Hardware and software for graphical images

Being an employer of the PC's4u  newly formed computer company I am going to create a new graphics department for the company. So we will start looking at suitable hardware and software that will produce the best results when working with graphical images.

Hardware

This hardware is important and has a grant impact when the user is working with graphical images. There will be large amounts of data that will be moved between components like the hard disk and RAM and video display. If the components are not ideal, the result will be a frustrating slow system. So we will need the following components at good performance levels:

1. Graphics cards: It is a hardware component that generates the images we see in a monitor or a screen.  they produce a display at a resolution and colour depth meeting the user's need taking in consideration the limitations of the monitor. 
2. Internal memory: to hold the running the software and graphic images. You will get a faster start up speed and also it allows an easier interaction with larger files.
3. Processor: it runs the software and works our the calculations that are needed to manipulate digital graphics.
4. Digital card reader: if we are using a digital camera this helps to accept graphic images easily and quickly.
5. File storage: to save the graphic images. This can be a hard drive, that  can hold a great amount of images, allowing the user to have images in one place.
6. USB devices: they are plugged in pen drivers to input or move graphic images to other devices. It allows the user to backup his images and to transfer
7. Monitor, mouse and printer: these are hardware components that allow the user to edit graphic images easily as they allow the user to interact with the Operating System that is modifying them. The printer however allow the user to print out high quality graphic images obviously it depends on the printer; but nowadays these are maded with interesting features for the user that sometimes provide the posibility to print out directly from phones.  
8. Input devices: they capture graphical images and transfer to the computer system. (Cameras,  scanners, and graphic tables) One of the best cameras out ther is the Cannon EOS 500D. All these features allow the user to have a maximised experience.

• megapixel CMOS sensor Type APS-C, 22.3 x 14.9mm CMOS
• Type – TTL-CT-SIR with a CMOS sensor
• DIGIC 4 image processor
• 14-bit analog to digital signal conversion
• 3.0-inch (76 mm) LCD monitor
• sRGB and AdobeRGB colour spaces
• ISO Sensitivity (8) – AUTO(100–1600), 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200 Expandable to 6400 + H (approx 12800) in 1-stop increments
• Continuous drive up to 3.4 frame/s (170 images (JPEG), 9 images (RAW))(up to 4.1 frame/s with Sandisk Extreme SDHC Class 10
• Canon EF/EF-S lenses
• PAL/NTSC video output
• SD and SDHC memory card file storage
• RAW and large JPEG simultaneous recording
• USB 2.0 and HDMI interfaces.

Software

It is the group of several programs that run on a computer. To help people produce work, there is application software available in the market. They allow the user to create, manipulate and view digital graphics.

There are several types of software:

1. Vector-based graphics software: they are different from bitmap graphics; the amin features of these are small file size when saving, no loss of image quality when printing, as they are made of circles and rectangles each object has an outline and/or fill and fuinally objects can be grouped together. A good example of this kind of sofware is CoralDraw as it allows the user to create videos and images at the same time, with multiple layers.
2. Bitmap software: They have a larger file size when saved. And the print quality might be very poor when enlarged or reduced. They can be created using a scanner or a digital camera. They are good for screenshots and web page illustrations. For example Microsoft Paint allows the user to work on the surface, like covering, colouring and other features.
3. Photo manipulation software: this kind of software is a specialist bitmap program with specialised tools to manipulate photographs. For example Photoshop offers a wide variety of tools, like video editing, retouching, move, duplicate; these are just a few features but also the user is able to upload and share the work with compoanies and friends.

(Hey miss I did record myself, but when I was trying to transfer the file it didnt work somehow, I will show you on monday because I need some help)

Comparing the different limitations of different hardaware and software packages used in graphics work

There are two main software packages out in the market, generally users use either Photoshop or Paint, there are more complicated or simple variations of both software packages. However these are some advantages of using one or the other: 

                

- With Photoshop the use has the ability to create both bitmap and vector images, allowing to have two different types of software in one. Files can be used in most programs, and the user can import images directly from scanned images or external memories. When it comes to screen shooting, graphics are really good, Photoshop is reliable and fast. 

- In the other hand with Paint in addition to be free, this software package is easy to use for user. Any file can be turned into an image once placed into Paint; shapes can be created and coloured in, text can be added over images without affecting the image...

As any other aspect in IT these software packages have disadvantages and limitations, here are some of them: 

- With Photoshop the user is required to have a really good understanding of all the complicated tools and extensions for the software. Image will lose quality when enlarged and the file size is very big; unless the user has a very large internal memory, images take up a lot of memory which doesn't allow the use to create many different files. And one important aspect is that this software package is quite expensive. 

In terms of hardware there are two main devices that are important for the user when working with graphic images. These two main devices are printer, let's see what limitations they have: 

               

There are several limitations when we talk about printer that can cause problems to the user. One of them is that is printers constantly need ink and paper replacements to print out, this can be very expensive for normal printers and for laser printer too. There are a number of limitations to a printer that can be a problem. One problem is that a printer constantly needs an ink cartridge to print out. Replacing ink cartridges and paper trays can be very expensive.

Now, USB sticks. Even though they are very useful for storing and transferring images and documents from one computer to another; they have limitations such as the product size, they are really small what makes them an easy thing to lose. Some computers do not take all USB sticks and they can only store a little amount of data, this might be a really annoying problem if the user wants to transfer large amounts of files. 

Evaluate the impact of evolving output mediums on the design and creation of graphic images

                   

Throughout time, the way media is being produced has changed quite a lot. For example, long ago most media and images were produced all by hand. Computers developed and became more sophisticated as time passed, when software was introduced users started to depend on computers to produced media and graphic images easily. Nowadays there are specific programs that are specialised in creating maps, this makes the job a lot more straightforward for designers and creators. As time is passing designers have changed the way they work because different ways to display their creations have been introduced. We can find maps are still on paper, however in the present we can find maps in computers; these maps have many more attachments such as directions, journey's duration, nearby attractions, altitude measurements and most of them allow the user to use navigation. When businesses and companies use this new technology, they are more advanced and this allows them to achieve aims and to gain a valuable place in the labour market.