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st_mac.txt
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1992-02-25
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6KB
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115 lines
PICTURE FILE TRANSFERS REVISITED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By Phillip White.
I would like to think that I write these articles in response to popular
demand. No such luck, no-one has ever got back and said to me that they
found my hints and tips useful. Oh well, its just that more often than not
I am faced with a problem, and if I manage to solve it then I think that it
would make a good story for the magazine.
The gist of this article is about picture file transfers between the ST and
the Mac. Once upon a time, computer graphics meant bit mapped screen images.
The types of files that commonly use this format can include Degas,
Neochrome and Spectrum for the ST and Macpaint for the Mac. Also of note
are the various types of IFF and GIF picture for the the Amiga and PC.
IFF transfers have been covered in previous issues of Inside Info,
and I can think of all sorts of excuses not to have to deal with the IBM
world, yet.
I am a Spectre GCR owner, which means that I have a Mac plus as well as
an ST sharing the same case and keyboard. This is not meant to be a Spectre
or Mac rave, but rather some tips on bringing new meaning to the marriage
between Mr Mac and Mrs ST.
The Mac has some great DTP software. Quark Express and Pagemaker reign
supreme in the kingdom of computerised layout. Calamus and Pagestream are
fine programs in their own right but mention Calamus in a typesetting
bureau and lo', a tilt to the head and eh? are the inevitable result. Poor
Calamus owners can't even hand over a disk of postscript.
Let's repeat the bureau scenario again with an Express disk. Firm nods
of understanding, and would sir or madam like a cuppa while we work out the
quote. Nup' lets face it the Mac is it for DTP in the real world.
Before I get tarred and feathered for treason, I would like to point out
that I am a Calamus owner and use it often. My girlfriend is a Machead
and can hardly wait till the ST has died on bootup and Spectre ushers in
the Mac.
Desktop publishing is great fun and profitable too. One of the best ways to
enhance a document is to throw in a few snaps. A picture tells a thousand
words and one of the most common types of picture to use is that of an
image scan. Typically this involves having a photo converted into binary
data by a scanner. There are several available for the ST ranging from
flatbed to handheld models and the most common image file format for the ST
is the .IMG one.
The IMG file is not restricted to the screen size, and can extend way
beyond the borders of the monitor, it also packs in a few bytes with
around 200k being typical for a scan of a 3 by 5 photo at 300 DPI (Dots
per inch). The scan rate should reflect the resolution of the output
device which is the ultimate destination of the picture. My SLM 804
Laser printer will do 300 DPI fine. A transparency may need 1200 DPI and
the IMG file size will bloat accordingly, (even more for colour).
Calamus will accept an IMG pic with gay abandon and so too I think does
Pagestream. All is happy within the closed ranks of the ST community.
But hark! the PC and Mac factions are desirous of our IMG pic. What to
do? I have it on good faith that the IMG format is recognised in some PC
applications, after all it is the "GEM IMG" format we are talking about,
and GEM was written for the PC. No such luck with the Mac however and
thus we need some way of getting our pic into Pagemaker.
Bit mapped screen images are no problem. Degas to Mac converter and View
GIF are two shareware applications that will convert ST bitmapped images
to the MacPaint format and vice versa without any problem, although some
cropping may result. Others, such as Picswitch will only convert from
MacPaint to an ST format pic.
The big problem is in how to convert a monster IMG image into something
the Mac can play ball with. Attempt number one was to use Degas to Mac
converter. Load the IMG file and section it into 8 pieces which were
then joined together in Macpaint. Tedious. There must be a better way.
I did not have View GIF at this stage so I cannot vouch for it. But
a phone call to the ACE NSW president revealed that the latest Touchup
would convert an IMG into a TIFF file. TIFF, which means Tagged
Interchange File Format is reputedly a machine independent image file
format that is fast gaining favour in the industry.
I braced myself for a bus trip and the conversion process was completed.
A further conversion was necessary in Mac mode to change the TIFF pic
into a PICT for importation into a Mac DTP application. This was
accomplished using a Mac shareware utility called GIF Converter, (with
all these references to GIF or Graphics Interchange Format, I suppose I
had better do an article someday on this as well!)
So far so good, but there had to be a better alternative to hoofing it
over to the Presidents residence every time I want an IMG file converted
and I am singularly unimpressed with the speed of Touchup to want to
buy it, slow as a wet week really.
Then I remembered that an ST public domain utility called ST PIC
Converter by Danny Roth had as a file save option, a format called TIF.
Would this work?
You Betcha! and it converts an entire IMG pic as well. I must point out
that it is a one bit TIFF file, which I presume means no grey scales or
colours, but it looks pretty good when printed out as a Pagemaker
document on a laser printer.
What all this means is that ST users can move one step closer into the
embrace of the rest of the computer world. It is apparent that no longer
is it the hardware that matters so much anymore, but rather the ability to
exchange files easily between different computers. The TIFF format is one
example. It can be utilised on Macs, PC's ST's and Amigas, albeit with
a fair degree of conversion processing, but it is worth it in the end.
Also for those Spectre users, a scanner which plugs into the ST can be
used instead of relying on a Mac base one with the customary markup.
The ShareWare or Public Domain utilities mentioned here are available for
perusal on the ACE NSW BBS and through the PD Library.