There are several issues that need to be addressed to insure that a digital jury is a positive experience for both the shows and artists. Our recommendations begin with practical considerations and then address the technical issues.

Practical Considerations
Perhaps the single largest factor that will speed or inhibit the wide use of the digital jury process is adoption of a standard image submission format. If artists are required to produce digital jury images in different formats to apply to each show, the result may be confusion and a reduced number of applications. Shows that do not specify the exact image requirements in pixel dimensions, or plan to resize images, give the artist little or no control over the quality of their images.

A standard format will keep time, effort and costs down for artists, improve the quality and accuracy of the artist’s jury images and will reduce the number of incorrectly prepared images that shows will receive. A widely accepted standard may even have the potential to increase the number of applications that shows receive.

A standard submission format will also reduce the fear and uncertainty that less technically adept artists may have toward the new process. If standards vary widely, or are not clearly stated, even technically sophisticated artists may decide not to submit an application, fearing that they would be wasting their jury fee because the process would not fairly represent their artwork to the jury.

Image type and size
Because image files can be quite large, they are usually compressed before transmission over the Internet. We recommend that the baseline JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) be the standard file format that shows ask for. JPEG’s are readable by all programs and browsers and are the most efficient way for artists to send images to shows. Even with minimum compression, files submitted as JPEGs will be relatively small and simple to transmit and store.

Image size (in pixel dimensions) is critical because changing the size of a JPEG has the potential to significantly degrade it. If an artist knows the how their images will be displayed, they then can optimize their images for that size and be confident that the jury will see those images with the quality intended. Most new digital projectors use the XGA standard (1024x768 pixels) as their native resolution, and 1024 pixels wide by 768 pixels high is also the most common desktop monitor resolution. Unlike slide projectors that can project both horizontal and vertical images, most digital output devices are restricted to displaying a horizontal format.

Taking all these factors into account, we are recommending that art shows standardize on the following image size. It would allow artists to submit horizontal, vertical or square images, selecting the aspect ratio that would show their work accurately, knowing the jurors would have no problem viewing their images fairly in comparison to other submissions.

Digital jury images can be submitted as JPEGs using the 1920 pixel square format specified by the ZAPPlication digital jury system. Thousands of artists have already prepared digital images for ZAPP that can be viewed using equipment such as the Roku media player and a digital projector. Viewing of 1920 pixel square images need not be limited to specific hardware as long as the program used fits the image to the screen, which is usually the default setting when showing an image larger than the viewing device’s native resolution.

Whatever image specifications you decide on, artists applying to your show will need to know the details so they can properly prepare their images. The more the artists (or those they hire to prepare their images) know of your system, the more accurately their work will be presented to your jury.