Best Practices: Images

Multiple options are available to add images to your project. These tips can help you make the right choices for your project.

Choosing an Image Type

eFORMz supports a wide range of image types including the following common formats:

• BMP
• FRM (Framemaker)
• GIF
• JPG
• PDF
• PNG
• PRN

Preparing Your Image

Image files must be RGB encoded rather than CMYK encoded. eFORMz lets you scale or crop images to the size your project requires. However, resizing or cropping images can consume substantial system resources, depending on the image. The altered image is not cached; it is resized or cropped each time it is used. For best performance, use an image that is the same size as you want to appear in your document.

Loading Images

You have several choices to include images in your project:

• Load an image from within your project. The image file is encoded as CDATA within the project’s XML file. The benefit of this method is that the image is always with the project.
• Load an image file on a local or remote path and file name. This option is good if the image might need to be periodically updated or new images added. If you have marketing people or graphic designers creating images, they can store them in a shared directory.
• You can also load images of PDF pages, one page of a document is one image. Some shipping software creates shipping labels in PDF format. In some environments, loading these as PDF images is the best choice.

Placing Images in a Project

How you place an image depends on project requirements:

• Constant: Use this if you want your image to always show on a form. You cannot put conditions on constants.
• Rule: Place your image with a rule if you want to put conditions for its placement.
• Document component: Use this method if you want an image laid out with a table or to change location depending on other data.  Also, this is the only method that lets you place an image from a URL.

Printing to Laser Printers

Some black & white printers give better results when you send color PCL. The size of images may affect printer performance, causing the printer to print slowly.

Printing to Thermal Printers

Thermal printers give unpredictable results with color and grayscale images. Colors are converted to grayscale, and grayscale is approximated. Read information specific to the Sato GY-412 printer to get the most from it. Or perhaps you need information specific to the Toshiba DB-EA4D printer. As with laser printers, the size of images may affect printer performance, causing the printer to print slowly.