Digital Essentials

Free Chapter!

Image Protection — Can it Be Done?
How can I protect my images to prevent someone from downloading them from my Web site?

In short, you can't. There is nothing you can do to absolutely protect against internet image theft. Once something is published on a Web site, it is fair game. If someone really wants an image, they will find a way to get it. But I'll suggest some ways to protect your images.

Click here to display or download a PDF of the complete Image Protection chapter.

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Table of Contents

** Click here to download a free PDF of the Table of Contents.**

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USA BOOK NEWS ANNOUNCES WINNERS AND FINALISTS OF THE NATIONAL “BEST BOOKS 2009” AWARDS

LOS ANGELES – USA Book News, the premiere online magazine and review website for mainstream and independent publishing houses, announced the winners and finalists of THE NATIONAL “BEST BOOKS 2009″ AWARDS (NBBA).  Digital Essentials: The Quilt Maker’s Must-Have Guide to Images, Files, and More! by Gloria Hansen was the 2009 Finalist in the Technology/Computers/Internet business category.

Trial versions of software:

• Free trial version of Corel's Paint Shop Pro.  This is a PC-only program.  The program sells for under $100 and offers an excellent array of tools for photo-editing.
• Free trial of Adobe Photoshop Elements for the Mac
• Adobe Photoshop Elements for the PC
  Elements is often considered a baby Photoshop.  However, it's no baby.  It's a full featured-program with so much to offer that many will not need Photoshop. It sells for about $99 often less when there is a rebate going on.
• Adobe Photoshop
  PC and Mac trials are available.

Reviews:

Editors Pick in Quilting Arts Mazagine - Sept. Holiday issue 2008-2009!
"At last, a primer on digital design for the artist! Written in plain English with easy-to-follow steps, Digital Essentials demystifies digital imaging software, whether you have a MAC or PC, whether you just want to resize pictures and print them out or design a whole quilt on the computer. Because Gloria knows both computers and quilting, she can tell you what you need to know and why. Working with this book is like having a kindly expert sitting right beside you, guiding you through the digital maze."|

Martha Sielman, Executive Director, Studio Art Quilt Associates
"If you have Photoshop, Photoshop Elements or Paint Shop Pro and are having trouble learning how to work with your images, buy this book. ... She explains everything clearly and gives plenty of additional resources for information once you've mastered these basics." 

Virginia A. Spiegel
"I’m very seldom so effusive about a book, but a book has so very seldom seen a need and met it in such a cogent and useful way."

Planet Patchwork, www.planetpatchwork.com
"Everybody who has been awake the last ten years knows that computers have profoundly influenced every aspect of modern life, and quilting is no exception. People design blocks and quilts on computers, they scan photos and fabrics into their quilt designs, and they print out templates and patterns. Even sewing machines are computerized. Computer graphics is a complicated subject of its own, however, and most of us do not have the time to master all the finer points of sophisticated photo editing software. We need the essentials, and that's just what Gloria Hansen offers in this book. ... The information is here."

Machine Quilting Unlimited, Winter 2008
"Gloria explains how to enlarge, straighten, adjust the color or even change or eliminate the background of your digital quilt photos. She gives explicit instructions for working with each software program, and illustrations include computer screen shots and drop down menus as she walks you through each task in a direct, step-by-step, fashion. Side by side photos showing the results of adjusting such settings as saturation, sharpen and brightness are found throughout the book.

Whether you want to use your images to simply print, print on fabric, combine images, prepare a Power Point presentation, upload you quilt photos to a website or create image sizes which conform to the requirements for quilt show entries, Digital Essentials has the answer."

Gerrie Congdon, GeriConDesigns
"Digital Essentials will be a very handy resource, residing next to my computer. Gloria covers every thing from the tiny pixel to the big picture and everything in between. For those who are saving money by doing their own photography and submitting digital images for juried quilts shows, this book is a must. From calibrating the color management on your computer to removing the background from a quilt, it is all in this handy manual. She covers a variety of software and PC and Mac environments. Want to know how to print better images on fabric? It’s in there."

I have tried to cram into it everything I can think of that will help quilt makers and other artists to understand the digital essentials. My goal is that you can quickly find answers to questions such as:

• How can I make my printer print color more like I see on the screen?.
• How many megapixels do I need in a camera?.
• How can I create Web images?
• How do I plan images to show in Power Point?
• How do I make sure I get the best quality printouts from my printer.
• What do I need to know about scanning?
• How do I calibrate my monitor?
• How do I know how large I can print my photos without making them look dotty?
• How can I make my photo print as large as I want without it becoming dotty?
• How can I protect my web images from being taken by others?
• How come when I resize an image, it does not conform to a standard 4” x 6” or 5” x 7”
• print size?
• How do I make a digital image of my quilt to submit to a quilt show?
• How do I add a colored background around my quilt?
• I do I make a transparent background behind my logo?
• How can I (and how much can I) edit my quilt photo?
• How do I straighten a crooked quilt in my photo?
• What tricks can I use to make my quilt photo look better?
• What do I need to know about printing on fabric?
• How can I turn a colored picture into black and white?
• How can I get rid of the background in my quilt photo?
• How can I duplicate a color a find on the Web, to use on my Web site?
• How can I size images and make thumbnails for them in seconds?
• How can I add a watermark to my images?.
• How do I make a PDF file that can be downloaded from my Web site?

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• Pepare your digital quilt • photos for show entry • Straighten crooked quilt photos • Crop photos • Get rid of distracting backgrounds in quilt photos • Turn color photos into black & white • Make ordinary quilt photos look so much better • Learn exactly how to “cut out the background” around your quilt photo, to make your quilt images look more professional. • Plus tons of photo editing tips		Learn exactly how to “cut out the background” around your quilt photo, to make your quilt images look more professional.

Amaze yourself! Learn how easy it is to transform blah photos to brilliant photos. Perfect whether you want to print photos on fabric, or just improve your snapshots of your quilts, pets or grandchildren.

Print like a Pro • Make your printer color match your screen color • Get the best quality printouts • Understand your scanner • Get ready to print on fabric Prepare Web Work • Make images for your Web site • Create a logo image for your business • Create PDF files to email or download from your site • Know what size to make images and thumbnails • Safeguard your images and files