All image files can be compressed using the "compress" command. Compressed files are further appended with the .Z extension; for example: graph.rgb.Z would be a Silicon Graphics RGB file named graph in compressed format.
Consult the Supported Image File Formats section of the SCV Hardcopy Services FAQ for a list of the image file formats we support.
Information on the Unix SDSC Image Tools:
We currently use the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC)
Image Tools
to manipulate raster image files on Unix machines. For additional information
on these tools consult the
Help on SDSC Image Tools section of the
SCV Hardcopy Services FAQ.
Procedures for getting a slide printed:
Image files in a valid format must be transferred to lobster,
our production machine. There are two ways to do this. The preferred
method is to use the slides program. This program has been installed
on many machines around campus and can be accessed by typing slides
(if you get an error message, you do not have the program). If you
would like to get the slides program, ask your system administrator to
send email to help@cgl.bu.edu
for additional information on installing the
slides program. Meanwhile, you can use the alternative method
described below and anonymously ftp your files to the slides directory
on lobster. After the files are transferred, you must send
email to slides@lobster.bu.edu. Tell us the number of copies
you need and the date you need them by.
The Slides Program:
Type slides without any filename for help using the slides
program. The whole procedure goes like this:
cgl% slides filename.format
or
cgl% slides filename1.format filename2.format filename3.format
cgl% slides img.*
ftp> mkdir slides/jamiem
ftp> cd slides/jamiem
This will change directories to your personal slides directory
on lobster. We have found this is the best way for us to organize
incoming slides requests.
ftp> put myimage.bucgl
We accept compressed (.Z) compression files. All uncompressed files are automatically compressed and appended with the .Z extension by the slides program. Due to the excessive size of image files, you are also encouraged to store all of your image files in compressed .Z format.
Payments and Pickups:
There is generally a 3 business-day turnaround time for processing normal
priority slide requests. Note the key word "business-day". This means
weekends and holidays don't count so a slide request submitted on Friday will
be ready on Wednesday of the following week.
Rush orders are also available, but definitely not encouraged, and carry significant surcharges. There is no guarantee on rush orders; please plan ahead. The following example of a rush order is given for clarity:
The official work day is from 9:00am to 6:00pm. Turnaround time is calculated within these hours, in 24-hour increments, to the nearest time following your request. For example, let's say you submitted your slide request Tuesday evening around 10:00pm and requested one-day turnaround. The slide request will be read at 9:00am on Wednesday morning, and one-day turnaround is considered 24 hours from the time we receive your request. Your slides would therefore be ready by 9:00am Thursday morning and would carry a surcharge equal to 3 times the normal rate. Same day service is five times the normal rate.
Low priority rates are also available and encouraged. Low priority orders have a maximum turnaround time of 7 business-days. All costs are outlined below.
You will receive an email message notifying you when your slides are ready.
Acceptable forms of payment are cash, personal check and open B.U. purchase orders. If you need further information, please have your secretary or financial coordinator contact Randi Simmons at 353-2780.
You can pick up your slides during posted
lab hours (normally 94 hours per
week) from the consultant on duty in the CGL located at 111 Cummington St.
Room 203.
Advice on Color, Resolution, Layouts and Fonts for
Projection Slides:
Choosing Appropriate Colors: The key
here is contrast. If you have a dark blue background, try bright yellow text.
Also, stay clear of blue for text. The only time you can effectively use blue
for text is against a white or light gray background. Your eyes are simply
not as sensitive to blues as they are to other colors such as reds or
greens. In general, when trying to graph data for instance, don't combine
blues on blues, black on blue, or any dark colors next to dark colors.
Your choice of background colors is also very important, light images look
great against a dark background and dark images look much better against a
white background. Blue backgrounds or large solid areas are fine; in fact
they look quite nice. Finally, note that large light areas on slides tend to
show dust spots.
Resolution: Our camera can display images with a maximum resolution of 1280 x 1024 pixels. We highly recommend you submit files close to this, especially for applications that require a high resolution slide. Unless you request otherwise, all files are soft-resized (scaled up to fill the screen, using color interpolation) to this maximum size. The higher the resolution of your original image, the more detail your final image will have. Remember that our camera cannot exceed the 1280 x 1024 total pixels boundary. Special note for PC users: Typically, PC screens won't display images as large as 1280x1024, but many PC software application programs can create an output file higher than the screen can display. Read the manual for your particular software package; if there's a flag or command to increase the resolution of your output image files, use it.
Layout: Your image files should either be square or horizontal, having greater breadth then height. Be very careful of image files that started out as PostScript files as they are usually taller than they are wide. For best results, such files must be rotated 90 degrees as described in Question #2 of the SCV Hardcopy Services FAQ. By default, PostScript documents are always saved as portrait documents(8.5"x11"), even if you created them in landscape mode (11"x8.5"). Film exposure area has greater breadth then height. As such, if we were to shoot a slide of an image in portrait layout, you would end up with large amounts of excess black space on either side of your image. Our camera is stationary; we can't turn the camera sideways as you might an ordinary camera. We shoot slides of the images you submit to us, as is, so please submit them correctly.
Fonts: Be aware that often people will be reading these slides from across the room, so you want to make your text bright and bold. Use the largest font size you can aesthetically fit on your slide. Limit the number of lines of text; a good guideline is no more than 6 lines of text per slide. All text and lines should be thick and bold. Also, don't crowd your slides or your audience won't be able to absorb all the data. If in doubt, make two related slides rather than one.
Common Slides Questions (Primarily Unix):
See the SCV Hardcopy Services FAQ for answers to
common non-slides-specific questions regarding hardcopy production, file
formats, the Image Tools and related issues.
Yes, we encourage you to store and transfer your files in compressed .Z format. Both the slides program and anonymous ftp transfer methods accept compressed .Z files. Files transferred using the slides program will be automatically compressed upon receipt. Use the commands compress and uncompress to create and extract .Z files.
We frequently shoot slides for document publication. For B&W publication, images are often submitted as glossy B&W prints. These are normally created from the negatives of B&W film. We only shoot color positive (slide) film (Ektachrome P100) and are not set up to shoot either negative or B&W film. The Image Tools imgray and immono can convert a color image to a grayscale or mono image respectively, but they still get recorded onto color slide film. Color slides of B&W images can be taken to a photo lab and made into either ciba-chrome or ilfo-chrome color glossy prints. Unless you specifically need the characteristics of black and white film, our color slides can produce glossy prints with satisfactory results. You can also have a 4x5 B&W conversion negative made from color positive (slide) film, and then have a B&W glossy print made from it.
Yes, for Macintosh files, there is another option. The Media Group/Graphic Services, directed by Ron Mistretta and located at 985 Commonwealth Avenue, has a slide making service. Their facilities include a film-recorder for use with Macintosh files. Neither the Media Group/Graphic Services nor the CGL can elegantly process IBM-PC and compatible files at this time. The Media Group/Graphic Services department does, however, have plans to expand their services to include IBM-PC formats in the future.
Our slide service may produce better or worse results than Media Group/Graphic Services, depending on the Macintosh application you are using. If you have a choice between software and/or operating systems, you may want to confer with a graphics consultant before you begin. Only trial and error can tell for sure which methods will work best for you.
Persuasion is a Macintosh program that was specially designed to create slides and other presentation graphics. We are not set up to elegantly support any image files that Persuasion produces. We highly recommend that you use the Media Group/Graphic Services department when dealing with Persuasion files. Their telephone number is: (617) 353-3183.
No, we only accept standard Unix .Z compressed files. You must first uncompress your PC .zip file and then transfer it. Once it is on the Unix system, re-compress it using compress to the standard Unix .Z format.
The TARGA (.tga) file format is mainly used by IBM-PC and compatible software. It is a full-color graphics format but is not currently supported by the version of the SDSC Image Tools that exists on our slides production machine. There is a simple work-around for now which you can use once you have transferred you files onto the Unix network. The Silicon Graphics SGI workstations all include a tool called fromtarga that will convert a .tga file to a .rgb Silicon Graphics RGB image format, which we do support. For example, type:
grizzly% fromtarga filename.tga filename.rgb
If you do not have an SCV account or access to any SGI machine, a graphics
consultant from the CGL will have to perform the necessary conversions for
you.
Rush service (*)
2-3 day turnaround 2x normal rate 1-2 day turnaround 3x normal rate < 1 day turnaround 5x normal rate(*) Rush service is not guaranteed and is offered on an "as available" only basis.