We issued an update to Q@mera this past weekend which makes it very easy to take the output of DotMatrix and run it through any effect in Q@mera, effectively chaining the results of the two programs. And naturally, you can then take the output from Q@mera and run it into a CamCamX mix.

The update is free for registered users of Q@mera.

As much as possible we try to avoid time duplicating functionality which comes freely installed with every Mac. Such is the case with printing.

Out of the box, your Mac comes with at least two good programs for printing and preparing images for printing. They are iPhoto and Preview. You can find both of these in your Applications folder.

For printing an image made with DotMatrix, we suggest opening the image in Preview.app. Since Tiger, Preview includes many useful tools for preparing to print, including rotating, cropping and so forth.

The raster images that DotMatrix creates are PNG graphics created in the "Device-Color Space" of your display. So if you want to color correct before printing and you're using an application which supports color management, you should first convert from device color space into sRGB or some other device independent color space and then print.

For PDF images created with DotMatrix Studio, you can finish & print them in Preview or with another little utility hidden in your Application/Utilities folder called ColorSync Utility. And obviously, Illustrator is a fine way to place finishing touches on a design or add other elements. One great thing about finishing with Illustrator is that when DotMatrix creates a PDF, objects may be created outside of the viewing rectangle (PDF 'crop box') and in Illustrator you can access the entire design, rotate it, munge it, tweak it.

Labels: faq

It was a long wait, to be sure. We had a fairly long list of the features we wanted to include in DotMatrix Studio. We got almost all of them into the first release:

· Processing of high-resolution photographic images (works best with 4:3 images, so crop 3:2 in Photoshop or Aperture before processing).

· True resolution-independent output for certain classes of designs with quick PDF Snapshots that you can open in Preview.app and print.

· High-definition camera support (including new iSight 1280x960). You can use your BlackMagic Intensity or similar HDMI capture card to make 1920x1080p ART in real-time (requires fast Mac or low-frame rate).

· DotMatrix Studio also includes the ability to rebroadcast the camera input -- at 1280x960! It's a high-definition, INSTANT iSight art mo-sheen!

· instantly prototype your design with DotMatrix Studio and then FINISH it in Photoshop or Illustrator! It's the best of both worlds. Rapid design brainstorming plus the ability to tweak and color correct the final image.

Generally, our designs are resolution-independent provided the aspect ratio of the source image is 4:3. Need help with a large-format project? Be sure to contact our technical support.

We have a backlog of orders to fill on the Studio version, and until we update the pricing information on our web-page, the pre-order pricing is still valid.

Here is a MAO PDF Sample made from the 640x480 low-res clipart of the esteemed chairman. Download it and print it at any resolution you can scare up. Legal. Tabloid. Kinkos giant plotter. The image is rendered as PostScript(tm) curves, so it is truly resolution-independent.

You're gettin' closer to Chuck everyday and you don't even know it!