit the way they like their images to look. Nevertheless, to have a good starting point from which photographers can and should experiment, we follow the photography basics.

The first thing that we should be acquainted about is the exposure. Correct exposure is controlled by a combination of aperture and shutter speed. Exposure compensation is what you can do to override the exposure settings set by the camera's metering system.

Most cameras use multi-segment metering as the default metering system. This metering system measures the brightness in several areas in the photo and finds an average (emphasis varies depending on the camera). This type of metering can be fooled by more challenging lighting conditions such as strong backlighting.

Strong backlighting conditions are where the amount of light on the background is far more extreme than the amount of light on the foreground area. This usually happens when you shoot a subject indoors, with a brightly lit outdoor background.

Ideal lighting conditions are where there is a similar amount of light illuminating both the background and foreground. Ideal lighting is where the camera's multi-segment metering does a good job.

For pinpoint control on the area for which the camera measures brightness, use spot metering if it's available. This metering system only samples a point within the photo, usually in the center, instead of several areas. You can press the shutter release halfway to meter the desired area, and then re-frame the shot.

Depth-of-field is the area that is sharply focused, which is controlled by 3 factors: the aperture, focal length and distance between subject and camera. Alternatively, take an exposure reading with spot metering, note the aperture and shutter speed, and switch to manual exposure mode. This enables you to focus on a subject which isn't what you measured the exposure on.

When shopping for a digital camera, disregard the digital zoom. What you should seek is the optical zoom capability, because what is captured using optical zoom is what the lens actually sees. Digital zoom is basically using in-camera software to enlarge the center pixels in the photo, resulting in loss of detail and sharpness.

Other digital cameras have a combination of optical and digital zoom. On such cameras, you can turn off digital zoom entirely, and use only the optical zoom. This will ensure that I get sharp photos all the time.

The ISO rating refers to the film's sensitivity. Lower ratings like ISO100 mean that the film is less sensitive (needing more light), but able to produce photos that contain less grain and more saturated colors.

We must remember, however, that opinions and views on photography are definitely not the only way of doing things as photography is subjective. You are free to explore, experiment and create your own style. You should know when to break the rules to achieve a sense of idiosyncrasy.

Digital Photo Printing makes photo printing look more distinct and brighter.

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