What is Bit-Mapping and how is it Used?
Monday, July 14, 2008 @ 14:14
Bit mapping is used in a variety of applications and in simple layman's terms it is the manner in which any photographic image is reproduced using a grid of dots, known as pixels.
Bit-mapping refers to the way in which those images are reproduced in that grid of dots, or pixels. Some bit-mapped images are much clearer than others and that is because the grid of dots is much more tightly consolidated. The tighter the grid, the more each pixel within the bit-mapped image will be a more distinctive shade of black, white or grey, creating a very clear contrast between nearby pixels in the grid.
When all of the pixels are lined up, they can reproduce the image on a macro scale. Each pixel is assigned one, three or four numbers that range from 0 to 255. Again, how tightly they are configured will determine how clear the image will reproduce.
Bit-mapped images, which are also referred to as pixel-oriented images, paint images or raster images, have become more refined as higher and higher resolution of films have come into common use. In fact, with some of the higher resolution films on the market today, individual pixels of a bit-mapped image have become less and less noticeable.
Modern technology and computer editing software allows photographers and graphic designers today to use that software to actually manipulate the pixels of a bit-mapped image. Such manipulation allows them to actually alter the resulting photograph in some amazing (and sometimes illegal) ways.
The nice thing about digital photographs, when compared to their film counterparts of the past, is that the photographs taken with them, comprised of all these bit-mapped images, can be scanned or burned onto CD's. The bit-mapped images can also be used in computerized graphic media to incorporate an extra degree of dimension to various pages by manipulating individual pixel sizes.
