PRODPP127 – Plan and produce edited images

Overview

This standard is about editing digital images. It covers the development of the editing approach and the production of edited image data files.

Subject to the demands of any brief, you are responsible for deciding on the approach you want to take, both creative and technical. You need to have enough flexibility to change your approach when you think it is necessary.

Performance criteria

You must be able to:

Decide on imaging approach

  1. arrange for the supply of any original material you cannot produce yourself in line with organisational procedures
  2. select the hardware and software most suitable for the editing you intend to carry out
  3. retrieve, from image databases, any material relevant to the images required
  4. check the elements to be combined in the editing process are compatible
  5. decide how to treat any elements that are not compatible in line with organisational procedures
  6. recognise potential legal issues arising from the nature of scanned images and follow workplace procedures to deal with them
  7. discuss and reach agreement with customers on the appropriate editing approach, using preliminary drafts when required

Produce edited images

  1. import required image elements into the editing software in line with manufacturer's instructions
  2. produce edited images that communicate the required information in a clear and accurate way
  3. present required treatment of subjects and arouse the required viewer response
  4. produce edited images which comply with specification in terms of physical size, file size, content, colour, sharpness, brightness (exposure), contrast, colour space, RGB, CMYK and greyscale and output resolution
  5. produce edited images to the correct image profiles in accordance with organisational procedures
  6. produce scanned images which are free of unwanted physical defects, fingerprints, dust damage and scratches, newton's rings, moiré patterning from screened originals, pixelisation, posterisation and halo effects
  7. produce image proofs that meet customer requirements and workplace standards
  8. detect and discuss any problems with edited images with the correct colleagues and, where necessary, with customers
  9. agree the action to take to resolve problems in line with organisational procedures
  10. communicate with customers in accordance with organisational requirements
  11. maintain the confidentiality of customer material in line with organisational requirements
  12. assign copyright and credits in accordance with organisational procedures
  13. save edited image data files in the correct format in accordance with organisational procedures
  14. maintain version control in line with organisational procedures

Knowledge and understanding

You need to know and understand

  1. the law as it affects printing: copyright and ownership of images, obscenity, forgery, incitement, data protection
  2. ethical issues relevant to printing: confidentiality
  3. hazards and risks in your own job, their assessment and the action to take to deal with them
  4. manufacturers' and suppliers' health and safety requirements relevant to your job
  5. how to safely handle customer material
  6. security and storage: computer system security and virus protection, the print with time-sensitive or restricted release dates, the high value products or print with a high risk of theft
  7. the secure methods of archiving digital and conventional artwork
  8. how to communicate with customers and colleagues
  9. workplace objectives, priorities, standards and procedures
  10. the identification and assessment of printing options
  11. the role of images in graphic communication
  12. changing image styles, fashions and demands in printed products
  13. the set-up of image editing equipment and software
  14. the operation of image editing equipment and software
  15. the principles of typography
  16. the principles of design
  17. sources of original material including photographers and graphics artists
  18. how to find and use archive and on-line sources of digital images
  19. colour theory, including additive and subtractive systems such as RGB and CMYK colour gamuts
  20. the importance of visual compatibility in digital images
  21. the relationship between image size, file size and resolution
  22. file formats for digital images and the differences between them and the reasons for using them
  23. colour management and how to set up, maintain and use image profiles
  24. file conversion techniques
  25. file compression and decompression systems
  26. file management procedures
  27. how to identify the edits that need to be made to meet the brief
  28. the principles of editing including creative and technical approaches
  29. how to identify when it is appropriate to change your approach to editing
  30. the principal types of proof and their role in the printing process

Keywords: digital, print, pre-press, images, editing