Given the proper software, adequate experience and enough time, almost anyone that can use a computer can produce a simple graphic. If the final form of a graphic is an 8.5 by 11 inch laser print it is readily apparent whether or not the graphic is acceptable. However, graphics often need to be photographed and reduced in size to fit another format, such as a 35mm slide, journal page or, worse yet, a single column in a journal. The results may be disastrous if the graphic is not envisioned in its final format as it is being created. Legibility in the final format is the most important criterion for the success of a graphic.
Laser printers make it dangerously easy to put too much information in too little space.
A graphic, spread over an 8.5 X 11 inch page, is likely to be illegible when reduced to fit the area of a projection slide. Another closely related consideration is the resolving power of the camera lens and film. The laser printer is capable of printing incredibly delicate lines, dots and patterns. A three- or fourfold reduction in size of this detail to fit a printed page or 35mm slide may be beyond the resolving power of the lens or film. Thin lines may become broken or virtually disappear.