Guidelines for Best Practices in Image Processing

Please click on each guideline for further details. Also, see the guidelines demonstrated in Photoshop Videos.

	Treating Images as Data: Digital scientific images should be treated as data			Filters Degrade Data: Use of software filters to improve image quality is usually not recommended for biological images.
	Saving the Original: Manipulations of digital images should always be done on a copy of the raw image data. The original must be retained.			Cloning Degrades Data: Cloning objects into an image or from other parts of the image is very questionable.
	Making Simple Adjustments: Simple adjustments to the entire image are usually acceptable.			Making Intensity Measurements: Intensity measurements of digital images should be performed on raw data and the data should be calibrated to a known standard.
	Cropping is usually OK: Cropping an image is usually acceptable.			Lossy Compression Degrades Data: Avoid the use of lossy compression.
	Comparing Images: Digital images that will be compared to one another should be acquired under identical conditions.			Issues With Magnification: Magnification and resolution issues are important.
	Manipulating the Entire Image: Manipulations that are specific to one area of an image and are not performed on other areas are questionable.			Issues With Pixels: Be careful when changing the size (in pixels) of a digital image.