[pdftex] Best bitmap image format?

[gnwiii at gmail.com]

On 2/25/06, Olivier Lefevre <lefevrol at yahoo.com> wrote:
> I must embed application snapshots in a document. Which format will work
> best as far as pdftex is concerned? The snapshot tool can save in all
> the usual bitmap formats (e.g., gif, png, jpeg) and also as eps and pdf
> but for a bitmap image that is not very natural.

Pdf is very natural if your final document will be pdf.  I prefer to
convert each image to pdf
rather than rely on pdftex's conversions.  Pdftex's image format
support should be considered a "convenience" feature, but for
demanding tasks you need to tweak the conversion to suit each image
(e.g., some should use lossless compression while others use JPEG). 
Hopefully a snapshot tool makes .pdf files that are optimized for
screen shots.
Pdftex does essentially no conversion of included pdf documents, the
only tricky bit being pdf documents that don't embed fonts.  We work
with a commercial printer who accepts pdf's, but as they adjust their
workflow they change requirements.  At one time they wanted sRGB
images but now they have gone back to CMYK, which I don't believe you
can do with pdftex's internal image conversion facilities.

--
George N. White III <aa056 at chebucto.ns.ca>
Head of St. Margarets Bay, Nova Scotia