A bitmap is an image that is stored as a pattern of dots. Bitmap files have a file extension of .BMP and can be created using various methods.

A bitmap file can be generated by scanning your letterhead and saving it (or converting it) to a .BMP file format. Many copy centers and desktop publishing shops provide such services for a nominal fee. If you have a scanner in your office, you may be able to do this yourself provided the scanning software supports the .BMP file format.

Bitmap files can also be created by various paint programs and graphics manipulation programs including Corel Presentations, Adobe Photoshop, Corel Photo-Paint, Corel Draw and JASC's Paint Shop Pro to name a few. Certain low-end paint programs such as Microsoft Paint and Microsoft Paintbrush support the .BMP format; however, they do not support the scaling features that make it practical to create larger bitmaps with text. For example, a letterhead bitmap that is 8 inches wide by 2 inches tall that would be printed on a 600 dpi printer would require a 4800 x 1200 pixel bitmap. Converted to inches, this bitmap would be approximately 50 inches wide with a height of 12.5 inches. Furthermore, the font size would also be enlarged. For example, text that is 9 points in size when printed looks like 60 point type on the screen. This makes it impractical to create or edit letterhead bitmaps using a low-end paint program and virtually impossible unless the paint program has a zoom-out feature (which Microsoft's Paint program does not have).

Creating a letterhead in a graphics or paint program may take some time and effort particularly if you are not familiar with the tools being used. Scanning is by far an easier method to create a .BMP file from your existing letterhead. Make sure you match the scanning resolution with your printer's output resolution. When using a 600 dpi printer, your monochrome bitmap can easily approach a file size of one megabyte (which didn't appear to slow down print speeds in our testing). If you hire a third party to scan or create your letterhead, you may want to have them save the bitmap file in both 600 dpi and 1200 dpi resolution to accommodate the various printer resolutions your firm may be using.

See also:   Tabs3 Statement Printer Setup
  Statement Designer
  Knowledge Base Article R10934 - Troubleshooting Bitmap Errors
  Knowledge Base Article R11582 - Statements Information Resources
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