What it does
How to install
Controls
Versions
Questions
Web Graphics Primer
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Web Posterize
What it does
Web Posterize lets you design images in web-safe colors.
How to install
To use this software, you need a paint program which accepts standard
Photoshop 3.0 plugins.
Just put the plug-in filter into the folder where your paint program
expects to find it. If you have Photoshop, the folder is Photoshop:Plugins:Filters or Photoshop:Plug-ins. You must restart
Photoshop before it will notice the new plug-in. It will appear
in the menus as Filters->Flaming Pear->Web Posterize.
Most other paint programs follow a similar scheme.
If you have Paint Shop Pro: you have to create a new folder, put
the plug-in filter into it, and then tell PSP to look there. In
PSP's menus, choose File-> Preferences->General Program Preferences (PSP versions
5 and 6) or File->Preferences->File Locations (PSP version 7).
Next, click the Plug-in Filters tab. Use a "Browse" button to
choose the folder. The plugin will appear in the menus as Image->Plug-in
Filters->Flaming Pear->Web Posterize.
Controls
There are many good plug-ins for web-safe gif preparation. But
this one is
completely unique.
First of all, no matter what controls you press, no matter how
much you adjust the contrast, brightness, and color values, you
will always end up with an image that conforms to the Web Safe
palette (216 colors). All the colors, not just the main ones,
will be web-safe.
And your GIF will compress better than with any other method,
because the web safe colors are arranged in the largest possible
areas. Unlike any
other GIF preparation filter, this one gives you non-dithering
images every time.
Just as importantly, this is the only plug-in that lets you use
web safe
colors early in the design process, rather than forcing your image
into the
web-safe palette as an afterthought.
Every other GIF compression utility that works with web safe colors
does so after the graphic has been designed. Web Posterize turns
this around; it
makes the 216 colors something you can introduce early in the
design phase of a web page. Rather than squeezing your final image
into something that either takes forever to download or looks
cruddy, now you can use the 216 colors as a part of your design.
Think about it.
TV art directors design for TV. They take its limits into account
from the
very beginning. Newspaper art directors design for the limits
of the newspaper medium. Shouldn't we have the same freedom when
designing for the web? With Web Posterize, now we do.
When you invoke Web Posterize, a dialog box will appear:

Quick start
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If you just want to see some effects quickly, click the dice button
until you see something you like; then click OK.
Using the dice is the easiest way to use Web Posterize. If you
want to hand-tune your own effects, it helps to learn the controls,
which are explained below. |
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dice |
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Other controls
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Reset buttons give you normal settings with the least color distortion.
Dice The dice choose a random effect. Click as much as you want to
see different effects.
Plus, % and minus buttons: These zoom the preview in and out. Drag the preview
to move it.
Load preset Web Posterize comes with some presets, which are files containing
settings. To load one, click this button and browse for a preset
file.
Save preset When you make an effect you like, click this button to save the
settings in a file.
Undo backs up one step.
OK Applies the effect to your image.
Cancel Dismisses the filter, and leaves the image unchanged.
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reset

dice

load preset (top)
and save preset

undo
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Version History
Version 1.04 December 2003
Recordable as a Photoshop action.
Version 1.0 March 2003
The first release in this form.
The Furbo Filters were orginally developed by Craig Hockenberry.
Thanks to Martin Archer for coming up with the trick for posterizing
at 6-levels. And for sharing this trick with others. |
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Questions
Answers to common technical questions appear on the support page.
For bug reports and technical questions about the software, please
write to support@flamingpear.com .
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