From: rickan@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca (Mark Rickan)
Subject: Re: Converting Structured Graphics Formats
Organization: Department of Computer Science, McMaster University
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1992 00:41:32 GMT

In article <James_Hastings-Trew.0iq6@telepro.UUCP> James_Hastings-Trew@telepro.UUCP (James Hastings-Trew) writes:

>PageStream can import EPS graphics from Mac Illustrator, and from Gold
>Disk's ProDraw clip format, and a couple of others as well. If not a
>conversion utility per se, it is at least very compabible. 

PageStream is one of the more capable programs in this respect. EPS and
DR2D support are undoubtedly essential, however a greater degree of
compatibility with other platforms would help considerably.

>Gold Disk's PC version of ProDraw can do this, but am not sure about the
>new 3.0 version for the Amiga.

Unfortunately, the two programs could not be further apart in virtually
every respect.

>Histrionics. The "hybrid mixing of structured and bitmapped graphics" may
>have been around for a while on the Mac in the guise of SuperPaint, but it
>has not been a feature of professional level programs on the Mac until this
>very year...

In this respect, my comments were somewhat misleading. I had intended the
'hybrid mixing' to make reference to multiple format conversion capabilities
for both bitmapped and structured graphics (with Hijaack in mind). Mixing
bitmapped and structured formats internally would be considerably more
demanding.

>I am not saying that such additions to either ADPro or Imagemaster would
>not be worthy and useful. I am just trying to shed a little reality on the
>situation. Your posting, and others like it, make it sound like we have all
>been in the dark ages for quite some time. Far from it. You can mix
>bitmapped and structured graphics in ProDraw, and produce professional
>level colour seperations from the mix. Again, something that has only
>recently (within the last two years) been possible on the Mac and IBM
>systems.

Once again, it is the structured graphics format conversion facility which
we are looking for, rather than a means of intermixing these formats with
existing bitmaps. There are a number of ways to alleviate this situation
with existing applications, but it would be nice to simply use native
Amiga packages to incorporate vector graphics from other platforms into
DTP/multimedia applications. Structured clipart packages are perhaps the
most effective example. Within the PC and Mac markets, excellent
cost-effective packages like Presentation Task Force abound.

>Apples, oranges, and bowling balls. We have a multitasking computer. We
>don't need a behemoth "do it all" program that can perform every single
>conversion task known to man. What is the point?

The point is, no one is earnestly advocating a black box for graphics
conversion. We are simply suggesting that support for structured graphics
on the Amiga is far behind that of image processing for bitmaps. Due
to the success of Black Belt and ASDG in the latter respect, it was
merely suggested that these companies would be looked upon as welcome
candidates for either incorporating such features into existing products
or developing standalone software for this purpose. In turn, as
consumers we are expressing market interest.

Mark

-- 
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 = Mark Rickan                         ...!uunet!utai!utgpu!maccs!rickan = 
 = DCSS, McMaster University               rickan@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca = 
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Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.graphics