Difference Between Designer and Photo?

[darita]

I know this is a newbie question and yes, I'm a newbie.  That said, I've been using Photo to do most of my clock dial clean up, however just recently, I started using Designer.  What I've found is that D does a really clean job of letter, numerals, lines, etc.  When I print on laser, it's super clean.

So, why is that?  What's the difference in how D works vs P and can I do everything in D, that I was doing in P?  Please be gentle as I am not really a computer savvy person.  Thanks so much.

[Callum]

Hi Darita,

 

This is a question that has been asked a few times before :) You can see a post from MEB explaining the differences between the programs below.

 

https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/9233-difference-between-designer-and-photo-whats-4-me/

 

Thanks

Callum

[gdenby]

Let me see if I can describe this simply.

 

Umm, no, I can't.

 

Imagine you have a simple grid, like a chess board, but all the squares are white. You can color in each square black to make shapes. Rectangles are easy. One black square after another, either horizontal or vertical. Diagonals are harder. Curves are even harder. If you are working on a piece of graph paper, you might use a compass to draw a circle. Then you have to decide if most of each grid square is mostly within the circle or not. All the squares mostly within the perimeter get colored black. Close up, everything is "jaggy."

 

Early displays and output resolutions were severely limited. I forget the resolution of early video display. It was different in Europe than the US because of the electronic system, but my recollection is that early US video displays were 640 squares wide by 240 high, but could be rapidly varied to produce an image that seemed 640 X 480. Printers were much more limited.

 

Appearances got better as computer input and output gained color capabilities. Still, everything was a grid. The numerical record of the grid was called a bit map. Images that were sent to a video output were called "rasterized." Rasterized images and printed images often did not match well because the video and printing device had different resolutions and available grey/colors.

 

About 45 years ago, a standard was advanced that described how mathematically defined shapes could be transformed into the highest resolution and color space of whatever device was being used. The real shape or image could be depicted at the maximum for either display or output.  The forms can be shifted across the space, and best fits made for them in display. Basically, this is what computer draw/vector programs do.

 

If you have a 600 dpi laser printer, that is how fine the shapes will be made.

 

Photo/paint programs are still limited by the base resolution of the input device. The input can be from a graphics tablet, or a digital camera, etc. But it still might be from an old digital camera image w. a resolution of 640 x 320. The applications have been developed to make the bit maps as subtly shaded as possible, but they still cannot quite equal a pure mathematical shape. The "jaggies" still remain If you start with a sample that is 300 dpi, it is unlikely that it will print out at 600 dpi without being a little fuzzy.

 

Hope this helps.