Elvie

This strip first appeared in issue #228 of Linux (Pro) Magazine. It was inspired by a concern that faces every person who chooses to use Free/Open Source software to create files that then need to be processed by a company that is only really set up to handle files created by “industry standard” proprietary programs.

A particularly good example of this problem is related by David Revoy in a series of blog posts about his attempts to produce a colour-accurate book of his outstanding Open Source webcomic, Pepper & Carrot.

To be honest, we’re lazy. We don’t even try for colour accuracy in our comics – even the ones that end up in print. We adjust the gamma so they’re not too light or dark, but accept that what we see on our screens is just an approximation of what will end up on the page. There are just too many variables, and too little time. But the bright and bold colours we use tend to stand up well to such laxity, so we mostly get away with it.