Help: Graphic files

Subject: Help: Graphic files
From: radriano
Date: 03 Feb 00 - 06:55 PM

Can anyone help me in understanding the construction of GIF files?

I've been trying my hand at posting Irish tunes as GIF or JPG files and am finding that the output (how they appear after they are posted) of my files is of a rather poor quality.

What I'm doing is scanning sheet music generated by ABC2Win. I'm scanning at a resolution of 100 and am getting a rather fuzzy look with either GIF or JPG. Any suggestions? Should I be scanning at a higher resolution? Is there a better method than scanning sheet music?
Any help would be appreciated.

Regards,
radriano

Subject: RE: Help: Graphic files
From: Jo Taylor
Date: 03 Feb 00 - 07:42 PM

This is a really good site for learning all about scanning, resolutions, etc. etc : Scantips Enjoy!
Jo

Subject: RE: Help: Graphic files
From: Helen
Date: 03 Feb 00 - 07:47 PM

Hi radriano,

I have not tried to scan sheet music but scanning at a higher resolution would make a lot of difference. Highest resolutions take up a lot of memory so if you are storing the files that becomes a consideration, but sheet music is a complicated and specific type of graphic so the more specific you cna get your scanned pictures, the better.

The other thing is that JPG format compresses the files so no matter how clear/specific the graphic is, when it gets converted to JPG you will lose some of the specific/clear details - the amount you lose depends on the percentage of compression you choose.

You'll probably get some useful suggestions from other 'Catters who have actually tried scanning sheet music, though.

Helen

Subject: RE: Help: Graphic files
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 03 Feb 00 - 09:03 PM

Scan at the highest resolution you can cope with, and then scale it down. JPG is best avoided for things like sheet music; it's a "lossy" format and will degrade in quality each time you re-save it. Gif is more reliable, though it makes bigger files than seriously compressed jpg. If you have ABC2Win, get it to make the staff notation for you: don't print and scan. It doesn't cost much to register the software and get full functionality.

Malcolm

Subject: RE: Help: Graphic files
From: radriano
Date: 04 Feb 00 - 10:49 AM

Thanks to all who answered my cries for help. I've now got a lot of things to try lots of material to explore.

If anyone is looking for Irish tunes, get in touch with me. I've got a veritable plethora of material I'd be happy to share with mudcatters.

Cheers to all,
radriano

Subject: RE: Help: Graphic files
From: radriano
Date: 04 Feb 00 - 06:53 PM

Hey, Malcolm

How does one scan right from the computer screen? I've heard that some programs can do that but I don't think ABC2Win can. Any ideas?

Cheers,
radriano

Subject: RE: Help: Graphic files
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 04 Feb 00 - 09:32 PM

Radriano:

Sorry; I should have been more specific.  In ABC2Win, you open an .abc file -I assume that's where you're starting from- it then appears in the "tune list".  Double-click on it, and it should appear on the "page list".  Double-click on that, and you should get the staff notation.  Go to "copy/paste", and select "copy page bitmap to clipboard."  You should now have a bitmap copy of the staff notation saved, which you can paste into whatever bitmap editing program you have.  (You have a scanner,so you've got at least one).  If the program lets you, go for a resolution of, say, 300 dpi to begin with.  You can now crop the image to the area you want, make any adjustments that seem necessary and save it as a .gif, which will almost certainly be 72 dpi.  Experiment a bit to see what works best; and don't forget to try it out in a browser "test page" so you can be sure it looks ok.  This should work: if it doesn't, say so and I'll try to help more!

Good luck...

Malcolm