Editor:  Austin Hogan (austin.w.hogan@valley.net)

Suggestions for Contributors to Parker Pages

Parker Pages receives and publishes material sent in many forms. Most Department material describes PGCA activities or proceedings and is sent by members of the Board of Directors or PGCA staff by email to the editor. Some Articles are received as e mail attachments, and some are received by mail as typed manuscripts or written notes accompanied by glossy photos. We continue to solicit and publish material prepared in any form. Typed or hand written material must be arranged and formatted by the editor; if it arrives a very few days before Parker Pages closing dates (15 January, 15April, 15 July, and 15 October)  that material may be more carefully prepared for the following issue. The most rapid preparation can be done with text provided as e mail attachments in WORD format. We make the least mistakes when classified ads are received in this format. 

We do have difficulty with some photos we receive, and offer these guidelines for submitting pictures;

Glossy prints from film are always welcome. As a guide, we can publish the subject of interest in a photo, at about the same size it appears in the original. We may publish color photos on one of the color pages, or convert to black and white and insert it at a fitting spot in text. The 4 x 6 inch glossy photos prepared by most processors make good illustrations of one quarter page or less. Cover photos, or detailed pictures for the back cover, should be sent as 8 x 10 inch prints.  Many processors can convert film images to digital form as the photos are developed, and put the photos on a disk as an alternative to a second set of prints. Mailing this disk to Parker Pages gives us maximum flexibility in publishing the pictures.       

Parker Pages encounters the most difficulty in publishing digital pictures that are “compressed“ for e mailing or storage. These pictures appear sharp when viewed on a screen, but do not produce sharp prints on paper. The sharpest digital pictures are stored as transferred from camera (flash card) to the computer. Some storage and editing programs compress as part of the editing process, also some phone line and other connections are unable to handle uncompressed pictures. The publisher requires 300 pixels per inch to print pictures of comparable quality to those printed from film. As a guide, the block displayed when you select a picture from desktop with Micro Soft Picture Manager shows “Dimensions” on the top line. These dimensions must be 1200 X 1800 or greater to produce sharpness approximating that of a 4 x 6 inch glossy print. The dimensions must exceed these numbers if a small section of the photo is to be enlarged. “Big” digital cameras, as the Nikon D70 collect pictures at dimensions of 2000 x 3000; individuals can be enlarged from groups, and grade can be recognized from a photo of a person holding a Parker with these dimensions. HP “Photosmart” scanners are adjustable to scan at dimensions exceeding 300 pixels per inch. Our experience indicates 600 pixels per inch, or more, may be necessary to capture detail of old Parker Catalogs or documents.

The Parker Pages editor has a small “studio” that can photograph objects from about one inch square to 24 x 48 inches. An open Parker will fit, and a single bird or scroll from engraving can be made to fill a page. We can arrange a visit, or shipment to do this photography. We also have size limited scanning capability, and access to professional scanning equipment in the area. Contact the editor if you need photographic or scanning support to prepare an article. We can arrange photography at PGCA events.