1. HA2 TASK 1- TECHNICAL GLOSSARY
Pixel and resolution
Pixels are very small dots added together to make an image, there are different
requirements for screen images and printed images. Screen Images are usually made up of
around 72 dpi (dots per inch) whereas printed images are made up of around 300 dpi.
Resolution refers to the detail of an image; higher resolution means more image detail.
Image resolution can be measured in various ways; basically resolution quantifies how close
lines can be to each other and still be visibly resolved.
Vector and raster images
A vector image is an image that uses geometric primitives like point’s lines and curves to
create an image. A raster image is an image that is made up of a rectangular grid of pixels.
File Formats and Uses
Bmp – a bmp or bitmap image file is a raster graphics image file format used to
store bitmap digital images.
Png – a png or portable network graphics is a raster graphics file format that
supports losslessdata compression.
Gif –a gif or graphics interchange format is a bitmap image format that supports up to 8 bits
perpixel for each image.
Tiff – a tiff or tagged image file format is a file format for storing images.
Jpg – a jpg or joint photographic expert group is a commonly used method of lossy
compression for digital photography.
Psd – a psd is a layered image file used in Adobe Photoshop.
Pdf – a pdf or portable document format is a file format used to represent documents in a
manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating system.
Eps – an eps or encapsulated postscript is a DSC-conforming PostScript document with
additional restrictions which is intended to be usable as a graphics file format.
Ai – an ai or adobe illustrator artwork is a proprietary file format developed by Adobe
Systems for representing single-page vector-based drawings in either the eps or pdf formats.
Compression
Compression involves encoding information using fewer bits than the original source.
Compression can either be lossy or lossless. Lossless compression reduces bits by
identifying and eliminating statistical redundancy. No information is lost in

2. losslesscompression. Lossy compression reduces bits by identifying unnecessary
information and removing it.
Image Capture Devices
An image capture device is any device that is able to capture an image such as camera or a
mobile phone.
Optimising
Optimising an image involves making the best or most effective use of the tools available to
improve how the image looks (shade, brightness, contrast…)
Storage and Asset Management
Storage and asset management consists of management tasks and decisions surrounding
the ingestion, annotation, cataloguing, storage, retrieval and distribution of digital assets.