212 Glossary
negatives and a Master Disc can store up to 100 high-resolution
images from 35mm fi lm. Images are stored in fi ve different fi le
sizes and fi ve different resolutions.
PICT Another acronym without a strict defi nition, this time
for a metafi le fi le format for the Mac OS. As a metafi le, PICT
fi les contain both bitmapped and vector information.Picture CD A Kodak process that converts fi lm-based images
into digital fi les, using the JPEG format, and places the photos
on a CD-ROM. This service can be ordered when you have your
fi lm processed by camera stores and other retail outlets. Their
images are returned to consumers as traditional prints and on a
Picture CD as digital fi les that can be viewed, enhanced, printed,
or e-mailed.Piezoelectric The property of some crystals that oscillate when
subjected to electrical voltage. A form of print-head design that
is used by Epson in their Stylus Color family of ink-jet printers.
Piezoelectric technology generates electricity when applying
mechanical stress.Pixel Acronym for picture element. A computer’s screen is
made up of thousands of these colored dots of light that, when
combined, produce a photographic image. A digital photograph’s
resolution, or visual quality, is determined by the width and
height of the image as measured in pixels.
PMT Photomultiplier tube. A type of sensing technology used
in drum scanners.PNG (pronounced “ping”) Portable Network Graphics. This
successor to the GIF format was created by a coalition of
independent graphics developers to design a new, royalty-free
graphics fi le format. Not many people use it, though.PostScript A programming language created by Adobe
Systems that defi nes all of the shapes in a fi le as outlines
and interprets these outlines by mathematical formulas called
Bezier curves. Any PostScript-compatible output device
uses those defi nitions to reproduce the image on your computer
screen.
PPI Pixels per inch.Profi le A small fi le that gives your monitor (or any other
device) data that associates each number with a measured color
based on specifi cations created by the International Color
Consortium (www.icc.org). When your computer communicates
color information, it not only transmits numerical data, but also
specifi es how those numbers should appear. Color-managed
software (the next step) can then take this profi le into consider-
ation and adjust the device accordingly.