Black Borders and ZAPP Images

Black Borders and ZAPP Images

Another artist confused by the wording on the ZAPP web site.

I was contacted by an artist for whom I prepared images a few years ago, asking me to remove the black borders on her images because she read on the ZAPP site that they were no longer necessary and that removing the black borders makes your presentation more uniform.

Please don't even think of removing the black borders from your images, and please make sure the new images you upload are formatted properly with black borders squaring them at 1920x1920 pixels. Otherwise if you apply to any of the better shows, ZAPP will add black borders to non square images, reducing the quality to make them under 2 megabytes. And if you have uploaded smaller than 1920 long dimension images, ZAPP will add wider black borders on all four sides making your images 1920x1920 when you apply to any of the better shows.

The statement that removing the black borders so you have a more uniform presentation is not true and was removed from the web site (at my request) two years ago. Somehow the wording made it back, probably when an older backup was restored. The truth is that the jurors NEVER see the black borders because they see the images on a black page background when jurying.

And don't forget that most shows using Entrythingy ask for images 1920x1920.

Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100

Replies

Kristin Ellis January 14, 2014 at 6:21pm

Thanks Larry, I'm so glad I read this before I uploaded new images to zapp. Back to a square format for me!
ZAPPlication February 10, 2012 at 5:30pm

Hi Larry,

We're not sure where the artist read this on the ZAPP® site. It could be that the artist saw this information on an event's prospectus page, which may not have been updated by the event.

The ZAPP Image Preparation page reads:

"Artists that already have 1920x1920 images loaded into their image bank do NOT need to re-upload their images without the black bars."

Have a nice weekend!

Thanks,

Christina

The ZAPP® Team
- Larry Berman > ZAPPlication February 10, 2012 at 5:50pm
  
  Hi Christina,
  
  half way down on this page:
  http://www.zapplication.org/images.phtml
  
  "Do I have to use the black masks on my images?
  Black masks are no longer required. Removing the black masks from your current images, while not required, will create a cleaner look when images are viewed by jurors. For jury consistency we recommend not submitting an application with a mix of images that have and do not have black masks."
  
  That entire question and answer should have been removed. The fact that you say it creates a cleaner look is untrue because the jurors have never seen the black borders because they see the images on a black web page. And saying that you shouldn't mix images that have and do not have black borders is also untrue for the same reason.
  
  I rewrote the wording to make it more artist friendly two and a half years ago for Lara, and then only part of my wording was used on the web site.
  
  Larry Berman
  http://BermanGraphics.com
  412-401-8100
  - Steve Sawusch > Larry Berman December 2, 2013 at 6:34pm
    
    Just double checking that all this information is still current. From everything that I am seeing it still looks current. (I am about to upload new images and making sure it is still best to add the black bars)
    - Larry Berman > Steve Sawusch December 2, 2013 at 6:39pm
      
      Like I've been saying. The shows haven't changed how they jury. Black borders or square 1920 images will always be needed for the top shows that project. And for monitor jurying they see the images on a black web page. So formatting the images to 1920 square with black borders masking rectangular images will always be the best way to prepare and upload your images.
      
      Larry Berman
      - Steve Sawusch > Larry Berman December 2, 2013 at 6:45pm
        
        Thanks
Harrison Otalor February 10, 2012 at 1:40pm

Hi Larry, this is my image with a black border. How do you think this will play with the jurors assuming they view it on a black background. JAS has a grey background and my works comes out well but I am concerned with the black background. It will seem like a lot of black being displayed. Should I include a faint line to indicate where my image ends is is this ok.

Thanks

Harrison.
- Larry Berman > Harrison Otalor February 10, 2012 at 1:59pm
  
  Hi Harrison,
  
  A faint gray line (not white) no more than three or four pixels before adding the black borders. That will let the jurors understand where the artwork ends without spending any additional time looking at the image. That's assuming that your top and bottom is completely black. There are also ways to bring out detail in the top and bottom so that the gray line (called a stroke) may not be necessary.
  
  Larry Berman
  http://BermanGraphics.com
  412-401-8100

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